Last night’s 82nd Avenue Transit Project Community Advisory Committee meeting was a doozy! There was passionate testimony from folks who support and oppose better bus lanes along the corridor — but almost everyone who showed up went to bat for better bus service.
As I’ve been reporting, TriMet is feeling pressure from both sides around their decision for the design of the bus lane in this $350 million project that aims to bring rehabilitate 10 miles of 82nd Avenue from a car-centric orphan highway hellscape to a humane, neighborhood main street. Last week TriMet staff released a recommendation for just three miles of BAT lanes, a move that surprised project insiders, transit advocates, and even their own board members.
Last night’s meeting was the first major opportunity for public comment since that recommendation came to light. It was held at the Portland Community College Southeast Campus on the corner of SE 82nd and Division. Of the 24 people who testified, 19 voiced clear support for the “More BAT” option (seven miles of semi-dedicated bus lanes. Of the four people who opposed BAT lanes, one of them was Terry Parker (IYKYK), one represented a small shopping center, one was owner of Fubonn and Portland Metro Chamber Board Chair Michael Lie, and the other was Executive Vice President of Public Affairs for the Portland Metro Chamber Jon Isaacs.
Of the 12 CAC members present last night, I’d say 10 of them are solidly in support of the More BAT option.
Watch the video above for a highlight reel of the testimony — including Isaacs getting booed off the dais for refusing to end his testimony in time.
After hearing public testimony, the CAC received a presentation from two TriMet staffers and then there were a series of questions about the BAT lane topic. I’ll share more from those exchanges as necessary in future stories. For now, take a look at the video for a taste of how people are feeling about the BAT lane issue.
From here, the issue will be passed up to the project’s Policy and Budget Committee who will meet to consider a decision about the BAT lanes at their November 7th meeting.
