Video: TriMet board member calls out ODOT for putting cars over people

Tyler Frisbee has done her homework. The TriMet Board Member questioned 82nd Avenue Transit Project staff at the January 28th board meeting about the influence of the Oregon Department of Transportation — and whether the agency is following its own policies when it comes to concerns about bus lane impacts on congestion.

I was pleasantly surprised when I heard Frisbee asked 82nd Ave Transit Project Manager Jesse Stemmler:

“I was going back through ODOT’s 2023 strategic plan, where the OTC [Oregon Transportation Commission] specifically directs them to move away from level of service [LOS] as a metric and to move towards a more multimodal approach to performance and was sort of realizing that had gotten lost in this conversation. Has there been any discussion from ODOT execs of how that direction is being incorporated in the way they’re showing up here?”

Stemmler did his best to answer, even though the question was really for ODOT. “The conversations we’re having,” he replied, “Are really around those vehicle capacity thresholds that are baked into their Highway Design Manual.”

Then, after an awkward silence where both Stemmler and Frisbee tried to read each other’s body language, Frisbee relented with a smile. “Okay, I don’t want to put words in your mouth because you have relationships with partners. But what I’m hearing from that is it sounds like the direction from the OTC has maybe not trickled down to the staff level, particularly when it comes to project implementation.”

As I reported last month, ODOT recently ran a traffic analysis on how TriMet’s proposed “business access and transit” (BAT) lanes would impact state-owned facilities. The biggest area of concern is where SE Powell Blvd (Hwy 26) crosses 82nd. ODOT says they have concerns that drivers who divert away from the bus lanes would get backed up on Powell. But Frisbee is concerned that ODOT seems to have only considered driver volumes, and not transit rider volumes.

The 2023 Oregon Transportation Plan makes a clear recommendation that the quantity of cars that can fit on a street should not be the most important metric in determining road designs and plans. Below is one of the objectives adopted by the OTC in that plan:

Policy MO.2.1

Prior to adding new motor vehicle capacity, assess whether the capacity or other needs can be reasonably addressed by a cooperative approach among agencies to carry out one or a combination of the following:

Multimodal investments (e.g., increased transit service and passenger safety, multimodal network completion, and connectivity improvements that are non-auto),

• Transportation options programs (e.g., education and outreach, transportation options information, trip planning, or rideshare support),
• Transportation system management improvements (e.g., ramp metering, signal coordination, or roadway lane reconfiguration), or
• Context-appropriate pricing strategies (e.g., roadway tolling, charging for parking, or incentives).

Strategy MO.2.1.1: Establish an investment prioritization process to emphasize throughput of individuals and freight (e.g., multimodal freight-and people-movement capacity) rather than the quantity of vehicles (e.g., volume-to-capacity ratio of a roadway).

Frisbee has put the project team and ODOT on notice that she is watching closely to see how vehicle capacity concerns impact this project. Watch video above for full context and more of my thoughts.