On December 18th, the Portland City Council voted to authorize up to $300 million in grants from the Portland Clean Energy Community Benefits Fund (PCEF) to address the impacts of a changing climate. Within those approved eight grant applications, the 82nd Avenue Transit Project will receive $55,500,000 towards its Federal Transportation fund matching requirement for a planned Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project on 82nd Avenue. The awarded amount is short of the $67 million requested but brings this project closer to meeting local funding goals, a critical step to securing federal support.
The 82nd Avenue Transit Project will replace the TriMet 72 bus line along 82nd Avenue from Clackamas Town Center to the Cully neighborhood with faster travel times. Planners anticipate project costs at approximately $362 million. Funds will purchase new 60-foot articulated zero-emission buses and extensive infrastructure along the BRT path. TriMet will reduce stops on its most used route and replace boarding locations with near-level bus platforms featuring shelters, lighting, digital schedule signage, and other amenities. Transit vehicles will spend less time in traffic through Transit Signal Priority upgrades to signal lights along the route, changing to green in sync with bus travel times. The project also funds $3 million towards training and apprenticeships in construction and clean energy careers for many PCEF-defined priority populations. PCEF’s designers recognized that people with low incomes, people of color, and people living with disabilities are some of the most impacted populations negatively affected by climate change.
In addition to improving the rider experience for the daily 11,000 72 bus line users, these transit improvements intend to reduce traffic congestion on 82nd Avenue and lower greenhouse gas emissions in the region. If fully funded, crews will reconstruct sidewalks and fill in missing walkway segments around new stations. Station design and sidewalk work will also include increased street tree placement to expand the urban canopy.
The 82nd Avenue Transit Project Steering Committee will vote on a final Locally Preferred Alternative (LPA) in winter 2025, allowing local and regional governments to vote on the proposal. After project partners complete a National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process, they can pursue a Federal Transit Administration Capital Investment Grant matched by local funding bolstered by this $55,500,000 PCEF grant. 82nd Avenue Transit Project planners anticipate construction will begin in 2027, with service starting in the summer of 2029.
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