BANFIELD LIGHT RAIL EASTSIDE MAX BLUE LINE

Background alternative transit scenarios for a busway, carpool/ bus (HOV) lanes, low-cost road improvements and Breaking the mold “no-build.” As the study progressed the community In 1975, the region adopted an Interim Transportation asked that light rail be added as an alternative. In Plan, rejecting previous plans for 54 new highway 1979 light rail was selected by the community and projects at a cost of $2 billion (in 1969 dollars). The participating jurisdictions. Federal approval followed

new plan proposed modest roadway projects and a in 1980, making it one of the first federally funded

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r a b m o network of transitways along major travel corridors light rail projects.

d to meet future demand. By 1976 the Banfield Freeway U.S. Senator Mark Hatfield turned the first spade SMITH AND BYBEE M corridor was selected as the top priority. WETLANDS NATURAL AREA arine of dirt for the Ruby Junction Maintenance Facility The Oregon Department of Transportation asked in 1982, declaring that effective transit in the

Newberry PIER Co Expo Center the federal governmentCOLUMBIA RIVER to transfer funds under the PARK lu tland cities should be as much a national priority as m or b P ia 1973 Federal Aid Highway Act from the Mt. Hood the Interstate Highway system. Later that year, PORTLAND N PORTLAND INTERNATIONAL Marine RACEWAY Delta Park/Freeway project to the Banfield. The City of Portland construction of the trackway began in Gresham. Fe ssenden Vanport and Multnomah County had rejected the freeway Portland In September 1986, the Eastside MAX line opened hns Jo International Airport St dge project in 1974 after public outcry over destruction of i Kenton/ MLK town Br for revenue service as one of only three light rail German N Denver Lombar neighborhoods and its expected cost. Many remember d N Lombard systems in the country. Transitits Center defeat and the Interim Transportation Plan as a C Air WILLAMETTE RIVER olum por bi Mt Hood Ave t After the Westside extension opened in 1998, the benchmark in Portland’sa evolution toward a new kind Basin Rosa Parks Cascades entire MAX line stretched 33 miles from Hillsboro Kaiser FOREST PARK of American urban planning and civic development. West Union N Killingsworth and Beaverton in the west, through downtown and Laidlaw Killingsworth COLUMBIA RIVER Cornelius Pass The move to light rail Parkrose/Sumner out to Gresham in the east. When the Airport MAX

d Transit Center Evergreen th Yeon Ai N Prescott 82n rpor Marine 85 S Originally the Banfield was conceived as a bus Red Line extension opened in 2001, the Eastside/ ky t 1 BLUE LAKE l i NE PORTLAND Thompson n St Helens San REGIONAL PARK e dy ncoe Evergreen transitway. A Banfield Transitway Study compared Westside line was renamed MAX Blue Line. Overlook MLK BIG FOUR CORNERS

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CITY s a c L a Mou McLoughlin Mo NEWELL d Ba s ntain CREEK e k l e e a CANYON c t ll le fi r e CANEMAH ap ci P WILLAMETTE RIVERBLUFF a M a L P d t el n in an o P l d a COFFEE LAKE WILSONVILLE tr South E n CREEK e WETLANDS C Bea v e WILLAMETTE rcr NARROWS ee FOREST k Wilsonville Design highlights New territory In 1979, modern light rail was still a new and largely untried concept in the U.S. TriMet assembled an in-house staff to learn light rail technology, and then managed the project with the assistance of engineering design consultants. The project needed to draw on the best practices in the U.S. as well as Europe—where most of the expertise in light rail resided at that time. The entire Banfield project consisted of widening five miles of the Banfield Freeway (I-84) from four to six lanes, and constructing a 15-mile light rail line from Gateway Transit Center provides light rail and bus Gresham to Downtown Portland. service and is adjacent to the Oregon Clinic, a transit-oriented development. Traffic preempt system Early on, TriMet adopted a design policy that trains should only stop at stations, and traffic crossings should be preempted whenever possible to prevent trains from being mired in traffic delays. Pedestrian safety The construction of the light rail median on Burnside Street created a pedestrian barrier through some neighborhoods. Between NE 197th and NE 97th avenues, 13 uncontrolled pedestrian “zee” crossings were installed, the first modern application of this simple concept. The design forces pedestrians to slow down and take notice as they approach a crossing. Gateway Gateway Transit Center in east Portland is a major bus/ rail transfer point and the midpoint of the line. Trains, buses and pedestrian crossings were built at grade, on one level. This design was cost effective and more comfortable for transit riders. The MAX Red Line to the airport and MAX Green Line to Clackamas County and Downtown Portland also stop here.

Downtown The Steel Bridge allows the MAX Blue Line, as well as the The final segment of the Eastside of the MAX Blue Line Red, Yellow and Green lines, to travel over the Willamette was built on reserved lanes through about two miles River, serving as the major light rail connector between the of the Downtown Portland core, with a turn-back loop metropolitan region’s east and west halves. at SW 11th Avenue. From SW 1st Avenue, the line splits Fares onto one-way streets, running west in the direction TriMet uses fareboxes to collect fares on the bus of traffic on Morrison Street and returning east on system. With light rail, TriMet became a pioneer in Yamhill Street. Traffic operation allows the trains to self-service fare collection requiring proof of run unimpeded from the station using the existing payment—a concept that has since become virtually downtown traffic signal progression. As a result, standard on new light rail systems. trains have almost no effect on cross traffic—a vital consideration with some 300 trains a day running Accessibility each way through downtown. The Eastside MAX line was built with lifts mounted on the platforms to accommodate passengers with Technical Highlights wheelchairs. This design was chosen to ensure trains Vehicles could continue to operate if a lift failed. When low- floor cars were introduced as part of the Westside line, In 1980, TriMet placed an order for 26 light rail vehicles these lifts were removed. from Bombardier, based on a design used in Belgium and Rio de Janeiro. These were conventional, six-axle, articulated cars with steps at each door. Steel Bridge The massive Steel Bridge is one of America’s great monuments to the railroad era. It carries Union Pacific rail tracks and a multi-use path on the lower level, and two traffic lanes and two light rail trackways on the upper level. Both levels can lift to allow Each MAX light rail vehicle has four accessible areas for ships to pass, either the seniors and riders using mobility devices. lower level alone or both at once. The light rail Transit-oriented development overhead system moves The Eastside MAX Blue Line was built mostly through out of the way when the existing neighborhoods and has proven a catalyst bridge opens, copying for redevelopment and infill projects along its route. the method originally Billions of dollars in development has occurred along installed in 1912 for the entire Eastside MAX line, with development Portland’s first streetcars. activity greatest in Downtown Portland and the The west approach to neighboring Lloyd District. Eastside MAX and the Steel Bridge features subsequent MAX lines have played an important role a brief seven percent in revitalizing the city center. Virtually every parcel of grade, the steepest vacant land adjacent to MAX has changed hands, been on the MAX system. developed or had development plans announced. Expo Center Airport

WILLAMETTE RIVER

Pioneer Square Hillsboro

Gresham PSU Beaverton Clackamas Town Center Milwaukie Wilsonville Snapshots Travel times • Downtown Portland (Pioneer Square) to Gateway Timeline Transit Center 25 minutes • 1979 Local community and jurisdiction approval • Gateway to Gresham end of line 22 minutes • 1980 Federal approval • Downtown to Gresham end of line 47 minutes • March 1982–August 1986 Construction Bus connections • September 1986 Opened Includes 45 connections with TriMet bus lines along Annual ridership (entire MAX Blue Line) the Eastside alignment, as well as with numerous bus

23 lines downtown. Also connects to the C-TRAN bus to Vancouver, Washington.

21 Funding Total: $214 million

19 $10.9 million 18.9 million Local rides in FY15 $178.3 million

in millions of rides, per year in millions of rides, Federal 17 FY05 FY10 FY15

Frequency $24.8 million State Approximately every 15 minutes during peak hours; approximately every 35 minutes during early morning Widening the Banfield Freeway (I-84) cost $107 million, and nighttime service. and constructing the light rail line cost $214 million. Facilities Federal funds covered 83 percent of the project; state • Length 15 miles (MAX Blue Line: 33 miles total) and local funds paid 17 percent. Federal dollars came largely from the allocation of funds slated for the Stations 31 • halted Mt. Hood Freeway project and investing in • Park & Rides 4, with nearly 1,670 spaces transit and smaller road projects. • Parking garages 2, with more than 1,230 spaces • Maintenance facility Ruby Junction Available in other formats

Eastside MAX Tour Fact Sheet / July 2016