Advocates for better bus service on 82nd Avenue have swung into action after the shock decision by TriMet staff last week to opt for just three miles of enhanced bus lanes on the 10-mile project corridor. Many hoped TriMet would recommend seven miles of “business access and transit” (BAT) lanes.
This post is a roundup of the latest news and notes I’ve collected on this issue…
Dozens attended a rally on Saturday in Montavilla Park organized by the Portland chapter of Democratic Socialists of America. They held signs for passing traffic that read: “We Love You Line 72,” “More BAT Lanes!!!,” and “More Buses on 82nd, Please!”. Among them was Metro Council Duncan Hwang.
In addition to DSA, a volunteer from BikeLoud PDX is encouraging folks to contact TriMet Board members and there’s a testimony guide for upcoming meetings. Advocates are targeting five upcoming meetings: A Southeast Uplift Neighborhood Coalition meeting tonight; a rally for the bike bill settlement (which includes a push for PBOT to build BAT lanes on 82nd) prior to Portland City Council meeting Wednesday morning, a TriMet Board Meeting also on Wednesday morning, a project Community Advisory Committee meeting on Wednesday night, and the project’s Policy & Budget Committee meeting on November 7th.
Councilor Hwang is on that Policy & Budget Committee. He also lives along 82nd. In a post to the BikeLoud PDX Slack channel Friday afternoon he wrote that, when it comes to the TriMet staff recommendation, “Myself nor Metro [Council] are aligned on that.” “I was very frustrated I learned about this from BikePortland (excellent reporting) and not from our own staff… I don’t support this current proposal.”
Councilor Hwang, who showed up and took part in the DSA rally for the project on Saturday, also brought up a key question with this design decision: Which government body gets to make the ultimate decision?
Who will make the call?
There are three agencies working on the 82nd Avenue Transit Project: Metro, PBOT, and TriMet.
According to a source (who I will keep anonymous) with deep knowledge of PBOT transportation projects and contracts, the ultimate decision for the lane configuration on 82nd lies with PBOT. That’s because TriMet must ultimately get a permit from the city for the project. Metro’s influence is limited to just holding the pursestrings (as the federal funding conduit).
Even though PBOT has permitting power, it’s unclear whether they’d simply accept TriMet’s recommendation, or if they’ll flex that power and give TriMet an ultimatum about the design.
Because the City of Portland has final say, the decision could become political. And as we’ve seen in several recent cases (northwest diverter removal, paid parking extension, and the bike bill settlement), we could be headed for another legislative versus administrative branch showdown.
How the bike bill settlement figures in
As I reported last week, BikeLoud PDX successfully negotiated a settlement with the City of Portland (approved by both PBOT staff and the City Attorney) to resolve their lawsuit that was based on a contention PBOT has not followed the Oregon Bike Bill for many years. That settlement was unexpectedly put on pause when City Council did not approve it as expected last week.
One of the elements of that settlement that both sides agreed on was about BAT lanes on 82nd Avenue (BikeLoud’s lawyers intentionally sought out relevant projects in the settlement). The settlement requires PBOT to support continuous BAT lanes shared with bicycle riders (almost all PBOT’s BAT lanes already permit bicycle use). If the lanes are not ultimately part of the 60% project design, BikeLoud would have the ability to return to mediation.
Next steps
This is one of those stories where it’s not yet clear what will happen next. One person who attended the DSA rally on Saturday posted on Bluesky that, due to all the public pressure that has followed the initial staff recommendation, TriMet no longer plans to vote on the 60% design at the November 7th Policy & Budget Committee meeting. I haven’t confirmed that yet, but stay tuned for updates as I learn more.
Thanks for reading.
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On the Trimet main project page there’s this statement:
So aside from Trimet, Metro, and PBOT, what is the role, if any, of the Oregon state legislature, the FTA, POTUS, NEPA, the US Justice Dept, and ODOT? Could any of them hinder, modify, or delay this project?
If this project is dependent on federal dollars, I would expect it will be several years before it gets off the ground. That’s plenty of time to renegotiate lane configuration.
In other words, consider any decision made today to be preliminary.