L ar b om d SMITH AND BYBEE M WETLANDS NATURAL AREA arine Newberry PIER C COLUMBIA RIVER ol tland Expo Center PARK um b or ia P PORTLAND INTERNATIONAL Marine RACEWAY Delta Park/ F essenden Vanport Portland hns International Airport t Jo S idge Kenton/ MLK town Br German N Denver Lombar d N Lombard Transit Center Ai C r WILLAMETTE RIVER olum por bia Mt Hood Ave t Basin Rosa Parks Cascades Kaiser FOREST PARK West Union N Killingsworth Laidlaw Killingsworth COLUMBIA RIVER Cornelius Pass Parkrose/Sumner d Transit Center Evergreen th Yeon Ai N Prescott 82n rpor Marine 85 S ky t 1 BLUE LAKE l i NE PORTLAND Thompson n WESSt Helens COMMUTER RAILS REGIONAL PARK an e dy ncoe Evergreen Overlook MLK BIG FOUR CORNERS Gle e t Park NATURAL AREA hu th S any 5 d 1 r 24th Albina/ d t Beth 223 Cornell Mississippi 33r Sandy J o 1s Sandy C Orenco/NW 231st Ave orne Broadway rd ld ll a Interstate/ n H tfie NW PORTLAND NE 82nd FAIRVIEW is Hawthorn ornell Rose Quarter Halsey to Ha C Halsey 7th r Quatama/ i GovernmentHillsboro Center Central/ Farm 25 GLENN c SE 3rd Transit Center Fair Complex/ NW 205th Ave OTTO C TROUTDALE o Ba Gateway/NE 99th t WOOD seline s Main Hillsboro Airport l Rose Quarter u AUDUBON Transit Center 1 m SANCUTARIES NE 60th 8 VILLAGE / Transit Center Glisan 1 e b Oak 158th id d s tal T rn i u a r o B E 102nd Ave Glisan E 122nd Ave o d ngton/ o R es E 148th Ave E 162nd Ave E 181st Ave u w th Ave n t i r an v 2th d ashi 2 W 1th k a ty Hospi al r e 1 Murray B 1 li W k Stark a r o e G Rockwood/E 188th Ave Willow Creek/ r SE 1 l H ua o HILLSBORO Sunset e T w r SW 185th Ave Washingt E 172nd Ave Stark B Washington on SE 8th Ave Transit Center Stark y Transit Center Park H d Ruby Junction/E 197th Ave JACKSON BOTTOM awthorne MT TABOR SE Main PARK Burnside WETLANDS Merlo Rd/ 82n PRESERVE th T SW 158th Ave d u 85 alati 2nd n V 1 PSU alley Hwy Je 2 nd nkins th 1 50th 62n Cornelius Pass 82 1 Civic Drive Division 48 s ane l 1 l 1 TUALATIN HILLS i K NATURE PARK H Division r n a tto SE Division d Pa e Cesar Chavez C Gresham City Hall Cleveland Ave Tualatin Vall on SE 17th Powell ey Cany P Gresham Central Hwy MARQUAM & Rhine owell BackgroundNATURE PARK Transit Center Beaverton SE PORTLAND SE Powell SE 17th & Holgate R o Transit Center SE Holgate b 209th e P 229th r o Beaverton-Hill M t well Valley sdale Hwy M s A unique,aca historicc travel corridor L POWELL BUTTE Hogan o u NATURE PARK Lusted d g am h JENNE Allen l i n W oo Lents/SE Foster BUTTE During the past 70 years, the north-southdstock route ultimately chosen for the GRESHAM Orient on SE Bybee SPRINGWATER CORRIDOR y OAKS les a BOTTOM r B Farmington 170th O r ry WILDLIFE Hall r WES (Westside REFUGEExpress Service) Commuter Rail alignment has beena used for nd e r Mu b Multnomah a r 282 ls F a ur SE Flavel b BUTTES W r hol e e freightar service, but it was once home to two passenger lines. OregonNATURAL lc Electric B h TOWLE n Sc SE Tacoma/ AREA g M BUTTE e BEAVERTON d o Johnson Creek u WILLAMETTE R th n Johnson Creek t Scott NATIONAL Taylors 82n 90 Hall/Nimbus CEMETARY 1 Railway ran one set of tracks alongSPRINGWATER the alignment from Portland to Salem WILLAMETTE RIVER Mount Hood Capitol Taylors Ferry th Brockman Ferry RIVER VIEW CORRIDOR NATURAL 90 AREA 1 EAST Barbur Blvd BLISS COOPER Transit Centerin 1908 and later expanded service to Eugene.SE F uByller 1914, Oregonnd Electric had BUTTE MOUNTAIN 32 NATURE PARK 1 145th King Barbur Idleman 26 trains entering and departing Portland daily. The rise of the automobile,d 72n King 1 121st G Milwaukie/ MILWAUKIE th reen TRYON CREEK Main y nd b rr C h STATE 35 however,e diminished service and the railway discontinued passenger u K a t e F 1 rg r r s NATURAL AREA r 5 e n e 222 7 v o d e Clackamas Town Center 1 o i r 129th B s /H r w Transit Center service by 1933. e y HAPPY v 2 W i 12 alnut R Lake Harmony VALLEY lls Ferry Tigard Scho SE Park Sunnybrook Transit Center 82n S 9 MOUNT TALBERT unn DAMASCUS 7 ys Co d NATURE PARK ide K Inun 1918, Southern Pacific RailwayKellogg Creek also operated th “The Red Electric” TIGARD ru try Club Gaarde se Way Bull Mountain Johnson 2nd Lake Oswego 2 Bonita LAonKE the route. The steel trains were painted bright red and1 had Transit Center Thiessen OSWEGO W Clackamas-Boring e threeOSWEGO LAKEround porthole-like windows acrossb the front. At the height s s Carman McLoughlin t r e Hall ey r ge d Oa C f Ben Durham l o e McV Be Sou Carver/Hwy 212 a th Sh tfi Roots c R ore th k of operations, “The Red Electric”e ran 32 trains entering and r Boones Ferry l a e oy d 35 m 1 R a Jennifer nd s / COOK isigg H nnings 232 PARK w departing Portland everyday,Riv but serviceJe ended in 1929. Am e y W r 2 2 HERITAGE PINE illamett 82nd 4 NATURAL AREA Tualatin rive D r Today, Portland & Westerne Railroad owns the freighte line and, in a Cl TUALATIN RIVER GLADSTONE v a i c fic Hwy 4th ka NATIONAL ci R 2 m Pa a WILDLIFE REFUGE 1 s s/Hwy 224 Tualatin a groundbreaking agreement, provides contractm services to the commuter MARY S. YOUNG a NORTH LOGAN k TUALATIN STATE c CLACKAMAS RIVER NATURAL AREA RECREATION AREA la d C oo rail project that became WES. akers Ferry BARTON rw Sagert B PARK he t in- S J r t Tuala o h n we WEST l s Langer o E n LINN egon RIVER ISLAND Or 65th Transportation limits and pressures Holcomb Sp B rin o gw r at l e a Salamo r n Overd time, traditional travel patternsOregon City shifted in Washington County. Transit Center d SHERWOOD or Boones Ferry ta Sunset S Rather than living in the suburbs and commuting to work in Portland’s lls l l a i F Sc te H h t Redland downtownae core, a significantWillame numberORE GOofN people live and work within the C d e a d r CITY s a c L a I-5/Hwy 217Mou corridor. 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 From 1994 to 2000, the number ofd households in the corridor grew 34 percent l a COFFEE LAKE WILSONVILLE tr South E n CREEK e WETLANDS faster than the rest of the PortlandC region, while the number of jobs rose Bea v e WILLAMETTE rcr at a rate 55NARROWS percent faster than anywhere else in eethe region. Furthermore, FOREST k Wilsonville corridor employment is expected to increase more than 40 percent by 2025. At the same time, Washington County also is bound by geographic WES (Westside Express Service) constraints that restrict transportation options. Low mountains define the is a commuter rail line serving east and west sides of the corridor, and the Tualatin River and Fanno Creek Beaverton, Tigard, Tualatin run through the area. and Wilsonville. WES runs Collaborating for success every 30 minutes during Driven by the desire to improve transit options for residents and employees the weekday morning and in the heavily traveled corridor, local officials began to explore various afternoon rush hour. alternatives in 1996. Although the majority of the WES line uses existing freight alignment, a short section of new track was constructed on Lombard Avenue between Farmington Road and Beaverton Transit Center. State and local agencies simultaneously implemented planned An Oregon Electric passenger train on the alignment in the street improvements in order to limit duration early 20th century. of construction. Washington County and its eastern cities identified a Community outreach unique opportunity in the 100-year-old rail corridor, Construction crews minimized the impact of noise which was used primarily for freight transport. They and road closures to nearby businesses and residences. saw the potential to use this resource for adding a Advance notice of construction schedules and commuter rail line to serve four cities: Beaverton, schedule changes were provided to local jurisdictions, Tigard, Tualatin and Wilsonville. businesses and residences. Together with county leaders, the mayors of The project also worked to capitalize on the line’s Beaverton, Tigard, Tualatin, Wilsonville and Sherwood unique setting. Characterized by parklands, wetlands championed commuter rail. Working with Metro, and flood plains, the WES alignment takes riders TriMet and the Oregon Department of Transportation, through areas seldom seen by commuters. The the team launched a feasibility study to consider Tualatin River and Fanno Creek crisscross the route. commuter rail as a viable alternative. Then Oregon TriMet, the City of Tigard and Clean Water Services House member Tom Brian took a leadership role to partnered on an 11-acre wetland mitigation project secure funding for follow-up studies.