Transportation in Portland, Oregon
[1] This approach, part of the new urbanism, promotes mixed-use and high-density development around light rail stops and transit centers, and the investment of the metropolitan area's share of federal tax dollars into multiple modes of transportation.
The bus and rail system is operated by TriMet, its name reflecting the three metropolitan area counties it serves (Multnomah, Clackamas, and Washington).
[4] Transit service between Portland and Vancouver, Washington, the second-largest city in the metropolitan area, is provided by C-Tran, with a small number of express routes.
Within the downtown area (the city center) is the Portland Transit Mall, a transit-priority corridor on which buses and light rail trains from many different parts of the region converge.
Tracks for light rail (MAX) were added, bus stops spaced farther apart, and the left lane opened to general traffic (but with right turns prohibited).
[5] To facilitate this major renovation and rebuilding, lasting more than two years, all bus routes using the mall were diverted to other streets (mainly 3rd and 4th avenues) starting in January 2007.
[6] The transit mall reopened to buses on May 24, 2009,[7] and operator training runs on the new light-rail tracks took place during the late spring and summer.
Horsecars took passengers across the river and steam trains took them further into the suburbs,[15] but both modes were soon replaced by electric streetcar lines, the first of which began operation on November 1, 1889, between St. Johns and Portland.
[17] Since September 2015, Portland's light rail system, named MAX (short for Metropolitan Area Express), consists of five color-coded lines: The Portland Streetcar is a two-line streetcar system serving the central part of Portland—downtown and the areas immediately surrounding downtown.
The system's first line opened in 2001 and, with later extensions, now follows a 3.9-mile (6.3 km) route[23] from Legacy Good Samaritan Medical Center at NW 23rd Avenue through inner-Northwest and Southwest, including the Pearl District and Portland State University, to the new South Waterfront neighborhood, where it connects to the Portland Aerial Tram.
[25] The federal share of funding for this $148-million project, a 3.3-mile (5.3 km) extension and fleet expansion,[25] was approved in April 2009,[26] and construction began in August 2009.
Rather than electric railcars like those of MAX, the line uses FRA-compliant diesel multiple units running on existing Portland and Western Railroad freight tracks.
The first rides open to the general public took place on Friday, January 30, 2009, and regular service began on Monday, February 2, 2009.
The average amount of time people spend commuting with public transit in Portland, OR, for example to and from work, on a weekday is 90 min.
[33] Approximately 8% of commuters bike to work in Portland, the highest proportion of any major U.S. city and about 10 times the national average.
A report done by the city shows that over 700,000[44] rides were taken during the pilot program and that scooters are equally dangerous to other transportation systems but that many riders did not follow the safety regulations such as wearing a helmet.
In response to some of the backlash around safety Portland instituted specific laws that apply to scooters, which include that all riders must wear a helmet, must be 16 or older, must not ride on the sidewalk or in city parks, and must yield to pedestrians.
Many are still concerned about inclusivity and disability access as well safety as all complaints about riders leaving or riding the scooters on the sidewalk and not wearing helmets will be dealt with by the private companies, not the city itself.
In June 2019, more than 50 scooters from various companies were pulled out of the Willamette River in Portland by a dive team from the Multnomah County Sheriff’s office.
Most streets on the east side are two-way, but there are a number of one-way pairs along major routes: Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
Bridges over the Willamette River, listed north to south: Bridges over the Columbia River, listed west to east: Long-distance passenger rail service to Portland is provided by Amtrak, the national passenger rail system, with trains stopping at Union Station.
The Cascades POINT provides daily service between Portland and Eugene, with stops at every Amtrak station in the Willamette Valley.
[52] The NorthWest POINT provides daily service between Portland and Astoria, with stops in several rural communities along U.S. Route 26 and towns along the Oregon Coast.
