Tag: Sam Desue Jr.

Infrastructure, Transportation

TriMet Moves Forward with Nearly 7 Miles of Transit-Priority Lanes on 82nd Ave

On Friday, February 13th, TriMet leadership instructed the 82nd Avenue Transit Project designers to work toward creating 7 miles of Business Access and Transit (BAT) lanes along most of Portland’s portion of 82nd Avenue. The transformative project would convert the 72 bus line into a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system under TriMet’s FX (Frequent Express) moniker, with high-capacity vehicles, modern stations, traffic signal priority, and, now, transit priority on the outer lanes of 82nd Avenue. This updated project scope will increase the current project’s proposed $350 million budget by at least $8 million, and the project partners are depending on yet-unawarded $150 million in federal funding.

TriMet General Manager Sam Desue Jr. made the directive to advance the incorporation of significant BAT lane allocation in the design at the project’s Policy & Budget Committee meeting. This follows months of public dispute over restricting a lane of automotive travel in each direction on a busy north/south connector road that was formerly a state highway until transferring to Portland’s ownership in 2022. BAT lanes serve two primary functions in a transportation network. They are focused on providing local access for vehicles on congested streets and on providing transit systems with a less encumbered lane to move more reliably between stops. Advocates for the design note that driving to a business’s parking lot entrance on a busy road requires a visitor to wait in rush-hour congestion even if they turn onto the street a block away. In those conditions, it can also take a significant time for a motorist leaving a driveway to exit and merge into traffic. BAT lanes can help address those situations by requiring all outer-lane travelers in private vehicles to turn right within a block. Supporters also tout the BAT lanes used by emergency vehicles, which can speed through congestion when time matters.

A green public transit bus stopped at a modern bus station with a clear shelter and seating area, surrounded by bike lanes and pedestrian pathways.

BAT lanes are strongly supported by surveyed residents who favor a faster, more effective BRT system on 82nd Avenue. People who spoke in support at the 82nd Avenue Transit Project Community Advisory Committee (CAC) meetings also appreciated the anticipated reduced speed of BAT lanes on the curb adjacent portion of the road. 82nd Avenue once had parking along its outer edges that later became travel lanes, leaving pedestrians and fast-moving vehicles inches apart. However, many businesses are concerned about the economic impact of a sudden change in vehicle throughput. Although 82nd Avenue is not at capacity at all times of day, it does often become congested, and transportation models indicate that introducing this level of BAT lanes will divert 20 to 25 percent of traffic to other routes during peak times. Local businesses that started their ventures on a state highway years ago worry that this change will force them to relocate or close as their customers take a different route to avoid heightened congestion. People advocating for 82nd Avenue to transform into a more pedestrian-forward design say that new shoppers will come by foot and by bus, but that mode shift can take years, and many of the small businesses that have made up 82nd Avenue’s culture say they cannot survive the transition timeline, which is far from certain.

Map showing city/county limits with SE Clatsop St and NE Lombard St, intersecting streets including SE Powell Blvd and SE Foster Rd, and I-84 orientation.
Feb 13 Business Access and Transit (BAT) lanes graphic courtesy TriMet with MV News directional notation

The TriMet adopted design for BAT lanes closely represents the community-supported design, and the project 82nd Avenue Transit Project CAC endorsed design, referred to as the “More BAT Lanes” option, with one notable exception. The nearly seven miles of transit-priority updates will stop before and resume after SE Powell Boulevard. During the January 28th CAC meeting, presenters explained that because that cross street is still a state highway, the Oregon Department of Transportation would require significant improvements at that intersection and on SE 92nd Avenue to accommodate the agency’s design standards for vehicle throughput. They explained that it would dramatically increase project costs or significantly delay the design process, seeking exemptions.

The project is targeting a 72 FX Line opening in 2029 and still has many milestones to meet before construction can begin. Planners need to find additional funds for the BAT lane portion of the project and secure federal funding in a challenging time for states seeking support from national leaders. TriMet says the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) gave the project a Medium-High rating, a strong indicator that it could receive those funds. Proponents of the BRT investment point to this corridor as an essential focus for efforts. TriMet’s Line 72 bus provides nearly 66,000 rides each week and is the busiest bus line in TriMet’s system. It also represents the highest-ridership bus line in all of Oregon, making it an ideal candidate for upsizing to strengthen the network’s backbone. Many riders use this route along 82nd Avenue to the Clackamas Town Center to connect with other lines. Transit designers say reliable and timely performance is essential to improving the network and reducing future congestion by getting more people out of personal vehicles for daily commutes. People can provide comments and learn more at the project website (trimet.org/82nd/).

Article and photos by

Jacob Loeb

Disclosure: The author of this article previously served on the 82nd Avenue Transit Project Community Advisory Committee (CAC).

Promotion: Montavilla News is supported by contributions from businesses like Greg Beddor – SEO Specialist, an Oregon based digital marketing consultancy. The company markets customer’s websites and provide SEO services to grow their business. We thank them for their support.

Community, Transportation

New TriMet Transit Mobility Facility Honors Jan Campbell

On November 19th, TriMet publicly unveiled its new transit mobility facility in a naming ceremony that honored transit accessibility advocate Jan Campbell for her decades of service and dedication. Starting Monday, November 25th, people will begin attending the new Jan Campbell Transit Mobility Center in the Lloyd neighborhood to interview and confirm eligibility for TriMet LIFT Paratransit Service.

As with TriMet’s current Mobility Center located on NW 5th Avenue and Davis Street, this new center at 710 NE Holladay Street will perform a critical step in assessing a rider’s capabilities before receiving LIFT services. Every applicant must complete an in-person interview with a LIFT Eligibility Coordinator and engage in a physical assessment on the Transit Mobility Course. The indoor course simulates some obstacles individuals with disabilities may face when commuting on TriMet’s fixed route service.

TriMet offers the LIFT Paratransit Service to people whose physical or mental impairment might prevent them from using fixed route service. Consequentially, TriMet needs to interact with people requesting the service every three years on average to determine if they meet LIFT eligibility. This new facility features mockup bus layouts, ramps, and a variety of ground conditions. In addition to observing a person’s ability to ride standard accessible transit vehicles, evaluators observe people’s capabilities in traveling to and from bus stops or MAX stations. The course has facilities to simulate waiting at a stop or station, boarding, and exiting vehicles.

The new facility is next to the NE 7th Ave MAX station for convenient access. However, TriMet offers complementary LIFT rides to and from the Transit Mobility Center for each applicant’s eligibility appointment. This investment in new facilities is part of TriMet’s continued dedication to building an accessible transit system, and the speakers at the Tuesday afternoon naming ceremony attributed those efforts, in part, to the center’s namesake, Jan Campbell. “For nearly 40 years, she has been more than an advocate. She’s been a guiding light leading the way,” said TriMet General Manager Sam Desue Jr. “As our Chair of the Committee on Accessible Transportation, also known as CAT, her leadership has set a high standard for accessibility and inclusion at TriMet, shaping our services to reflect values that matter – equity, dignity, opportunity for all.”

TriMet General Manager Sam Desue Jr. hugging Jan Campbell

Desue explained to the audience at the ceremony that CAT, under Campbell’s leadership, has ensured TriMet not only meets minimum accessibility requirements but also embodies the ideas of universal design, where services are usable by people of all abilities from its inception. “Jane’s work has touched every corner of our system, from our LIFT paratransit program, which now provides thousands of essential rides every day, to accessible features on our buses and our trains, empowering riders to travel independently,” said Desue.

Jan Campbell next to a enlarged version of the plaque that will greet visitors to the center

Jan Campbell expressed her gratitude for naming this facility after her during her lifetime with a bit of humor. “Actually, I haven’t passed yet, so it’s really cool. I know we honor many people after they’ve passed, and this means so much to me.” She explained that this TriMet honor is a significant recognition of her work because public transportation is the only option for many people with disabilities and older adults. “If you don’t have transportation, you just stay at home and rely on others for everything,” said Campbell. “I used to work very closely with Mayor Vera Katz when I worked for the City and the County, I was a liaison between the government and community regarding compliance to ADA. As an older adult, Vera became very ill and acquired a disability. I saw her on the streetcar one day, and she told me that she now understood why I was always coming to City Council or to the bureau’s trying to make change. She got it,” explained Campbell.

Disability is considered the only minority group that a person can become a part of at any point in their life, whether through an accident, illness, or aging. Jan Campbell’s path to a lifetime of advocacy began in childhood. “I became disabled at a very early age from a virus that attacked my spine and paralyzed me. I was never able to enjoy many things as a child because very little was accessible and I always had to depend on others for getting around growing up. Into young adulthood, I had to rely on others for transportation and strangers to carry me up and down stairs through college,” recalled Campbell. Her experience living in a pre Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) country motivated Campbell to become a voice for societal change. She served as the Disability Project Coordinator for the City of Portland and Multnomah County for 23 years. She contributed to the founding of TriMet’s Committee on Accessibility in 1985, where she has served as chair ever since. Campbell serves on the Board of Directors for Disability Rights Oregon and is a Northwest ADA Center’s Regional Advisory Committee member.

Executive Director of Disability Rights Oregon Jake Cornett and Jan Campbell

Naming the center for Jan Campbell is a significant recognition of her contribution, but the facility is worthy of celebration on its own. “This center here will stand as a beacon of service, a place where older adults and people with disabilities can find personalized support and resources. It will be a symbol of what’s possible when advocacy, partnership, and shared purpose come together,” said Desue. TriMet is a national leader in accessible transit. For many of the thousands of Portlanders with a disability, it is an essential service, and this new facility will better meet their needs. “TriMet has given me the independence and freedom so that I can work, participate on committees and boards to put disability on their agenda, and just enjoy life like everyone else,” said Campbell.

Article and photos by

Jacob Loeb

Promotion: Help keep independent news accessible to the community. Montavilla News has a Patreon account for monthly support or you can pay for a full year directly online. We invite those who can contribute to this local news source to consider becoming paid subscriber or sponsor. We will always remain free to read regardless of subscription.

Government, Infrastructure, Transportation

TriMet Celebrates Hydrogen Buses Coming to 82nd Ave

On Thursday, October 17th, TriMet leaders and members of Oregon’s congressional delegation gathered in a warehouse on NE Columbia Boulevard to address attendees. This celebratory event marked the $69 million public investment that will transform a former industrial site into a hub for hydrogen fuel-cell electric buses that will serve 82nd Avenue. Federal funds will help TriMet purchase the organization’s first zero-emissions buses powered by hydrogen and build the support infrastructure needed to operate the environmentally friendly fleet.

The Columbia Operations Facility is a vital component of TriMet’s transition to a zero-emissions bus fleet with a capacity for 250 buses. With a targeted completion date of 2030, the former Caterpillar Power Systems dealership site will play an essential role in meeting state and regional climate goals. The public transportation provider intends to replace its diesel vehicles over the next 15 years as it strives to operate an entirely zero-emissions bus fleet by 2040. In 2022, TriMet switched to renewable diesel for all fixed-route buses and WES vehicles. Earlier this year, they began taking delivery of new battery electric buses.

Conceptual rendering of TriMet’s Columbia Operations Facility

TriMet General Manager Sam Desue Jr. explained that the transition to zero-emissions technology will significantly impact the region’s climate goals due to the region’s sizable transit usage. “Where home to more than 1.6 million people. Our region is the 23rd largest metro area in the country and the 13th highest transit ridership,” said Desue. “As Oregon’s largest consumer of diesel, TriMet’s switch to renewable diesel made the state’s transportation industry greener. And now, with TriMet adding hydrogen fuel-cell electric buses to our zero emissions bus fleet, we will help create demand for green hydrogen hubs here in the Pacific Northwest.”

Eighty-second Avenue will become an early user of the hydrogen fuel-cell electric buses as TriMet works to convert its highest ridership, line 72, to a faster system. “The federal funding we’ve received will also help purchase TriMet’s first hydrogen-powered buses that will run along our future FX or Frequent Express bus rapid transit line, which will be coming at 82nd Avenue in the years ahead. These buses will be powered by cutting-edge hydrogen technology that will emit zero pollution into the communities that we serve,” explained Desue.

Event Speakers. Left to right: TriMet General Manager Sam Desue Jr., U.S. Representative Earl Blumenauer, and U.S. Representative Suzanne Bonamici

As a longtime advocate for improving 82nd Avenue, U.S. Representative Earl Blumenauer’s remarks focused on the opportunities these investments will bring to a transforming district. He noted the road’s history as a freight and private vehicle conduit has caused harm to the surrounding communities, but this project can make needed repairs. “Legacy highways have played a critical role in Oregon and around the country but no longer serve that purpose. They don’t work well, they’re dangerous, and they don’t invite development,” said Blumenauer. “I think we have an opportunity to transform a street that divides the region into a corridor that’s going to unite us.”

Event Speakers. Left to right: TriMet General Manager Sam Desue Jr., U.S. Representative Suzanne Bonamici, and U.S. Representative Earl Blumenauer

Funds for TriMet’s Columbia operation facility upgrades and the hydrogen fuel-cell electric buses come from multiple sources. A U.S. Department of Transportation grant from the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) program provided $25 million, with another $5 million from community-initiated programs and the federal budget. However, a $39 million Federal Transit Administration contribution from its Low or No Emission Grant Program provided the bulk of the $69 million public investment. U.S. Representative Suzanne Bonamici celebrated the joint effort of the Oregon Congressional Delegation in obtaining this level of federal funding for a regional transportation project. “I understand and appreciate that it is the responsibility of the federal government to provide resources when projects are so big and so critical, and the local jurisdictions just can’t do it on their own. So that’s part of our role,” said Bonamici.

Conceptual rendering of TriMet’s Columbia Operations Facility

Closing remarks at the event recognized the enormous collection of people who contributed to this milestone and celebrated the green jobs created by this project at the Columbia facility. “We will train more operators, more mechanics at this location. This site will support hundreds of family wage union jobs,” exclaimed Desue. The site will look significantly different as new buildings replace the industrial landscape with environmentally supportive infrastructure that can improve communities across the Portland Metro area. Already, road users are seeing crews building new sidewalks, traffic signals, and road improvements in front of the TriMet facility at 4421 NE Columbia Boulevard. As TriMet readies for a hydrogen-powered future, work will continue on the NE Columbia Boulevard facility and eventually along 82nd Avenue.

Article and photos by

Jacob Loeb

Promotion: Help keep independent news accessible to the community. Montavilla News has a Patreon account for monthly support or you can pay for a full year directly online. We invite those who can contribute to this local news source to consider becoming paid subscriber or sponsor. We will always remain free to read regardless of subscription.

Infrastructure

82nd Avenue FX Line Receives Financial Boost

TriMet’s 82nd Avenue Transit Project will receive a $630,000 grant from the Federal Transit Administration, supplying early funding for the public transit organization’s efforts to bring FX™ rapid bus service to 82nd Avenue. Members of the Oregon Congressional delegation announced this influx of project seed money two weeks after a July 7th bus tour of 82nd Avenue by U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Congressman Earl Blumenauer, and Senator Jeff Merkley.

TriMet is exploring options to create faster bus service along a portion of the 72 line. This service would adopt many features currently used along SE Division Street’s FX™ 2 line that opened in September 2022. “Through dedicated federal support, TriMet and our regional partners have the opportunity to transform 82nd into a safe, vibrant, thriving corridor, featuring faster, more reliable transit mirrored after our TriMet FX™ service on Division Street,” said TriMet General Manager Sam Desue Jr. Converting the 72 bus line to FX™ service on 82nd Avenue will require the removal of stops, construction of near level boarding platforms, and the use of dedicated Business Access and Transit(BAT) lanes in certain sections of the line. These enhancements would speed up travel time on the region’s most used TriMet bus line.

Creation of TriMet FX™ service on 82nd Avenue is in the early exploration phase, with many attributes still under consideration. The awarded grant is part of the Federal Transit Administration’s Areas of Persistent Poverty (AOPP) program. It likely represents an insignificant amount compared to the yet unknown cost of the total project. By comparison, the Division Transit Project that constructed the FX™ 2 bus service cost just under $175 million. TriMet will use the funding received in this grant to improve transit safety and access on 82nd Avenue, analyze the use of zero-emissions buses, and assess additional infrastructure enhancements to support high-capacity transit service throughout the corridor. Receiving the grant money does not guarantee that significant transit improvements will occur on 82nd Avenue, but it does fund additional planning and signals Federal interest in this project. Federal contributions supplied over half the funding used in the Division Transit Project, and this 82nd Avenue endeavor will likely require similar support at the national level.

Image courtesy PBOT

People interested in following transportation projects and other improvements planned for 82nd Avenue should subscribe to updates from the Building a Better 82nd Portland run site and the Metro-hosted 82nd Avenue transit project site. Interested participants can also attend Building a Better 82nd Workshops. The next one occurs tonight, Thursday, July 20th, from 5 to 7 p.m. in the Asian Pacific American Network of Oregon (APANO) offices at 8188 SE Division Street.

By

Jacob Loeb

Disclosure: The author of this article serves on the Building a Better 82nd Community Advisory Group and the 82nd Avenue Business Association board

Promotion: Help keep independent news accessible to the community. Montavilla News has a Patreon account. We invite those who can contribute to this local news source to consider becoming paid subscribers or sponsors. We will always remain free to read regardless of subscription.

Event, Infrastructure

TriMet Opens New SE Division Platform

Friday morning TriMet announced the opening of their new platform serving the Division Transit Project. This event celebrated the fifty-percent completion point for the Rapid Bus initiative. When finished, it promises to deliver fast transportation from Gresham to Downtown Portland along 15 miles of the number 2 bus line.

TriMet’s Interim General Manager, Sam Desue Jr., emphasized the project’s economic and equitable merits. “This project here is going to spur economic recovery from the Pandemic. It created over 1,400 jobs and added more than $138,000,000 in economic value in this corridor.” Desue continued to explain that seventy percent of the companies involved in construction were majority staffed by people of color and women.

Raimore Construction President Jeff Moreland speaking, TriMet Interim General Manager Sam Desue, Jr and Division Transit Project Director Michael Kiser left

Raimore Construction serves as the lead contractor on the Division Transit Project. Rainmore President Jeff Moreland Sr. spoke about the challenges of keeping the project moving during the Pandemic. He stressed the value of his company’s 20 year-long relationships with TriMet and the transportation agency’s support for disadvantaged businesses.

The Division Transit Project is on budget and achieving timely milestones on its way to the completion date in the Fall of 2022. Starting this Sunday, line 2 buses will begin using two of the completed stations for regular service. Both stations work differently than most in the transit system. They implement a shared bicycle and pedestrian design, diverting bike lanes over the raised platform.

Much of the Southern edge of Montavilla is actively under construction in support of this project. Beyond better service to TriMet riders, it has reconstructed large portions of the sidewalk and upgraded many adjacent street corners. The community will not feel the full benefit from TriMet’s investment for another year. However, the improvements on this often neglected road are already becoming noticeable.