| Transportation In Portland, Oregon |
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in downtown Portland .]] MASS TRANSIT Portland is well-known for its comprehensive Public Transportation system. The major bus and rail system is named TriMet , reflecting the three metropolitan counties it serves ( Multnomah , Clackamas , and Washington ). TriMet has a relatively high ridership, and an increasing number of its bus lines come every 15 minutes seven days a week. In the heart of Portland is " Fareless Square ", within which all mass transit rides are free. The original Fareless Square was bounded by the Willamette River to the east, Irving Street to the north, and I-405 to the west and south; a spur across the river to the Lloyd Center was later included, rendering the fareless area a square in name only. Inside the square, exclusive bus lanes dominate 5th and 6th Avenues downtown, which are known as the Portland Mall. Almost all TriMet buses route through the mall, with bus stops grouped geographically by destination. Since the mall acts as a metro-area-wide Hub , it also means riders can often get downtown without changing buses and reach most other destinations with only one change. MAX See Also: Metropolitan Area Express (Portland, Oregon) Portland's Metropolitain Area Express, or MAX, Light Rail consists of three color-coded lines:
Portland Streetcar In addition, the Portland Streetcar began operation in 2001 , with a five mile (8 km) loop from downtown's Portland State University (PSU), past Powell's City Of Books , through the Pearl District , to the Northwest neighborhood. On March 11 , 2005 , a 0.6 mile (1 km) extension to the streetcar line was built. It connects PSU with RiverPlace, and is a step towards continuing into the South Waterfront/North Macadam area and possibly utilizing the right-of-way preserved by the Willamette Shore Trolley to reach Lake Oswego . Proposed Proposed extensions to MAX include:
The Washington County Commuter Rail project would connect the cities of Wilsonville , Tualatin and Tigard to TriMet's Beaverton Transit Center, where it would tie into the rest of the TriMet system. This line would not operate the electric light rail cars of the existing MAX system, instead using diesel train cars running on existing Portland And Western Railroad freight rail tracks. Service could potentially begin in 2008. A more unusual form of public transportation, the Portland Aerial Tram , is an Aerial Tramway planned to connect the South Waterfront with Oregon Health And Science University and the surrounding Marquam Hill area. CYCLING Portland has earned multiple "bicycle friendly city" awards, including being awarded gold status by the League Of American Bicyclists . An important milestone in Portland's Utility Cycling infrastructure was the expansion of the sidewalks of Hawthorne Bridge in 1997, which significantly improved the safety and ease of Bicycle Commuting across the Willamette River . Other bicycle-friendly projects include blue-painted bike lanes, and the Vera Katz Eastbank Esplanade . A more recent project will bring covered bicycle parking to the popular southeast Hawthorne Boulevard shopping district. In 2004, the west side of Portland, including Beaverton and Hillsboro, was linked to downtown Portland for bicycles with the construction of the Sunset Highway (US 26) Bike Path. This path reaches to the top of Sylvan Hill from Cedar Hills. From the top of Sylvan hill, cyclists can travel through Washington Park past the Oregon Zoo or continue along the shoulder of Highway 26. The shoulder of Highway 26 is wide enough for commuters going from the west-side to downtown (east-bound). However, the opposite direction is quite narrow at two sections. Cyclists are encouraged to travel through Washington Park going west. The Yellow Bike Project, one of the first Community Bicycle Program s in the United States, was started in Portland, Oregon in the mid-1990s. This program, which made free bicycles available for un-restricted use, failed initially due to theft and vandalism of the bicycles. The Community Cycling Center , which helped to operate the Yellow Bike Project, has since developed its Create-a-Commuter program, which provides 375 free bicycles per year to individuals.Community Cycling Center website discussing end of the Yellow Bike Project and success of the Create-a-Commuter program, {Link without Title} Some of Portland's bicycling advocates have participated in Critical Mass and ZooBomB activities. HIGHWAYS Interstate , U.S and Oregon State Highway s in the metropolitan area include:
The Oregon Department Of Transportation is responsible for the following:
Portland is also well known for the highways that it ''didn't'' build, or removed altogether, such as Interstate 505 , the Mt. Hood Freeway , and Harbor Drive . BRIDGES Willamette River Bridges over the Willamette River , listed north to south:
Columbia River Bridges over the Columbia River , listed west to east: ALTERNATIVES Skateboarding and Rollerblading are welcome methods for travel around town. Downtown Portland includes signage labeled "skate routes" to aid the urban skater. (Sign photos: 1 , 2 ) Portlanders living downtown or in nearby neighborhoods have Car Sharing as an alternative, through Flexcar , which acquired Carsharing Portland in 2001. As Of 2005 , there are over 5,000 members sharing 70 vehicles which are located in neighborhoods such as the Pearl District , Old Town/ Chinatown , the Lloyd District , Hawthorne and Brooklyn . AIRPORTS Portland's main airport is the Portland International Airport , located in the northeast quadrant, near the Columbia River , and 20 minutes by car from Downtown. PDX is also connected to the downtown business and arts districts by the MAX Red Line. The Port of Portland's Hillsboro Airport is an executive and General Aviation airport located in Hillsboro, Oregon , and it the second busiest airport in the state. It is connected to the metropolitan area by MAX Blue Line, and is the starting point for many corporate and charter flights, including Nike, Inc. and the Portland Trail Blazers NBA team. McNary Field is a smaller General Aviation airport used by the Oregon Air National Guard as well as charter flights. It once was used by commercial airlines in the past, until 1993 . Both Hillsboro and McNary are currently being considered for commercial traffic to relieve the increasingly congested PDX. Troutdale Airport also serve the area. Portland is also served by Wiley's Seaplane Port , a private Seaplane base on the Willamette. SEE ALSO
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