On February 11th, road crews closed the southbound outer lane of SE 82nd Avenue to repair a broken stormwater inlet on the southwest corner of the Yamhill Street crossing. TriMet will close the southbound number 72 bus stop at this intersection from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. during construction. The project will continue for at least one week to allow cement masons to pour new concrete around the repaired sewer infrastructure.
This stormwater inlet is less than a decade old. Road crews installed it as part of an intersection reconstruction in 2016. That project updated the signal lights from wire-hung units to pole arm-mounted signals and rebuilt the four sidewalk corners with modern Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant curb ramps. The wider ramps required crews to relocate several stormwater inlets away from pedestrian paths. That 2016 project occurred during a time when the Oregon Department of Transportation maintained 82nd Avenue as a State highway. Since June 1st, 2022, the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) is responsible for repairs along the roadway.
PBOT closed the westernmost lane of SE 82nd Avenue to allow for crews to work on this unplanned repair and ask drivers to use caution around the worksite. All directions of travel should continue through this intersection during the project’s duration. However, additional detours may be necessary as crews work in the area. Pedestrians may need to cross the street to navigate around work blocking the sidewalk. People should always observe reader boards for instructions and obey flagger directions to avoid injury or damage to property.
Street users should note that all work is weather-dependent, and the schedule may change, requiring a prolonged lane closure. The bus stop ID 8066 for SE 82nd & Yamhill will remain closed daily from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. until further notice. TriMet instructs riders to use the stop before or after this location instead.
Multnomah County will open emergency warming shelters on Thursday night, February 13th, through noon or later on Friday, February 14th. In coordination with the County’s state of emergency efforts related to expected cold weather, TriMet will not turn away riders unable to pay for transit on their way to or from a warming shelter during shelter operating hours. Six additional warming shelters will join Multnomah County and the City of Portland’s nearly 3,000 existing shelter beds to help more people off the street during the intensely cold night-time hours.
TriMet is committed to transporting people to emergency warming shelters during declared emergencies and will not collect a fare if the person informs the driver they cannot pay and are on their way to or from a shelter. However, those who can pay the fare must do so, even when riding during cold weather. Fare-free transportation for people unable to pay is limited to direct shelter travel and not as a warm alternative to being outside. TriMet wants to help individuals get out of the cold and into shelters with access to food, restrooms, wraparound support services, and other resources unavailable on the transit system.
Multnomah County’s Care for When It’s Cold website offers updated details about emergency warming shelter locations. Montavilla has one location open during this cold weather event within the Ascension Catholic Church at 743 SE 76th Avenue. The County will operate this temporary location. Warming site operators will not turn away anyone seeking shelter. All warming locations will welcome pets and be accessible to people with disabling conditions. Additional free transportation to warming shelters is available by calling 2-1-1.
Update: This article was updated with current information about emergency warming shelter access for the extended winter weather with an expected snow and ice storm.
As winter weather approaches Portland, planning a safe trip becomes essential to getting where you need to go while not creating more hazards on the road for the people that must be out during inclement conditions. Switching to public transportation is among the best options for drivers without adequate traction devices or winter driving skills. TriMet created a dedicated website page at trimet.org/winterweather with information about traveling in the region during snow and ice events. Traveling by foot to the bus stop or other neighborhood locations will also require some planning, including traction devices for boots and dressing in warm layers. If driving is required, people should use the Portland Bureau of Transportation’s (PBOT) Plow Activity and Routs map to travel on well-cleared streets for most of their journey.
Conditions can change quickly in any winter weather event, and travelers must stay informed. Transit riders should follow trimet.org/alerts. Although buses will follow their regular routes as long as the streets are safe, bus drivers may have to change stop locations. If a stop is on a hill or in an unsafe area, bus drivers may want to pick up riders at a nearby location on level ground. Transit users will want to check for route cancelations due to road conditions often, and dress for prolonged waits in the elements. TriMet says MAX trains typically run well in snow, but many need to adjust frequency or line length to prevent ice buildup on overhead wires interfering with operations.
Good winter boots can help most Portlanders through the powdery snow, but ice is another issue. The first day of snow can be easy to manage with basic footwear, but an overnight freeze of compacted slush or freezing rain makes our sidewalks and roads hazardous. Investing in a pair of Yaktrax or similar walking traction cleats helps people traverse most ice conditions. The cleats stretch over a shoe’s sole, providing a biting grip when needed, and can come off when indoors. People should charge phones before leaving and keep devices in an inner pocket. Cold significantly reduces the charge in a phone’s lithium-ion battery, causing people to lose access to the device that can help them identify safe routes or see transit delays. A phone user’s body heat provided by an inner pocket can warm that device when not in use, particularly when people dress in layers of warm clothing for wintery conditions.
Driving is hazardous in non-optimal conditions. Street safety depends on all participants knowing road conditions and understanding the limitations of what they can do. The best winter drivers can still suffer damage from a less prepared motorist. If individuals do not need to drive, it is best not to hit the road. If people must drive, prepare with supplies in case the unexpected happens. They should bring extra clothes if circumstances force them to walk longer than expected because their vehicle becomes stuck. Pack a shovel to free a parked car after sitting at the destination, and take additional traction devices, even if drivers do not need them at the start of the journey.
Portlanders can often get to their destination even in the worst winter storms. However, it takes much longer than a regular commute. Experts advise leaving early and being patient with others on the road. Check official sources for up-to-date road conditions and remain flexible in how you get to your destination, as the most direct route may not be the safest. The best option is to stay home, leaving the roads clear for emergency services and the people who have to go out into the storm for work.
TriMet will honor Rosa Parks with free rides for all passengers this Tuesday, February 4th. Transit operators will suspend fare collection on that day until 2 a.m. February 5th. Portland Streetcar and C-TRAN operators will also offer rides without cost in observation of the civil rights icon’s 112th birthday. Riders who tap a Hop card or ticket will receive confirmation of valid fare, but the automated systems won’t charge them, and ticket machines will not allow any ticket purchases on February 4th
In 2020, TriMet’s District 5 Director Keith Edwards proposed the resolution declaring Parks’ birthday as a day of remembrance across the public transportation system. That year, TriMet adopted the fare holiday across the 533-square-mile service district to recognize Parks’ contribution to the Civil Rights Movement. 2025 is the fifth straight year TriMet has commemorated the bravery of Parks, whose name is most notably associated with the struggle to bring equity to public transportation as part of a wider racial equality movement.
Graphic courtesy TriMet
On December 1st, 1955, Rosa Parks challenged Montgomery, Alabama’s segregationist city ordinance that required black Americans to give up seats in the “Colored” section of the bus for white riders when the reserved white section ran out of seats. Parks’ refusal of the bus driver’s commands to give up her seat resulted in her arrest. Her act of civil disobedience led to the year-long Montgomery bus boycott and a significant court decision that found bus segregation unconstitutional under the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Parks suffered years of harassment for her role as a public face of the Civil Rights movement. Still, history has quickly recognized her contributions to equality through that 1955 peaceful act of defiance, and her later work, which has had a lasting impact on America’s ongoing effort to repair its racial inequities.
On January 22nd, TriMet hosted an in-person open house to show its progress on the 82nd Avenue Transit Project designs and gather feedback from attendees. TriMet reports nearly 100 people attended the event in the Community Hall Annex at Portland Community College’s Southeast campus. The public transit provider created an online version of the open house where people can provide additional feedback through February 14th.
Online visitors can find maps of the proposed route and station locations similar to the information presented at the in-person event. The map also shows station removals planned for the new bus rapid transit (BRT) line. TriMet will implement traffic-light signal-prioritization for buses and near-level boarding platforms with dual door entry and remove underutilized stops along the route to decrease travel times for future FX-Frequent Express service. TriMet also intends to work with the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) to use some percentage of outer lanes along 82nd Avenue for Business Access & Transit (BAT) uses. They would reserve a yet-to-be-determined length of lanes for bus travel and for cars turning into or out of a parking lot.
As with the FX line running on SE Division Street, this new service on 82nd Avenue will have bus stations instead of stops with shelters, seating, lighting, and digital displays informing waiting riders of the next bus’s arrival time. Busses will run more often with enhanced reliability, according to planner’s estimates. TriMet recently secured funding for a fleet of zero-emission hydrogen fuel-cell electric buses to operate on this line, reducing roadside noise and pollution.
TriMet expects to upgrade bus service on 82nd Avenue between Clackamas Town Center and the Cully neighborhood by 2029. This open house is the best time to provide input about the proposal. TriMet recently solicited public participation in an 82nd Avenue Transit Project Community Advisory Committee (CAC). Applications for the CAC closed on January 27th, but TriMet has not yet announced the selected members. The CAC engagement process will provide Portlanders other opportunities to interface with TriMet regarding the BRT’s development. However, the survey following the online Open House is still the most direct way to express feedback about this transit project.
TriMet will once again offer fare-free transportation for revelers heading out to celebrate the end of the year and will help get them home safe. Starting at 8 p.m. on New Year’s Eve, all MAX and bus trips are free until service ends early on New Year’s Day. For those outside the public transportation service area, the City of Portland has partnered with taxis, Uber, and Lyft to offer discounted rides.
For decades, TriMet has offered free rides to help people get home safely after ringing in the new year. This program removes the cost barrier to transit and extends service into the early hours of 2025 with more frequent trips. Most MAX lines run until 2 a.m. The MAX Blue, Green, Orange, and Yellow lines will run approximately every 30 minutes. MAX Red Line trains will operate on a weekday schedule, with the last westbound train leaving the Portland International Airport at 12:31 a.m. and the last eastbound train leaving the Hillsboro Airport/Fairgrounds Station at 10:34 p.m. Some MAX lines have later service but will not travel their entire route. Riders traveling near the MAX line may also take the late night/early morning bus service along MAX lines, which TriMet started last August. TriMet buses will run on Sunday schedules for New Year’s Day. TriMet will not operate the WES Commuter Rail on January 1st and close its call center and the Customer Support Center at Pioneer Courthouse Square. Trimet will require fare payment after 3 a.m. on New Year’s Day.
Image courtesy TriMet
If you miss your bus or train and need a ride, the Portland Bureau of Transportation’s Safe Ride Home program offers discounts to help. Starting at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, December 31st, people can use a discount code posted on the program’s website to save $10 on an Uber or Lyft ride in Portland. Revelers looking for a taxi ride can save $20 off that ride with a paper coupon available at participating locations throughout the city. Look for Safe Ride Home flyers at drinking establishments and then ask staff for a coupon. Broadway Cab, Flat Cab, PDX Yellow Cab, and Radio Cab will accept the coupons for rides originating in Portland during the program timeframe while supplies last. Discounted rides are not valid if started after 4 a.m. Wednesday, January 1st, 2025.
Image courtesy the City of Portland
People have many ways to celebrate the new year without driving, and it is best to have a plan to get home. However, if that plan falls apart, know your options and never drive impaired or ride with an impaired driver.
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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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.
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.
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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.
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Montavilla houses two higher education institutions within the neighborhood boundary, giving many residents quick access to expanded learning opportunities. Thanks to an August 25th service update from TriMet, residents have another option available to them. Riders can now take the Line 25 (Glisan/Troutdale Rd) bus from Gateway Transit Center directly to Mount Hood Community College.
TriMet Line 25 after August 2024 update
TriMet Line 25 before August 2024 update
Line 25 now offers daily service, with buses arriving every 30 minutes most of the day. TriMet extended the bus route as part of its ongoing Forward Together Revised Service Concept. This update nearly doubles the eastward reach of Line 25, serving student transit needs for Reynolds High School and Mt. Hood Community College, where the line terminates. The on-campus bus stop makes public transit a more straightforward solution for many community college students, and its connection to the MAX light rail system at the Gateway Transit Center ensures that many other people can take advantage of this commuting option.
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