D8O 9CL<C@E< KLIEJ),KLIEJ), 9CL<C@E< (0/-$)'(( 8L>%*(J<GK%(#)'(( B6M7ajZA^cZid<gZh]Vb WnVgi^hiBZadYnDlZc GFIKC8E;KI@9LE<:FDDLE@KPE<NJG8G<IJ 386361.083111 MBL 2 MAX BLUE LINE 25TH ANNIVERSARY > TriMet.org | AUGUST 31 & SEPTEMBER 1, 2011 Portland Tribune/Community Newspapers Expo Center Airport Portland N Hillsboro MAX Blue Line turns 25 Beaverton Gresham Milwaukie Clackamas What a transformation! Wilsonville Who would have thought that back in the 1970s, when the region said “no” to building an eight-lane freeway through Southeast Portland and instead said “yes” to build- ing light rail, that we would become the national leader on creating great communities with transit? In the 25 years since we opened the fi rst MAX line be- tween Portland and Gresham, we have seen neighborhoods created and enhanced along all of our light-rail lines. These are vibrant places to live, work and play. Since that original 15-mile line to Gresham, the MAX system has grown to 52 miles, serving all three counties in our region. Our fi ve MAX lines have been so successful that ridership continues to grow — now averaging more than 130,000 rides each weekday. And we continue to expand the system with our sixth line under construction — the Portland-Milwaukie Light Rail Project. We hear from our community that they want more — not just MAX, but also more bus service. Just last year our buses and trains carried more than 100 million rides! We also hear from cities around the country asking how they can replicate our success with light rail. Our success is founded on the commitment to work together to en- hance our communities. We couldn’t have accomplished this without the support of the communities we serve and the strong partnerships we’ve built over the past 25 years with: the cities of Beaverton, Gresh- am, Hillsboro, Milwaukie and Portland; Clackamas, Multnomah and Washington counties; Metro; Portland Development Commission; Oregon Department of Transportation; the Oregon Congressional Delegation and Oregon State Legislature; and the Federal Transit Administration. It’s been an amazing transformation to watch as this region has grown around the MAX system. I look forward to expanding and improving MAX and bus service in the years ahead. Working to- gether, think about what we can accomplish over the next 25 years. Thanks for riding! Neil McFarlane, TriMet General Manager Published by Publisher: J. Mark Garber Advertising Sales: Editorial department: Photography: Contributing Designers: Special thanks to: Community Newspapers Claudia Stewart, Kathy Schaub, Jeff Spiegel, Shannon Wells, Pamplin Media Group. Karl Deutsch, Dan Adams Mary Fetsch, Pam Wilson, and the Portland Tribune Marketing and Sales Vice Irene Pettengill, Lanette Bernards, Nancy Townsley, Cathy Siegner, Archive photos courtesy TriMet Carolyn Young, Drew Blevins President: J. Brian Monihan Laura Davis, Michael Beaird, Lauren Gold, Mara Stine, and the staff of TriMet Tamara Hollenbeck, Janet Peters, Christian Gaston, Stover Harger Advertising Design and 6605 S.E. Lake Road Advertising Director: Wendy Beyer, Beth Caldwell, III, Calvin Hall and Jim Redden Production: Cheryl Duval, Portland, OR Christine Moore Michael O’Shaughnessy, Chris Fowler, Debra Kirk-Rogers, Phone: 503-684-0360 Deanie Bush Photo Coordinator: Kathleen Riehl, Gail Park, COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS Fax: 503-620-3433 Art Direction & Design: Anni Tracy Cheryl Douglass, Kathy Welsh, Kevin Anspach Keith Klippstein, Valerie Clarke, PORTLAND TRIBUNE Dan Adams Portland Tribune/Community Newspapers AUGUST 31 & SEPTEMBER 1, 2011 | TriMet.org > MAX BLUE LINE 25TH ANNIVERSARY 3 The line that started it all After years of planning, MAX opened 25 years ago to a new dawn in transit By JEFF SPIEGEL set aside money for these type of projects, Pamplin Media Group but when Ronald Reagan was elected presi- dent, no one was sure quite how things U.S. News & World Report has dubbed would change. With the help of Feeney and Portland as one of the nation’s leaders in Sen. Mark Hatfi eld, however, any problems public transit, while Forbes magazine has were quickly solved. called this region’s public transportation “We were getting 92 percent of the fund- system “one of the most progressive mass ing from the federal government,” Feeney transit systems in the country.” recalls, “and in 1979 we went down to the But such accolades didn’t always come state Legislature wanting them to give us Portland’s way — because up until 25 years some, but we needed to get a vote fi rst. Un- ago the entire transit system was built fortunately, the representative from Gresh- around buses. The rail transformation that am and Troutdale wouldn’t declare himself followed was made possible when a few key one way or the other until he got an idea of leaders raised their hands with the idea of a how the people in Gresham wanted him to light rail train. go.” The story begins around 1976, when Port- To test community sentiment, the editor land-area leaders recognized that three sub- at the Gresham Outlook suggested to the regions within the metropolitan area all legislator that a mail-in poll be placed in that needed a public transportation overhaul. week’s paper. The three subregions were the eastside, the “We heard about that and we went crazy westside and the Oregon City area, but it because a mail-back poll isn’t scientifi cally quickly became clear that in order to pay for accurate,” Feeney said, “and then we found a project with federal funds, the region out that people who were opposed to us would need to choose one area to focus on. were going down to the newsstands and get- While all this was taking place, the east- ting all the copies that they could fi nd to side of Portland was also in the planning send back in. So I gave $100 to two people stages to build the Mount Hood Freeway who work for Multnomah County and I told from Portland out to 102nd Avenue along them to buy all the papers they could, be- Powell Boulevard. But the communities in cause I fi gured, we have no choice but to southeast Portland were opposed to the idea play this game too.” of a new freeway running through their ar- As word spread about the poll, papers be- ea, and plans for the freeway fell apart. Many gan to fl y off the shelf, to the point where people now would say that was a blessing in students from Mt. Hood Community College disguise. called the editor to ask if they could photo- With the freeway plan abandoned, the dis- copy the poll to mail back in. At this point, cussion began to focus on how to revamp the the editor had enough, and realized that the public transportation system to serve Port- poll needed to be done right. land’s eastside. The Outlook decided that the best way to “The goal was to increase ridership to and gauge community feelings was to hire an from downtown effi ciently without damag- agency to do the research. Thousands of dol- ing the environment, while also supporting lars and hundreds of votes later, the results regional environmental and land use policy, were in and 57 percent of residents wanted so light rail was pretty clearly the decision” the light rail system — and the representa- Bob Post, a TriMet project manager at the tive voted accordingly. time, said. Once the funding was in place, the next While the environment was the biggest The opening days of the MAX train in 1986 drew crowds of people who were curious about this new issue was the line’s exact location. Accord- key, the project’s developers also were more mode of transportation. PHOTO COURTESY TRIMET ing to Post, the federal government wanted concerned with the cost per rider than they the line to run along Division Street, but that were about any initial costs. And it became with a European-style system that would where. path didn’t make sense to local planners. clear that the cost per rider on a light rail run from downtown Portland all the way “Dick Feeney was largely responsible for “East of I-205, Division was slated to be a train was far less than that of buses. This into Gresham, and the attention quickly getting this done,” Roger Martin, the execu- primary arterial, but inside of I-205, it was remains true today: In June of 2011, the cost shifted to how to fund it. tive director of the Oregon Transit Associa- far less so than Powell was,” Post said. “Plus to TriMet of one rider on the MAX was just To lobby state government, the Oregon tion, said, “because not only was he spear- there were major water lines underneath $1.58, while a single bus rider costs the agen- Transportation Association hired Dick heading the efforts in Salem, but he was do- Division.” cy an average of $2.94. Feeney, a lobbyist with a background in ing the same thing at the federal level.” The solution was to run the line along So the decision was made to move ahead politics, to take its case to Salem and else- At the time, President Jimmy Carter had Burnside, which bisected growth areas and 4 MAX BLUE LINE 25TH ANNIVERSARY > TriMet.org | AUGUST 31 & SEPTEMBER 1, 2011 Portland Tribune/Community Newspapers also happened to have ample space. This “So the contract fi nally arrived and the idea, however, then brought about the de- highway didn’t show up on it, which was a bate about where the line would end within big portion of the total funding,” Feeney Gresham.