Portland Union Station Multimodal Conceptual Engineering Study Submitted to Portland Bureau of Transportation by IBI Group with LTK Engineering June 2009 This study is partially funded by the US Department of Transportation, Federal Transit Administration. IBI GROUP PORtlAND UNION STATION MultIMODAL CONceptuAL ENGINeeRING StuDY IBI Group is a multi-disciplinary consulting organization offering services in four areas of practice: Urban Land, Facilities, Transportation and Systems. We provide services from offices located strategically across the United States, Canada, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. JUNE 2009 www.ibigroup.com ii Table of Contents Executive Summary .................................................................................... ES-1 Chapter 1: Introduction .....................................................................................1 Introduction 1 Study Purpose 2 Previous Planning Efforts 2 Study Participants 2 Study Methodology 4 Chapter 2: Existing Conditions .........................................................................6 History and Character 6 Uses and Layout 7 Physical Conditions 9 Neighborhood 10 Transportation Conditions 14 Street Classification 24 Chapter 3: Future Transportation Conditions .................................................25 Introduction 25 Intercity Rail Requirements 26 Freight Railroad Requirements 28 Future Track Utilization at Portland Union Station 29 Terminal Capacity Requirements 31 Penetration of Local Transit into Union Station 37 Transit on Union Station Tracks – Summary 40 ADA Compliance 41 JUNE 2009 TAblE OF CONTENts iii IBI GROUP PORtlAND UNION STATION MultIMODAL CONceptuAL ENGINeeRING StuDY Chapter 4: Greyhound Relocation Study ........................................................43 Introduction 43 Current Conditions 43 Facility Requirements 44 Options Evaluated 45 Option 1A 46 Option 1B 48 Option 2A 50 Option 3 52 Preferred Alternative: 2A 54 Chapter 5: Precedents ....................................................................................55 Introduction 55 Stations in the Amtrak Cascades Corridor 56 New Multimodal Stations Incorporating Amtrak and Greyhound 57 Santa Fe Depot 58 Denver Union Station 60 Alvarado Transportation Center 62 Sacramento Valley Station 64 Summary 66 Chapter 6: Recommendations ........................................................................67 Physical Rehabilitation 68 Intercity Rail Track Capacity 68 Freight Operations 68 Other Rail Transit Modes 68 Greyhound/Intercity Bus Facility 69 Pedestrian Connectivity 69 Efficiency of Passenger Facilities 70 Other Transportation Enhancements 71 APPENDIX A: STREET CLASSIFICATION MAPS ...........................................73 APPENDIX B: TRACK UTILIZATION AT UNION STATION ..............................81 APPENDIX C: FEDERAL AND STATE RAILROAD REGULATIONS .................91 List of Figures ...............................................................................................101 JUNE 2009 TAblE OF CONTENts iv IBI GROUP PORtlAND UNION STATION MultIMODAL CONceptuAL ENGINeeRING StuDY Portland Union Station Multimodal Conceptual Engineering Study Study Highlights: Executive Summary • Evaluated long-term needs of Union Station to maintain its viability as a multimodal hub. Introduction and Study Purpose • Studied railside capacity needs in light This study examined the long-term needs of Portland’s of projected Amtrak Cascades and high historic Union Station to preserve and enhance its role speed rail growth. as a multimodal transportation hub. Union Station faces significant challenges and opportunities in light of future • Examined the feasibility of incorporating transportation services, infrastructure investment needs, light rail and streetcar modes into Union and its evolving urban environs. Station. • Identified opportunities for Greyhound The City of Portland Bureau of Transportation conducted terminal relocation near Union Station. this study in cooperation with: the Bureau of Planning and Sustainability; the Office of Management and Finance; the • Profiled historic multimodal terminals in the Portland Development Commission; Amtrak; Greyhound western U.S. and Canada as precedents for Bus Lines; the Oregon Department of Transportation future enhancements. (ODOT); Metro; TriMet; the Washington Department • Proposed strategies to preserve and of Transportation (WSDOT); and other partners. This enhance the multimodal character of study was partially funded by the US Department of historic Union Station. Transportation, Federal Transit Administration. Figure 1: Union Station. JUNE 2009 EXECUtiVE SUMMARY ES-1 IBI GROUP PORtlAND UNION STATION MultIMODAL CONceptuAL ENGINeeRING StuDY A Multimodal Gateway Built in 1896, Union Station is a Portland landmark and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is the oldest major passenger terminal on the West Coast and is the oldest of the grand “union” stations west of St. Louis. The station has five existing Union tracks and platforms, four of which are in regular use Station by Amtrak passenger and freight trains. In 2008 Union Station became the busiest passenger station in Amtrak’s northwestern Cascades corridor between Eugene, Portland, Seattle, and Vancouver, B.C. Two Amtrak long-distance routes, the Coast Starlight (Seattle-Los Angeles) and Empire Builder (Portland-Chicago), also serve Union Station daily. Reinstatement of a daily Pioneer service to Salt Lake City is under study. Portland Terminal Railroad Figure 2: current and future light rail (RED, YELLOW) and Company freight trains, providing local switching for streetcar lines (ORANGE, BLUE) at Union Station. Figure 3: Layout of Union Station and surrounding uses. JUNE 2009 EXECUtiVE SUMMARY ES-2 IBI GROUP PORtlAND UNION STATION MultIMODAL CONceptuAL ENGINeeRING StuDY Figure 4: Potential street cars and light rail alignments into Union Station face engineering challenges due to geometry, existing trackwork, and FRA regulatory issues. the Union Pacific and Burlington Northern Santa Fe Future Challenges and Opportunities railroads, share trackage through Union Station. Union Station faces significant challenges and Amtrak Thruway motorcoach services connect opportunities in the coming years: with scheduled train services at Union Station, as do intercity bus services to Central Oregon, • The aging terminal requires critical repairs to the Willamette Valley, and coastal communities. maintain safety and operability, including roof Greyhound bus connections throughout the West are repairs, seismic/structural upgrades, ADA available from the adjacent bus terminal. improvements, mechanical systems, and other repairs. Union Station has excellent regional transit • Unprecedented levels of federal investment connections due to its proximity to the Portland have been proposed for Amtrak intercity rail Transit Mall (TriMet bus and MAX light rail) as well as as well as the development of a new national existing and future Portland Streetcar lines. A 24-hour High Speed Rail network. This could hasten parking garage, taxis, pedicabs, bicycle amenities, the implementation of enhanced passenger rail car rentals, and nearby car sharing round out the services envisioned by ODOT and WSDOT for the modal options converging at Union Station. Cascades corridor. The Portland Transportation System Plan includes • The urban environs of Union Station are evolving policy language supporting the preservation of the as the area redevelops at higher densities. The multimodal character of this regional transportation challenge for Union Station is to maintain its hub. operational functionality while also contributing positively to the surrounding urban fabric. JUNE 2009 EXECUtiVE SUMMARY ES-3 IBI GROUP PORtlAND UNION STATION MultIMODAL CONceptuAL ENGINeeRING StuDY Future Transportation Conditions and Challenges of incorporating local rail transit modes into the tracks of Union Station include: permanent Requirements loss of terminal capacity for future intercity trains; Regional and state visions for the Cascades corridor complex alignment and trackwork issues in the could result in significant increases in intercity rail vicinity of existing MAX tracks for the Portland Mall; service in future years, particularly in light of federal and incursion into the restricted Amtrak platform/ initiatives to promote development of High Speed boarding area. Also, FRA restrictions on simultaneous Rail. use of tracks by compliant and non-compliant equipment may require an FRA waiver even if the The WSDOT Long-Range Plan for the Amtrak streetcar/light rail tracks are physically separated Cascades Corridor envisions up to 13 round trips per from the “general railroad system of transportation.” day between Portland and Seattle by 2023, up from 4 round trips presently. This is in addition to expanded service on the Portland-Eugene segment currently Greyhound Relocation to Union under study by ODOT. The state DOTs envision an Station “incrementalist” approach to “Higher Speed Rail” through capital project bundles that provide increase The current Greyhound intercity bus terminal adjacent service frequency and reduced travel times. to Union Station is oversized and functionally obsolete for Greyhound’s current and future needs. As currently envisioned, Union Station appears to The existing Greyhound parcel is also zoned for have adequate capacity to accommodate these significantly higher densities than its current use. future service levels, though operations becomes Because the proximity