Trimet Parkrose/Sumner Transit Station - The good, bad and ugly

During my recent trip to the Portland International Airport for a trip to Los Angles, I took pictures of the three Red Line stations that only serve the Red Line to the airport. Unfortunately I was using a borrowed point and shoot which did not have the quality of my DSLR but the pictures will have to do. For these stations along with many others I plan to photograph soon, I will document what the existing conditions are, what the zoning is, what the plus and minuses of the station are, and what can be done from an urban design standpoint to make the station a better place now and in the future.

First up is the Parkrose/Sumner Transit Center which is the perfect example of why freeway based rail transit stations just don't work especially when all the conditions this one faces. That is not to say it is not a popular transit hub as it does serve several important bus lines but because of the freeway location will never be all it could be.

3 Day Transit Only Trip to Los Angeles

A job interview in Los Angeles on December 20th meant I had to travel down there and get around the city. My choice was to use transit and avoid the use of a car for the entire trip. I could have taken Amtrak from Portland and it would have been about $50 cheaper than flying if I had to pay but I cashed in my frequent flyer miles and got a free round trip ticket to Los Angeles which included a free upgrade to first class on the trip back – bonus! My first preference would have been to fly into Burbank which is more convenient and has better transit access but it would have been 15,000 more miles for the ticket which is beyond what I had or wanted to spend so LAX would be the spot I flew into.

Red Line Train Arriving At Pioneer Courthouse Square with Siemens S70 cars

Portland Day 1

This blog is being made from the city of Portland, Oregon as I spend a couple of days in the city before attending Railvolution which starts on Monday.

The entire time I am in Portland I will be using Tri-Met bus and rail service to get along. I wish I could say that the trip started on transit but I needed to be at the Salt Lake airport at 6:30am and that is an hour before the first UTA route 550 gets to the airport so I had to use the Express shuttle to reach the airport. Hopefully once TRAX is operating they will have earlier service for those taking those first flights of the morning.

After arriving in Portland I made the short walk over the the MAX station which is located near the baggage claim area of the airport terminal. It has been 6 years since I was last on the Red Line from the airport and there has been many changes. Back then the train didn't allow passengers off at the Mt Hood station, but today there has been a large amount of development along the line, sadly much of it auto centric such as IKEA and Target but there is also some hotels locating along the line and promoting their access to MAX.

At the Gateway Transit Center I transferred to the Green Line since it is the only MAX line I have not ridden. The train I caught from Gateway came from the Ruby Junction carhouse on the far end of Blue Line in Gresham so there was not many passengers.

The Green Line epitomizes why freeway transit lines don't work well. Except for the SE Main station which serves Mall 205 which is also an auto centric shopping center, most of the stations are difficult to reach and have difficult access from street level. The one exception is the SE Flavel station which is at street level and has bus service directly in front of it. However, the most of the high density residential development in the area is actually located on the opposite side of the freeway from MAX with the freeway creating its usual wall between neighborhoods.

The final station is at the Clackamas Town Center Mall. However, to reach the mall you have to pass a multi story parking garage which also houses the bus stops of the transit center and then the main mall parking. Once again the transit center is on the mall property but does not integrate with the mall. Hopefully over time mall management will see the opportunity of blending the mall with the transit station.

I then headed into downtown Portland on the Green Line while I had been down the transit mall in a bus a few years ago, today I rode light rail down the famous transit mall. I was hoping to ride the new Siemens S series cars that Portland has and will soon be in service for UTA but every train I rode had the older Siemens low floor cars.

I also had the opportunity to ride the Portland streetcar on the short stretch that I have not previously rode from Riverplace to the current end of the line at SW Lowell. I was hoping to ride the Willamette Shore Trolley along the proposed route of the Lake Oswego Rapid Streetcar but their website said they have mechanical problems that will have it out of service until sometime in December.

I also shopped at the Safeway Store at Jefferson and 10th which is on the streetcar line. This store is actually a pedestrian friendly store. Despite what Kroger says, a pedestrian friendly store can be built and be successful.

Portland is an outstanding town to explore by transit and by foot and I will be doing more of that tomorrow.

Branding

Image via Wikipedia

While I don't always agree with Jarrett over at the Human Transit Blog one of the things he will often bring up that I 100% agree with is the importance of branding. It seems that many transit systems especially here in the United States does a poor job of branding its transit service. Here in Utah, UTA does have TRAX and MAX but overall has not done a good job of branding its service.

Even UTA's much talked about BRT project is not branded very well. Sure it has special bus stop shelters and buses but there is little to set it apart from regular bus service. Even the controversial Van Hool buses have the basic paint scheme with just some wrapping added to make it stand out. Not only do the buses not stand out but UTA is not keeping them to the MAX line exclusively. One of the ten Van Hools has been assigned to the 220 on a regular basis.

Now if it was a break down replacement I could somewhat see (but then again how many other non-Van Hool buses UTA has?) but this bus has been assigned for some time. I have seen it on the route for more than 3 weeks so clearly they are not keeping them exclusively to the MAX line.

For most transit agencies you cannot tell one bus route from another beyond the route number. After Metro in Los Angeles started up Metro Rapid they started painting Rapid buses in Red, Local buses in Orange and the few express routes they have left in Blue. This allows the Rapid buses to have their own identity and clearly set them apart from every other bus in the system. Metro does seem to do a pretty good job of keeping the buses to where they belong but when shortages do occur you may see a Rapid bus on a local line and local bus on Rapid.

So how could UTA do a better job of branding its service?

Since the investment has been made in BRT, the buses assigned to those routes need to have their own identity. The buses should have their own paint scheme and except in emergencies stay on their own route.

UTA also has a large number of MCI commuter cruisers now in the fleet. While Front Runner will reduce the need for these buses in some places, there is also opportunities to expand these service to new areas (such as the Park City proposal). Once again the commuter cruisers could be painted in its own scheme and create its own brand such as "Regional Connector" or something like that.

While UTA has done a somewhat adequate job when it comes to its 15-minute service with its system maps and bus stop signs, more can be done. To make those routes stand out even more from a marketing perspective you have a special paint scheme and special bus stop signs.

There is many opportunities for transit services across the country to better brand themselves and create brands within their identity.

A few hours on UTA and some upcoming articles

Yesterday I had a few hours to kill so I naturally decided to spend some time riding TRAX and some UTA buses.

First of all I started by walking to the Meadowbrook TRAX station from the area around 4000 South and State. A few days ago I made some comments about the new development going in south of 3900 South and I pointed out some of the problems current facing the complex. Well I discovered another one. There is no sidewalk currently on the south side of 3900 South from West Temple to Main.

In fact the southwest corner of Main and 3900 is a death trap. There is no way for cars trying to turn right onto Main or even going straight to see a pedestrian that is trying to cross the street from that point. I did it and lived to tell about it but this is another reason that I do not see that new development being a true TOD development.

Once I got to the station I decided to take the first train that came along and that was a University to Sandy train with two of the ex-San Jose UTDC/Bombardier light rail vehicles. The car I rode in was squeaking really bad but hopefully these will be replaced by the new S70 cars next year.

I didn't mention it in my article on TOD but the new development at the former Smith's store at 7800 South and State is another example of TAD. It is playing on the fact that it is near a TRAX station but the development is clearly auto centric and because of the lack of amenities nearby (except of an excellent burger joint and a couple of restaurants) will do nothing to decrease car trips.

After arriving at the Sandy Civic Center Station the train went out of service and since the only bus in sight was the 811 and I didn't feel like heading to Utah County, I hopped the northbound train to Central Station.

The new TRAX Express concession building is nearly complete at the Sandy Civic Center Station. Hopefully this will prove to be a success since so many TRAX stations are far conveniences. I also noted that there has been a lot of progress in the last couple of weeks at the 6200 South TRAX station where the new Mid Jordan line will tie in with the existing line. I also noted that the turnouts for the West Valley line have been put in.

I took TRAX all the way to central station and decided to walk over to the bus area and catch the first bus that came along. The first thing I have noticed is that a shelter has been installed over the bus boarding area. Not a real bus shelter but one of those canvas shelters used when camping and for outdoor parties and such. I am sure that bus riders will not mind having some shade from the hot summer days.

The first bus boarding as I approached the bus area was a 217 but there was a large number of people getting on so I waited for the bus behind it which was the 240 and jumped on it. This is the first time that I had the chance to ride this route since it was created during the bus realignment.

There was no one on board as we left central station and only person other person boarded before we jumped on the freeway and headed to Redwood Road. By the time the bus turned onto Decker Lake Blvd the driver was running a couple of minutes early so we sat and waited for time. We were riding in one of the oldest buses currently in the UTA fleet, a 1997 Gillig Phantom. While the bus may be older, it still is holding up better than the low floor buses that will soon replace this one.

In fact, once the 1996 and 1997 Gillig Phantoms are retired UTA will basically have an all low floor bus fleet except for the MCI Commuter Cruisers. While I know low floor buses make it easier for people with disabilities get on and off, I still dislike how much seating capacity goes down with a low floor and the quality just doesn't seem to stack up.

I decided since I had not had the opportunity to ride MAX since the bus lanes open I would give it a shot. The other person on the bus got off along 3100 South giving me a bus to myself for a few blocks. However, that would not have lasted long if I didn't get off at 3500 South since there was a fairly good crowd getting on when I disembarked.

I walked over to the MAX stop and waited for the bus to come. After about a 8 minute wait I boarded Van Hool bus number 09104 with a couple of other passengers. With the lack of seating capacity on the Van Hool's it doesn't take much of a crowd to fill up the seating capacity but I had no problem finding a seat on the left had side of the bus.

After crossing Bangerter Highway the bus enters the new bus lanes. While the lanes made have saved a couple of minutes, all the time saved was loss as the bus had to wait in an attempt to cross the road in order to turn right onto 2700 West. After making a loop pass the future TRAX station we headed toward to Millcreek TRAX station.

People who read this blog often know that I am not a fan of BRT or as I call it Badly Repackaged Transit. This is especially true of MAX which is supposed to have off bus fare collection but few use it, the bus lanes save little time, there is no next bus information, and

I once again boarded the first TRAX came that came along which was once again heading toward downtown. I was getting hungry at this point so I decided to head to the City Creek Center's Food Court and see what was available there.

Among the choices were: Red Iguana, Bocata, Sbarro, Suki Hana, Great Steak, Chang Chun, and McDonald's. Soon there will also abe a Roxberry's and Subway. Except for the Red Iguana its pretty much standard sub par mall offerings but I was in the mood for Chinese so I tried Chang Chun. The food was good and the price reasonable so I can't complain.

I then boarded a TRAX train back to 3900 South that ended my journey for the day.

Today I also took a shorter trip in order to head to a function I had to attended at 6:00pm so I rode the 213 and caught a northbound TRAX train.

There was a fairly good load on the 213 with a number of people getting on and off along the way. In fact I believe we stopped at every single stop along the 1000 east stretch of the route. You have to wonder if BRT is started along 1300 East how much the 213 would be cut back and how it would affect service along the route.

I then rode TRAX to the Murray Central TRAX station. The car I rode in seemed to have a flat spotted wheel as it had a distinct thumb while moving. I had to walk to Vine then over to 300 West then south toward 5300 South to reach my destination. As I have pointed out in the past, Murray has done little to connect both sides of the tracks so to speak in this area.

You have the new developments on the east side including the IHC Death Star as many people call it which was poorly designed to and doesn't integrate well with the TRAX station. Then you have the 300 West corridor on the far side of the UP and future Front Runner tracks that have not been given easy access to the TRAX station. Hopefully as the station becomes an even more important transportation hub with the addition of Front Runner South, Murray will see fit to blend the areas together and make access easier.

I also wanted to give you a heads up on some article ideas I am working on. I will guarantee how fast each individual article will be put on the blog but keep an eye out.

Among the ideas rolling around up in my head:

• Why the streetcar may be downtown Bountiful's only hope.
• Googleize UTA's Website
  
• What High Speed Rail means to us
  
• The importance of mixed use
• Real Estate and the Free Market Myth
• How much does it cost to drive?
  

So there is a preview of future articles plus several others I have on the burner.

UTA Announcement

Image via Wikipedia

Today at the regular monthly meeting of the UTA board of trustees, the UTA board unanimously passed a resolution approving the appointments of John Inglish as chief executive officer, Michael Allegra as general manager, and Bruce Jones as general council and president of government resources.

Prior to discussion on the resolution, UTA Board Chair Larry Ellertson shared a statement addressing the process and the appointments. Mr. Ellertson’s statement is attached.



Also during the board meeting, acting general manager Michael Allegra discussed the 2010 budget situation. He described the actions the agency has already taken to address the reduced sales tax revenues resulting from the recession and additional steps that may be taken in the future. A summary of his budget update is also attached.



Both of these documents were shared with the public and media who attended board meeting. They have also been posted to the UTA website. If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact me at your convenience.



Regards,



Gerry Carpenter

UTA Media Relations/Spokesman



April 28, 2010
To: UTA Board of Trustees
FR: Michael Allegra – Acting General Manager
RE: 2010 Budget & Economic Update

The impacts of the economic recession continue to be unprecedented. The economic challenges that
began in 2008 have resulted in fluctuating, unpredictable fuel prices and a dramatic loss in sales tax
revenues. Government entities have been forced to cut back here in Utah and across the country.


The transit industry is not immune: a recent survey by the American Public Transportation Association
(APTA) revealed that 84% of transit agencies are suffering from revenue shortfalls and are raising fares
and/or cutting service.

UTA has faced the same economic challenges over the past two years, experiencing a significant drop
in sales tax revenues and higher, fluctuating fuel prices. At the same time, we have successfully
opened several major projects including FrontRunner from Ogden to Salt Lake, the TRAX extension to
Salt Lake Central Station, MAX bus rapid transit on 3500 South, and more. And the FrontLines 2015
program, now more than 50% complete, is ahead of schedule and under budget.

Sales Tax Revenues
Sales tax revenues are UTA’s primary source of funding for the operating budget. Over the past two
years, anticipated sales tax revenues have dropped by almost $40 million.
Budgeted Sales Tax Actual Sales Tax
2008 $208,251,000 $188,547,000
2009 $195,690,000 $171,854,000
2010 $174,470,000 down $1.0 million in January

The drop in sales tax revenues has a significant impact on UTA’s short-term and long-term budget
planning. The approximate $40 million lost in the past few years translates into $100 million lost by
2015 and upwards of $2-3 billion lost over 30 years.
Considering the drop in sales tax revenues and the revised growth projections, it’s as if the 2006 Salt
Lake referendum never happened. The new revenue from the 2006 ballot initiative has essentially
been negated, yet we are striving to maintain our current system and open 70 miles of new rail by
2015.

Balancing the 2010 Budget
As work on the 2010 budget began last fall, sales tax revenues were continuing to drop and it was clear
that additional budget cuts would be necessary. UTA staff, in consultation with the Board, moved
forward with a strategic approach to find equitable and balanced savings in 1) increased management
efficiencies, 2) employee compensation and staffing, and 3) service and/or fare adjustments.
The 2010 operating budget adopted by the Board of Trustees is $181.8 million dollars, and includes
$8 million in identified and $3.0 million in “unidentified savings,” for a total reduction of $11 million.
Since the Board adopted the budget last December, staff has been monitoring the economic factors
and evaluating options for finding these additional savings. Many of these measures were previously
identified and have already been implemented; others are being implemented at this time.

The following graph and supporting information shows the breakdown of the $11.0 million in
operating budget reductions. It demonstrates that:
• 71% of savings have come from reducing employee compensation/expenses and
increasing management efficiencies
• Only 29% has come from service reductions that have impacted riders
• UTA has not implemented a fare increase due to the loss in sales tax revenues

EMPLOYEE COMPENSATION & EXPENSES: approximately $3.6 million saved
- Wage Freeze: no pay increases in 2010.
- Retirement: UTA’s contribution to employees’ deferred compensation retirement cut by 50%.
- Performance Incentive: Program suspended for 2010. Employees achieved 98% of the 2009 goals
established by the Board.
- Health Insurance: Plan for 2010-2011 includes higher premiums and reduced benefits for employees
- Efficiency Review: UTA will be making approximately 30 staff reductions as part of an organizational
structure and staffing efficiency review we have been conducting with an external consultant.

That
process is almost complete, and we expect to implement these reductions in the next 1-2 weeks. We
are not providing more specifics at this time out of respect for the employees who will be affected.
* UTA employees at all levels have shouldered much of the burden through the economic downturn.
These measures represent a notable decrease in employees’ take home pay and compensation.


MANAGEMENT EFFICIENCES: approximately $4.2 million saved
- Hiring Freeze: More than 70 positions have been eliminated through vacancies/attrition to date.
The hiring freeze is still in effect and all vacant positions must come to the executive group for review
- Training/Travel: Reduced by 50% agency-wide
- General Reductions: Across-the-board budget reductions applied to all departments
- Other Operational Efficiencies: internal task teams have studied and are now implementing several
initiatives to save money. These include: consolidation of radio centers; reducing TRAX and
FrontRunner “layover” time; delaying the service vehicle replacement schedule; using contracted
services where appropriate; streamlining the operations run cut process

SERVICE ADJUSTMENTS: approximately $3.2 million saved
- Holidays: Added two holidays without service in 2010 - Memorial Day and Labor Day
- Rail Service Adjustments:
- Reduced weekend and late night service on TRAX in December 2009
- Reduced mid-day TRAX and FrontRunner service in April 2010
- Bus Service Adjustments:
- Adjustments to specific routes and trips implemented throughout 2009
- Reductions to specific routes and trips, and reductions to Saturday service in

April 2010
- Service Improvements: service has been reduced in some areas, but improved in others
- Added routes and increased service on several routes, such as the Flex routes
- Increased bus connections downtown from Salt Lake Central Station – the “2 to the U”
- In response to public comments, UTA maintained service on Route 472

* Service adjustments have been focused on off-peak, lower ridership and parallel service to minimize
impacts to riders as much as possible.
* Changes to paratransit services have been implemented over the past several months, reflecting the
public hearing process conducted last summer and the final plans subsequently adopted by the Board
of Trustees. The savings achieved in paratransit services have been leveraged with federal funding
programs to implement seven new flexible bus routes throughout UTA’s service area.
4
Reductions in Capital Program
In addition to the operating budget, the capital program has not been immune to budget cuts. As we
have evaluated the FrontLines 2015 program and other capital expenditures, we have identified the
following major savings:
• FrontLines 2015: $70 million
• Revenue Service Vehicles: $21 million

Going Forward
These measures address the economic challenges we have faced over the past year and balance the
current $181.8 million budget. However, as we move forward into 2010 we are still facing potential
budget shortfalls:
• Sales tax revenues: down approximately $1.0 million in January
• Farebox revenue: possible shortfall due to economy and ridership
• Fuel costs: currently running above budget
We are continuing to monitor sales tax revenues and fuel prices, and may be coming back to the Board
for a mid-year budget amendment. But with only one month’s worth of sales tax revenues for 2010,
we suggest that a budget amendment at this time would be premature.


Almost three-quarters of the budget reductions (71%) have come from our employees’ compensation
and from increasing management efficiencies. To date, we have not implemented fare increases and
we have minimized service reductions and impacts to our riders. However, due to ongoing challenges
with sales tax revenues and fuel prices, we are considering the prospect of additional budget cuts
throughout 2010 that may include fare increases and/or additional service reductions.
We are currently developing various scenarios for service and/or fare changes, and will likely initiate a
public comment process very soon. Because of the six-month lead time needed to implement a
change in services or fares, we need to begin the process as soon as possible. The six-month
timeframe includes going through an open public hearing process, reviewing the comments and
making adjustments to the proposals, and implementing the changes to begin realizing the financial
savings.


STATEMENT


Meeting of the UTA Board of Trustees
April 28, 2010


On behalf of the Board of Trustees, we welcome all Board members and the public to today’s
meeting. We appreciate the public interest in the Utah Transit Authority because we
understand its importance to the Wasatch Front and the State of Utah. Transportation is
critical to accessibility, sustainability and quality of life in Utah.


As you know, government entities throughout the State of Utah are struggling with tough
economic challenges, and UTA is no exception. UTA, like other government and transit
agencies, is dealing with a decrease in revenues of tens of millions of dollars. As an agency, we
are taking significant steps in dealing with these budget and economic challenges. Our efforts
to balance the budget have involved impacts to service and operations, capital programs and
our employees.


We believe the public has not been accurately informed about how we are dealing with these
impacts and why we are proposing to require UTA’s officers to take on new assignments and
expand their duties, without salary increases. I want to be very clear about this point: the
appointment of officers we announced on April 8 represents a transition in roles and
responsibilities, it does NOT represent salary increases or promotions.
One of the first steps in dealing with economic challenges is to require our senior staff to take
reductions in compensation. We have done this: UTA’s senior management has taken a 10 to
15 percent compensation reduction this year by foregoing the performance incentive, at a time
when they are taking on additional job responsibilities.


Additionally, the UTA Board and staff have adopted a balanced strategy in dealing with this
economic and budget crisis. We have moved forward looking to achieve equitable savings in
three (3) areas:
• Management efficiencies
• Employee compensation & staffing
• Service and/or fare adjustments


Mike Allegra, Acting General Manger, will review the budget information in greater detail
during his report to the Board later in this meeting, and his report will demonstrate that our
efforts to find balanced savings have been successful. The Board supports this effort and
believes it is sound in its approach and will place UTA in a better position for the future.
Because of budget impacts from this economic crisis, it is necessary that we require staff to
take on additional duties and responsibilities, including senior management. The most senior of
management positions at UTA is the title of General Manager. As in any organization,
succession planning is important to UTA. The appointments being considered today reflect the
Board’s responsibility to address succession planning and a transition of this most senior
management position to Mike Allegra. We would like to make it clear that Mike Allegra will be
the new General Manager.


As Mike Allegra assumes the management role of General Manager, John Inglish will continue
to serve UTA and the Board in his role as CEO, focusing on policy-level initiatives and programs.
We appreciate the opportunity to clarify some misinformation and misunderstanding that may
have occurred regarding this transition, and to confirm that we have determined to propose
this transition with the stipulation that it be without any addition of staff or salary increases.


Larry Ellertson
Chair, UTA Board of Trustees

Embassy Suites offers Portland MAX riders a discount

Image via Wikipedia

The Embassy Suites in Portland is offering guests a discount if they ride MAX, Portland's light rail system. Here in our area the Days Inn in Midvale has offered light rail riders specials rates since TRAX has opened.

Embassy Suites Portland Washington Square Max their guests rates

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

PRLog (Press Release) – Nov 07, 2008 – In times like these, every little penny pinched is a gift, but when cash savings come packaged with convenience and luxury, it's a deal that cannot be missed. Embassy Suites Portland - Washington Square, has announced that it is offering a little extra incentive to guests to get out and see the world while being kind to the earth - and their finances.

Guests at the Embassy Suites Portland - Washington Square (http://embassysuites1.hilton.com/en_US/es/hotel/PDXBVES- ... ) are being offered 10%* off the Best Available Rate when they use the TriMet MAX Light Rail System to reach the hotel and show their ticket upon check-in. Reserving rooms with this option is possible by booking online or by calling 1-800-EMBASSY and asking for rate plan L-MAX. A MAX Light Rail map is posted on the hotel's home page.

Many guests who travel to a new city think of a cab or a car rental as the only way to travel from the airport to their hotel, but in lush, green Portland, there are better - and more economical - options. By utilizing the TriMet MAX Light Rail Line, guests pay just two dollars to reach the hotel from the airport, resulting in substantial savings compares with various other methods of transport. Located just outside of the airport, the rail line offers easy transport to the hotel by dropping guests off at the Beaverton Transit Center. A complimentary shuttle service then takes guests directly to the hotel. The Hall Street Station is also opening in early 2009, which will add an even greater convenience by dropping guests just two blocks away from the hotel.

"Our hotel has recently undergone renovation, which means we're able to offer top-of-the-line accommodations with the 10% discount that we offer to guests who use the Light Rail," said director of sales Melissa DelBalzo. "During these tough economic times, we wanted to help our guests get the best deals possible while still feeling like they're getting pampered on the road. The savings of staying at an Embassy Suites (http://embassysuites1.hilton.com/en_US/es/index.do ) really add up when you consider the cost of a cooked-to-order breakfast, light snacks, and free drinks of your choice - all of which we provide as a standard amenity to our guests."

As the fourth largest hotel in Oregon (http://embassysuites1.hilton.com/en_US/es/hotel/PDXBVES- ... ), the Embassy Suites Portland - Washington Square is located only minutes away from downtown Portland on a unique property directly beside Portland's premiere tax-free shopping experience, Washington Square. A complimentary shuttle is offered to guests for the one-block distance between the hotel and Washington Square in case of rain or heavy shopping bags. With such a central location, attractions such as the Oregon Zoo, Portland Art Museum, Portland State University, and the Rose Garden - home of the Portland Trailblazers - are close by.

Business travelers to Portland (http://embassysuites1.hilton.com/en_US/es/hotel/PDXBVES/services.do; ) will be pleased to see that they are within a few miles of Portland's biggest corporations, such as IBM, Intel, Verizon, Mentor Graphics, and Tektronix.

About Embassy Suites Hotels
Founded in 1984, Embassy Suites Hotels defines the upscale, all-suite segment and today has 195 hotels, with an additional 60 in the pipeline. With spacious two-room suites, engaging team members and an inviting atrium environment, guests are allowed to put their feet up and feel right at home.

Hilton Hotels Corporation is the leading global hospitality company, with more than 3,000 hotels and 500,000 rooms in 74 countries and territories, including 135,000 team members worldwide. The company owns, manages or franchises a hotel portfolio of some of the best known and highly regarded brands, including Hilton, Conrad Hotels & Resorts, Doubletree, Embassy Suites Hotels, Hampton Inn, Hampton Inn & Suites, Hilton Garden Inn, Hilton Grand Vacations, Homewood Suites by Hilton and The Waldorf=Astoria Collection.

Embassy Suites PR contact:
Melissa Giarrosso
Embassy Suites Brand Communications
755 Crossover Lane
Memphis
TN
38117
US
(901) 374-6423

URL is:

http://www.prlog.org/10138229-embassy-suites-portland-washington-square-max-their-guests-rates.html

Utah County Transit News...

Image via Wikipedia Bus rapid transit OK'd for Provo and Orem

Desired bus/rapid-transit changes in Orem

OK, I have made my feelings very clear on BRT so I will not go over them again. Basically you are going to take a bus route that runs every 15-minutes already (830) make it a little faster but then turn around and put on lower capacity buses (since the 830 still primarily uses Orion V high floor buses).

Orem will install 10 new bus stop shelters along State Street

I am glad to see Orem putting in more bus stop shelters as they are badly needed. I just hope they will maintain them once put in since they are often targets of vandals. Also doesn't help that State Street is a pedestrian nightmare.

Letter to the Editors and an article...

Image via WikipediaHere is some letter to the editors and an article from todays newspapers:

UTA offices

The writer must be talking about the new Frontlines offices across the tracks from the Intermodal Hub. I have never been in the offices so I have no idea of what they have done. However, if UTA did use existing facilities they should be applauding for not doing any extensive refurbishing. The building should eventually be replaced by an extension of the Intermodal Hub as the area starts to grow.

MAX gets a C

This is another letter to the editor and talks about the MAX service. The guy gives an A for buses that are state of the art but as I noted there is plenty of issues with these buses and this guy will probably learn they are not that wonderful in the long run.
He also gives the service a bad mark because the light system doesn't always work. On my trip they never worked but I did want to use that against the service since I wasn't sure if it was the actual system, lack of training or the fact that the system isn't 100% operational.
Overall I think this guy gives a fair assessment of the service.

West Valley finds it pays to use Washington lobbyists

West Valley was able obtain more funding for its transit center at the Valley Fair Mall (or is it now going to be The Shops at Valley Center or some name like that?).

First Impressions Part II

Image via WikipediaIn my last entry, I arrived at Central Station after my first ride on a Front Runner revenue service train. After helping one gentleman find his way to Gateway, I hopped aboard a Sandy train deciding it was time to eat (now 2:00pm).

After looking at the schedules I realized I could take TRAX down to Millcreek Station and then catch a 35M to 4800 South to eat at the Chinese Gourment restaurant and get in the MAX line. This would still allow me to get back to Salt Lake in plenty of time for a meeting at 6:00pm.

The train down to Millcreek was crowed but not overly crowed and before long I got off and headed to the MAX station. The relief driver was there along with a lady from UTA administration that I recognized and a guy going to get rider counts.

Finally the bus arrived and we loaded up. There was two wheelchairs to get on which took forever. Apparently the drivers are still getting used to these Van Hool buses as the both the original driver and the new driver had a hard time figuring out how to work the wheelchair ramp. Then the new driver could not figure out how to get the bus to release the brakes, but after another UTA official showed her, we were off right behind a regular 35.

We had to leave a 3rd wheelchair bound person at Redwood Road due to lack of capacity and then they had all kinds of trouble getting the ramp down to let one of the wheelchairs off at Valley Fair Mall. We finally arrived at 4800 West about 10 to 15 minutes late having been passed by the regular 35 at Valley Fair Mall.

After eating the first bus to arrive was a regular 35 with an Orion V so I hopped that to Valley Fair Mall. Interesting is that there was more people on the regular 35 than on the 35M I took westbound. At Valley Fair Mall I noticed that a 35M was behind us so I jumped off the 35 and took the 35M. The bus had a much smaller load than the 35 and it ended up being the same driver I had the other direction.

We ended up behind the regular 35 all the way to 900 West. At that point the regular 35 made its jog over to UTA headquarters while we continued on our way. Just as we got off the bus the northbound TRAX train that is supposed to come 10 minutes after MAX arrives pulled into the station I head back to downtown changing over to the University train for my final destination at the library.

After my meeting I caught TRAX over to the Stadium TRAX station to catch the 220 back to Holladay.

Front Runner was everything that I expected it to be since I had ridden the same equipment in other cities. On the other hand MAX is still a work in progress. It would not be fair for me to evaluate the performance of the 35M yet until the road work on 35 South is done. Also the problems the drivers had will be fixed with familiarity with the odd ball equipment and brings up the final comments and that is on the Van Hool buses.

I have mentioned before about the problems with these buses and it was actually worse than expected.

-First of all, there is less padding on the seats than on a regular UTA bus or TRAX train. While they are padded better than the ex-VTA UTDC light rail cars that UTA bought or say a transit bus in Los Angeles, it is not saying much. I much rather ride in a regular UTA bus than one of these new Van Hool's.

-Second, because of the design of the bus and the third door seating capacity is lower. We already loose seats with low floor buses and these have even fewer seats. While the concept of MAX is that passengers will get to their destinations faster, the fact is that people may still be in the seats or standing for extended periods which makes the design inferior to other buses.

-Third, wheelchairs are more difficult to stow on these buses. Unlike all other UTA buses where the driver can easily secure the wheelchair through attached hooks, on the Van Hool buses the driver has to take the time to take them out of a locked bin, then attach them to the floor board of the bus. This bus is supposed to be faster but the design makes them slower.

-Finally, the engine is closer to the front of the bus than in a standard transit bus so engine noise is more pronounced throughout the bus.

All these combine to make the Van Hools a poor choice in a transit bus and it is no wonder why passengers fought hard in Oakland to get the order for more canceled. Hopefully UTA will look at these issues before buying more of these buses.

Once MAX is fully operational I will take another look at the operation and see how it was doing.

First Impressions...

Yesterday I had my first opportunity to ride both MAX and Front Runner (besides opening day).

Having rode the Front Runner cars in Los Angeles and Miami, I had a pretty good idea of how nice the Bombardier cars will ride and I was not disappointed. The cars are very smooth and benefit by the fact that the tracks are exclusive to Front Runner so heavy freight trains will not cause the trains to ride rough (except for the expansion north of Ogden).

My original plan was to ride the 45 to TRAX and then catch the 35M. However, I walked over to 1300 East and decided to walk over to Van Winkle instead of walking north to Murray-Holladay road because I did not feel like walking that far (totally ignoring the 213 which was closer but of no use). At this point I decided I would not ride the 35M at all and ride Front Runner up to Ogden and do photography all day.

I caught the 307 at about 6:30am and took it to State and 200 South. The bus was one of the new 2007 Gillig Advantage BRT buses but the good news it had no wrapped (in fact I only rode one bus with a wrap yesterday!!). Most new low floor buses and especially most of the newest buses UTA has bought lately seem to rattle really bad but this one was so bad. The biggest rattle came from the farebox.

Next I took the 500 over to the Central Station to catch Front Runner. I had 4 minutes from the time the 500 arrived to my train was scheduled to depart and I had to buy a ticket. I walked over to the ticket machine closet to the bus area and it was dead. So then I rapidly walked over to the far side of the platform and bought my ticket and jumped on the train.

The train left right on time at 7:25am. Being a reverse commute train, there was not a lot of passengers on board but the southbound trains looked packed. I was able to snag one of the sets of seats with a table so I sat up and did some writing as I enjoyed my ride. We stayed on time for most of the trip except when we had to meet a southbound train at the passing siding around Centerville. Despite leaving Farmington about 5 minutes late we still pulled into Ogden on time.

I then walked over to Union Station and did some photography and then walked to Washington and 25th and caught a 612 up to the Ogden Sign by the Ogden River on Washington Blvd. I then walked back to 25th and Washington taking pictures along the way before catching a 603 out to the McKay Hospital.

It was about 11:00AM at this point and I was hoping to find someplace to eat but nothing was standing out to me. The only thing within walking distance was Taco Bell but I stopped drinking soda seven weeks ago and that is all they offer for drinks so that was no go. I decided to catch the 625 which took me over to the Ogden Regional Medical Center. I walked down took some pictures of the toll booth then walked back and took the 612 back to Washington and 25th. I did see a couple of Chinese places that look good along the way but by the time I noticed them were already were passed them and I didn't feel like walking at that point.

From 25th and Washington I walked back to Union Station, took some more pictures, purchased a water from a machine at the transit station and caught the 1:08pm train back to Central Station. This train was packed and we did have a UTA Police Officer check for tickets on this trip. We arrived on time back into Salt Lake and that ended part I of my day.

I will continue this story next time...

Related articles by Zemanta

• EU plans "open" rail network to help cut freight emissions

Schedule Changes on Sunday

Image via WikipediaThe UTA will be changing schedules this Sunday which is not the normal time they would do it but is being done right now for the introduction of MAX service along 3500 South.

For people that ride buses from the Central Station there is going to be some changes for you as several routes will no longer service the station such as the 200 and 205 while others will start serving the station.

As noted before, the 35 will continue to operate, however it will only run every hour while the new 35M will run every 15 minutes. Riders will benefit in a small way with the new service since the last bus will leave the Millcreek TRAX station at 1:28AM instead of 11:28PM. It will be interesting to see if these later buses last beyond a year since no other service is running at that point.

Now that the UTA has purchased them, I hope that the new Van Hool buses perform better than they have in Oakland and other cities. There has been a large number of complaints about them causing A/C Transit to cancel their most recent purchase.

I also still believe we would be much further ahead by upgrading existing bus service instead of wasting the money on MAX. Follow the Portland system of speeding up bus service with special curbs to give direct access to the low floor buses, getting rid of bus stops that are way too close together (although local stops are needed, you don't want them too close together), and then add the light preference system to the buses. This would do more for the bus system making it more efficient and less costly at a lower cost than MAX.

We shall see...

Related articles by Zemanta

• Faster MTA Bus Service Starts in the Bronx Today

Attack on TRAX

TRAX train in Sandy
Originally uploaded by jmdspk

Woman reports assault during ride on TRAX

I will agree that these incidents are rare, but they are the fodder the anti-transit types need to start spreading how unsafe light rail is. This is currently happing in Portland were because of incidents in Gresham the anti-transit types are declaring how unsafe light rail is. Of course it doesn't fit into their political agenda that Gresham has had gang problems since even before the light rail line came in 1986.

UTA does need to have a bigger security presence on TRAX. I noticed that security guards and actual officers are on almost all Denver light rail trains after dark. This gives a much better feeling of security.

Attacks can happen anywhere as incidents in the last week indicate so it is better to be prepared and ready than to be sorry.

All That Glitters....

Image via Wikipedia On my recent trip to Las Vegas, in addition to riding the Monorail I also had the opportunity to try out the other great transit experiment, MAX which runs from Downtown to North Las Vegas. This is a Bus Rapid Transit service that has been highly touted and used as an example of a light rail "like" system but of course for less money.

The line uses dedicated traffic lanes for part of its journey along with million dollar buses that use Hybrid technology. The system also has Proof of Payment fare collection, and makes limited stops.

I will not discuss ridership numbers on my trip since it occurred on a Saturday, but in Las Vegas that should not play a role in the numbers. The first thing you notice is that the buses are slightly quieter than a normal bus but in no way is comparable to electrified operation of light rail. In addition you still get the road noise and other problems associated with rubber tire technology.

The buses are equipped with an optical sensor system so that when the bus approaches a stop the system takes over the steering and steers the bus to a perfect stop. Great concept that just doesn't work in reality. Because of the drifting sands of the area the optical sensor system has never worked and would not work in area that gets snow (ie: Utah) either.

Unlike the monorail this system is run the CAT the local bus system and does use normal cat fares, transfers, and bus buses. They have been touting the great ridership increase but in reality less than a thousand new riders are on board on a regular basis.

When it comes down to it, MAX is nothing but a glorified bus and many local residents I talked to see it as nothing but a glorified bus. It is not attracting the choice riders that Light Rail does but does serve a purpose of getting people along the corridor faster. However, the Limited bus that used to serve the area did the same thing at less cost.

Much like the monorail, the MAX system is all glitter and no gold.