TriMet has opened a new bike ramp at the Hollywood Transit Center and it’s a huge improvement over the old one.
The ramp is part of a transit-oriented development project at NE 42nd and Halsey that includes a mixed-use development and plaza in addition to the rebuilt ramp and stairs. We’ve covered this project a few times in the past and if you recall, there was an initial proposal that didn’t include a ramp at all. Thankfully, TriMet listened to bike advocates and the City’s Bicycle Advisory Committee and today we’ve got a nice connection from the I-84 overpass to the street network.
After TriMet demolished the old ramp, they had a temporary ramp in place for the past year or so.
As you can see in the photos and video, the new ramp is nice and wide. It has enough room to comfortably pass by people who are walking and there’s good visibility in the corners (except at the top where it transitions to the existing overpass). Compared to the concrete walls, five switchbacks and very narrow profile of the old ramp, this new one is a major upgrade. The old ramp was so difficult to ride up and down, it was a fun challenge to see if I could do it without putting a foot down.
I ran into a BikePortland fan named Patrick and his little one. They like the new ramp so much they rode up and down it several times.
The ramp was getting a lot of use when I was out there Thursday afternoon. But it handled the crowd well. And TriMet says the stairs will open very soon, so that will relieve some of the traffic on the ramp. Keep in mind that the ramp and the plaza (once the development is completed) are pedestrian-focused areas where bike riders should ride with caution and courtesy and always be ready to dismount if necessary.
As for the stairs, I was glad to see they have ample wheel gutters, so if the ramp is ever closed for any reason or you just want to use the stairs with your bike, you’ll have an easier way to do that. The old stairs were much steeper and the wheeler gutters were almost unusable for many folks.
Have you ridden this yet? What do you think?
Thanks for reading.
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Huh. At least the “gutters” aren’t directly under the railing like they are on the Lafayette crossing.
Honestly, I’m going to miss the old ramp. Used to use it as a bike testbed- I was able to ascend or descend my Big Dummy without putting a foot down or touching a wall.
If you haven’t checked it out, I’d suggest doing a ride through video of the Kelley Plaza crossing in Hollywood. I was really excited when it opened and I think it’s… pretty bad.
The route basically makes you duck under a tree branch and then they put the “push to cross” button like 15 feet away.
ah yes i did that too yesterday. It’ll be a separate video and post coming up soon.
I also used the old ramp as a trials course. Kind of funny that everyone had the same experience – good trials course=poor infrastructure
Fortunately for all of you, they constructed the skinny switchback ramp between NE 2nd and 3rd at Couch (https://maps.app.goo.gl/9VQiESKaQ27MHgwY8).
I think the new ramp is a huge improvement. I walked across it recently, and I used the temporary ramp a number of times. But how long is it going to take to build the housing development next door? It’s been a year since ground was broken on the site, and it’s still just graded soil. No wonder we can’t house the homeless in this city. It takes forever to do anything.
nice video and update! The design looks pretty poor. They could have made this much more accessible and user-friendly. The execution is definitely an improvement over the barely functional previous design, but that is a ridiculously low bar. The other low bar is actually providing a ramp instead of an elevator which is obvious but not guaranteed for our public projects. This suffers from a lack of deign review or understanding. The way the ramp approaches and meets the existing bridge has dangerously bad geometry and visibility. We have good engineers, architects and landscape architects in Portland, why are they not being used!
Judging from the design of the new ramp and stairs, I’d say that TriMet has medium-term plans to replace the pedestrian bridge as well.
Massive improvement. Looking forward to the stairs opening up as it should remove most of the conflicts I’ve seen here recently. I’m guessing some of those fancy fence sections weren’t done yet or didn’t fit properly.