Two days ahead of what insiders expected to be a consequential meeting of TriMet advisory committee, the agency says they’ll delay a decision about bus lanes on 82nd Avenue.
As I reported last month, TriMet shocked many in our region by publishing a staff recommendation on the 82nd Avenue Transit Project that called for only partial business access and transit (BAT) lanes along the project corridor — which spans 10 miles from the Multnomah County border with Clackamas County at SE Clatsop to Northeast Lombard Street. The recommendation is a necessary step for the project to reach a key 60% design completion milestone. In a memo dated October 14th, staff said the project should move forward with three miles of BAT lanes (the “Some BAT” option) instead of seven miles of BAT lanes (the “more BAT” option). Staff have since walked back that recommendation saying it was merely a “starting point in the conversation.” (One board member said the publication of the memo was a leak.)
Regardless, the decision sparked a large outcry from many Portlanders, some of whom showed up to a recent project Community Advisory Committee meeting to make concerns known. Tomorrow is a meeting of the project’s Policy and Budget Committee, where many folks assumed the BAT lane decision would be debated — and possibly made final.
But in a blog post published Monday, TriMet wrote, “No decision will be made during the November 7 meeting. Rather, it’s an opportunity for committee members and the community to hear the latest information from our staff and to ask questions as options continue to be explored.”
TriMet added that a final decision about the BAT lanes, “is expected early in the new year.”
Given the high stakes of this decision, TriMet’s attempt to cool things down won’t stop folks from testifying at tomorrow morning’s meeting. Not only is the Line 72 bus the busiest in the entire state, but it’s impossible for 82nd Avenue to reach its potential unless bus users have faster, more reliable service.
And then there’s the looming issue of the Bike Bill lawsuit hanging over the Portland Bureau of Transportation — the agency that has final say over how the street is used.
That lawsuit was organized by BikeLoud PDX on behalf of 15 individual plaintiffs. While it’s currently in legal limbo due to procedural questions surrounding the Portland City Council, a settlement agreement already signed by the city attorney, PBOT, and BikeLoud’s lawyers mandates full BAT lanes on 82nd Ave (with the expectation they can be shared by bicycle riders). According to the settlement, if PBOT fails to build continuous BAT lanes, they would be in violation of the settlement and the case could go to trial.
Add to that the threat of lawsuits from business owners on 82nd who oppose the BAT lanes and it becomes clear that the seven members of the Policy and Budget committee — TriMet GM Sam Desue Jr., Clackamas County Commissioner Diana Helm, Metro Councilors Christine Lewis and Duncan Hwang, ODOT Policy & Development Manager Chris Ford, Community Advisory Committee Interim Chair Franklin Ouchida, and PBOT Director Millicent Williams — have a lot of perspectives to consider.
— The 82nd Avenue Project Policy and Budget Committee meets Friday (11/7) at 9:00 am. The meeting is at TriMet’s Public Safety Office (1020 NE 1st Ave) and viewable online. More info here.
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Our politicians and public workers still have ZERO VISION.
As long as a small minority of the populations whines and complains with loud voices, the politicians and public workers will scurry out of the light and back track on anything that would really set Portland ahead. The days of Portland being one of the top transportation cities in the country are long gone.
If we were to set this to a vote, and we asked the Metro residents if they would like to convert half of the capacity on 82nd to exclusive transit use, how do we think the vote would turn out?
https://ballotpedia.org/Portland_Metro,_Oregon,_Measure_26-218,_Infrastructure_and_Transportation_Payroll_Tax_(November_2020)
Why would we ask Metro residents? They’ve already made it clear they’re fine with building freeways through our city so they can get around easier. Also a tax measure is hardly representative of voters opinions about road design. Lastly design by vote is an awful way to plan a city.
I guess democracy is dead….at least in the Bike Portland comments section. 🙂
Jeez, I wonder if there are differences between the SW Corridor and 82nd Avenue both in project goals and costs that may alter how people vote. Or if things are different in November 2025 than they were in November 2020. It’s also worth saying that this project does not include any kind of new tax, so it wouldn’t go to a vote anyways.
And saying things like “half the capacity to exclusive transit use” is demonstrably false, since a BAT lane literally includes business access as part of its name. It also betrays a certain pro-car inclination, as half the vehicle capacity is only one way to measure capacity on a street. I’d prefer streets that are focused on moving people, rather than just moving cars, but that’s just me.
Moving cars is moving people, at least until Waymo sets up shop here.
Why would we do that? Thank God we have a representative form of government, instead of one where every decision that impacts the future livability of our community is decided by what’s popular with tv viewers that day.
I was making a point about the comment that “a small minority” was opposing this project. I believe it would be closer to 50/50 if we were to poll the citizens of this city.
And my point was that doing the right thing is often more important than doing the popular thing.
The problem is that people often disagree about what the “right thing” is.
That’s not a problem; that’s dialogue. Do we create a safer, more inclusive 82nd, or do we make it as easy as possible for people to drive to the car wash?
The majority of people who access 82nd do so by car because that’s how it’s currently designed. It’s hostile and dangerous for cyclists and pedestrians, and inconvenient for transit. Of course if we made future decisions for 82nd based on an opinion poll, the drivers would win because the game is rigged.
Yes, inclusive community dialog is exactly what is needed. If folks are aligned behind a single option, will make it much easier to achieve a desirable outcome.
I honestly have no idea what people there want, aside from you and one or two other voices that have chimed in here.
I don’t think anyone believes consensus will be reached. A decision will eventually be made regarding the form the 82nd BAT line finally takes. And whatever that decision is, there will be a group of pissed off individuals claiming their concerns weren’t taken seriously.
The decision made by our transit agency needs to be about transit, not people’s feelings.
It sounds like the BAT lanes will only make a 3-4 minute difference over the whole length of the corridor, so whatever the multiple agencies decide, the outcome isn’t going to make much of a difference.
I am pretty confident it’s only a small minority of the population who wants this to happen. The question is which small minority will whine and complain loudest? And who has the most political influence behind the scenes, which is where this decision will really be made?
We’ll find out early next year!
It’s a difference of vision for the street that is really driving this. Status quo of a thoroughfare versus a vibrant people forward street. If you live near 82nd you want the later. It’s not really about BAT lanes, it’s about a livable, vibrant street with people getting from place to place and living their lives compared to being scared to step foot near the street.
I agree people have different visions; the point is I don’t think most Portlanders have a strong feeling one way or the other about the future of 82nd. As I’ve said in the past, I think this should be decided by the people who interact with the street frequently, which would certainly include transit riders and people who live nearby, but also drivers, property owners, and others with some skin in the game. I think the opinion of people like myself, who only rarely interact 82nd, should be given very low weight.
Either way, “livable, vibrant street” isn’t one of the options on offer.
My personal assessment is that neither of these options will make a huge difference; one lane of through traffic without people turning will move a lot of vehicles, and the bus lane isn’t going to make a huge difference if people use it for turning, bicycling, scootering, and (probably) as an illegal through lane. The street will be just as fun to cross as it ever was.
I live on 84th. I cross 82nd by bike at least 2x/day. The improvements already in place over the last year have made my crossings (usually Ash, but also Mill and Woodward) markedly better. The medians just installed between the Banfield and Fremont have also made crossing easier and safer.
And I am 100% in favor of full BAT lanes.
Rally your neighbors, who no doubt feel the same way.
I’ve been part of the 82nd Avenue Community Coalition for 2+ years. So yeah, there’s been lots of rallying. And yet here we are, still trying to convince people that “don’t have a strong feeling one way or the other about the future of 82nd “ that’s it’s in everyone’s best interest to care more about it.