TriMet punts 82nd Avenue transit lane decision to ‘early next year’

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.