Portland Day 3

Day 3 in Portland was a very busy one. I was hoping to attend one of the morning mobile workshops but they where all filled up but as it turned out I would have some personal business to take care of so it all worked out.

I started off by getting up very early and catching the first route 20 bus to the Beaverton Transit Center. My purpose in this early morning jaunt was to ride WES which is Tri-Mets new commuter rail system from Beaverton to Wilsonville which is the first true suburban to suburban commuter rail system (unless you want to count some of the Conneticut DOT shuttles such as Danbury but thier primary purspose is to connect up with the New Haven to New York commuter trains).

I could have caught the first train after my bus arrived but I wanted to get some OJ but despite the early morning time (6:00AM) there was a good crowd getting off the train and a few people getting back on.

I caught the train that left at 6:28AM. There was a fully seated load getting off and a few people getting on. There is only 3 mid route stations but most of the passengers would board at the last two of those stations which suprised me. By the time we arrived in Wilsonville there was a full seated load. The Wilsonville station is kind of isolated but it does have connecting bus service to the state capital of Salem so many may have been state workers.

WES operates with DMU's (Diesel Multiple Unit) cars made by the late Colorado Railcar. These are the only DMU's that meet the current Federal Guidlines to operate on regular rail lines and fortunately despite the demise of Colorado Railcar another company US Railcar is taking over production.

The WES maintenance facility is located next to the Wilsonville station and I could only see one spare DMU car along with two RDC cars which are 50+ year old DMU's that the private railroads used extensively with the decline of passenger rail service in the 50's and 60's.

Leaving Wilsonville for the trip back we had a half a car load seated which comprised mostly of women which is unusual for commuter rail. However, the numbers evened up by the next stop at which time we had standing room only conditions. There was one lady talking loudly to a couple of friends who took up two seats so no one else could sit down next to her and a guy behind me who I saw later at Railvolution who made it clear no one was going to sit next to him. Some people are just down right rude and very inconsiderate.

The train remained SRO until we arrived Beaverton. I will discuss in more detail WES once I am done traveling.

My first Mobile Workship of Railvolution was in the afternoon and was "Portland's Maturing Streetcar Neighborhood's" which discussed how the Pearl District and its surronding neighborhoods came to be and we had question and answer sessions with one of the architects, devolopers and business owners that made the streetcar and the neighborhood successful.

One of the biggest surprises was the developer responsible for making the Pearl District what is is today was actually a suburban developer originally that is now solely focused on urban development.

Once will do several articles in the coming weeks going into more detail of what I learn at Railvolution and how it can apply to other cities across the nation.

Goodbye 2008...

Image via WikipediaAs we leave 2008 and enter the New Year it is time to look back at one of the most important years in Utah transportation history.

Let’s look at some of the big stories of the year locally:

1. Construction started on not one, not two, not three, but four rail lines within a few short months. While many cities are still trying just to get rail off the ground, the Wasatch Front is quickly moving to having an outstanding rail system.

2. The opening of the Front Runner Commuter rail line and the extension of TRAX to Central Station. While in any other year this would rate as the news story, it took a back seat to the groundbreaking that took place this year.

On the national side there is so many stories that can be included I will just include the ones I think as most important:

1. Funding for transit projects were approved in multiple locations despite the state of the economy. This includes what could be America’s first high speed rail line in California if the Governor doesn’t steel the money for highways.

2. Opening of the Phoenix light rail system was also big news that just happened last week. Phoenix is a very auto oriented city so seeing it finally get its light rail system is a major victory to sensible transportation planning.

3. On a negative note, we lost one of the few US based rail car construction companies. Colorado Railcar shut down operations just last week after an extended period of financial problems. Colorado Railcar built excellent rail cars for such trains as the Rocky Mountaineer and was the only manufacturer of US spec DMU units. Hopefully

2009 will probably be a quiet year on the local front. While construction will continue on our new light and commuter rail lines, we only have the ground breaking of the Draper extension to look forward to in the New Year.

Meanwhile on the national front, we will see if the new administration will be anything different than the ones that came before it. So far we are not seeing many positive signs but by this time next year we will have a clear picture of what is to come.

Happy New Year to all my readers.

Blog Entries of Note...

Image via WikipediaFrom the Stephen Rees Blog comes:

Citta Slow

How walking, streetcars (trams), and bicycles will play an important roll in the future. We need to change our priorities to build our future.

Economy has builders eyeing a return to rental apartments

Interesting perspective on the rental laws in British Columbia and comparing them to the rather landlord friendly laws here in Utah.

From the Denver Infill Blog comes:

Lessons from Detroit

What lessons can be learned from the problems of Detroit? Detroit is the ultimate example of what happens when the urban core is abandoned in favor of automobile suburbs.

Both sides of my family comes from the Detroit area so I can attest to all the problems that Detroit has and it can be largely contributed to the abandonment of the urban core.

From the Xing Columbus Blog:

LEED-ND

Should a building built in a car dependent area be able to get LEED certification? Currently the answer is yes, but should it be?

From the Trains for America Blog:

Seattle Times: A coming rennaisance for intercity rail?

State politicians talking about HSR, but still directing stimulus towards roads

As I have stated before, I will believe we will have change in the philosophy in transportation when I see it happen. Too often there is more talk and little action.

From the Overhead Wire blog:

Prop 13 Hangover

Prop 13 which cut property taxes to existing homeowners has some unintended consequences which is discussed in those post.

Replay 10.16.07: Vienna's Ringstrasse

Great information about how Vienna's multi-modal transportation network is put together in the downtown area.

From Streetsblog.org:

Who’s Really Footing the Bill for Roads?

From the Seattle Transit Blog:

Colorado Railcar Gone: What is next?

Colorado Railcar who was the only builder of DMU's in the United States that built an FRA compliant self propelled rail vehicle has shut down operations.

Thank God For Walkable Neighborhoods

Especially when you live in Seattle and it gets on of its infrequent snow falls that shut down streets and highways.

From the Light Rail AZ Blog:

A "Grand" Opening, indeed

Yes, another Meca to the automobile has fallen to light rail. Phoenix opened their first light rail line last weekend with an estimated 90,000 people ridding that first day. Now maybe Phoenix can start rebuilding their downtown area and make it more livable.

From the Jacksonville Transit Blog:

PHOENIX GETS IT - FLORIDA DOESN'T

While Phoenix gets its light rail system up and running many cities in Florida are still behind the 8 ball.

From the Intermodality Blog:

A new streetcar era?

Explains the difference between streetcars and light rail.