Portland Transportation Tips by IncogNeat-0 Top 5 Page for this destination

Streetcar, Cityscape Maps Lightrail and Metro Review

April 2008

1) Click on top "live" link below for an interactive pdf click & drag streetcar map. It is the one I usually use.

or

2) Click on bottom "live" link below, "Other Contact."

3) Click on bottom left "Streetcar Map" box for a printable pdf streetcar map.

or

4) Click on upper right "Arrival Times" box for interactive pdf Google map to the far right. All 3 versions are click & drag also, thus revealing much of the cityscape beyond even the streetcar route.

Mode: AROUND

Other Contact: http://www.portlandstreetcar.org

Type: Other

Website: http://www.nextbus.com/predictor/publicMap.shtml?a=portland-sc&r=streetcar

Westside Express Service (WES) - Fall 2008 Lightrail and Metro Review

April 2008

Trimet colors will be the same on the ever expanding Trimet network,* but trains connecting Wilsonville Transit Center (TC) to Portland via Tualatin, Tigard, Hall/Nimbus, and Beaverton Transit Centers will be running on existing, privately owned tracks. Freight, I believe, will continue to have top priority over human cargo.

* Trimet serves 4 counties: Multnomah, Washington, Clackamus, and Clark (Vancouver). Hence, Trimet.

Mode: AROUND

Type: Train

Website: http://trimet.org/wes/index.htm

MAX Map (Metro Area eXpress) Lightrail and Metro Review

Click on "TriMet Store" to purchase TriMet tickets or passes online. Good on Metro Area eXpress (MAX), streetcar, and all urban/interurban TriMet bus lines. Bus drivers will issue local time factored transfers good on other TriMet bus lines, MAX, and streetcar; tickets validated (time stamped) for Max or Streetcar use serve as transfers to connecting bus lines.

C-Tran (Vancouver) accepts TriMet passes; tickets are a bit more dicey, so TriMet passes are your best bet.

Mode: AROUND

Other Contact: www.c-tran.com

Type: Subway/Metro

Website: http://trimet.org/schedules/maps/maxsystem.htm

Connections, Amtrack/Greyhound/Airport Greyhound or Amtrak Review

Train/Bus/Plane

Update: March 2008

It might be a good idea to purchase a book of Trimet tickets online since the main ticket office @ Pioneer Courthouse Square is closed weekends, a meteor strike could occur at any time, and water levels are expected to rise as high as 13th or 14th avenues to the west as a consequence of global warming. It is never too early to plan ahead.

N O T E: Bus Malls along 5th & 6th avenues are out of service while track is being laid for a new streetcar line. Temporary bus malls are in service along 3rd & 4th avenues. Merchants along 3rd & 4th are ecstatic at this turn of events; those along 5th & 6th are not.

The Greyhound Depot is a only a block or so south of Union Station on NW 6th Avenue. From there, walk due west one short block along NW Hoyt Street to NW Broadway. Cross at the traffic light. Board southbound #9 Broadway bus at NW Broadway & Hoyt

N O T E: Trimet bus tickets not required while remaining within FARELESS SQUARE boundaries, so none are needed at this point.

Exit at SW 3rd & Alder.

Walk due south to SW Yamhill Street, then right a block and a half to MAX station [M]etro [A]rea e[X]press).

Ticket vending & validation machines nearby. Visa, Master Charge, Discover cards accepted. Pennies & $2 dollar bills not accepted; all other US currencies up to & including $20 USD accepted. Board Red MAX Airport train. Exit at airport.

N O T E: There are two validation (time stamp) machines @ each downtown boarding station. One of the two usually works. Vandals.

To: Union Station/Greyhound Depot.

Purchase & validate Trimet ticket via ticket machines at airport MAX boarding station.

Board Red MAX Beaverton train. Exit @ SW 4th/5th. Walk due east to SW4th, then left 1 block to SW 4th & Alder. Board #9 Broadway bus. Exit in front of Greyhound Depot. Union Station due north.

The Greyhound restroom stank the last time I was there; Union Station or the main post office one block west across Broadway might be a better bet.

Mode: TO

Other Contact: http://www.portlandmall.org

Phone: 503-238-RIDE

Type: Other

Website: http://www.trimet.org

Bikes; Wheelchair/Scooters Lightrail and Metro Review

Timeline: March 2008

All Trimet buses have external bike racks mounted up front (two, max) & are equipped to handle wheelchair/scooters.

Bikes can be mounted on overhead hooks inside all late model MAX (Metro Area eXpress) cars, both front & rear; handicapped friendly as well. Single car trains, an oxymoron if ever there was one, are of the newer variety; at least one car of two car trains will also employ the later model.

Streetcars are also handicapped friendly via rear door. Bicycle storage is trickier, a bit less obvious. Mid-section of all cars are near sidewalk level. Front & rear seating is two steps higher. Stanchions alongside steps, both sides, are designed to insert & capture front wheel of bike. Owner is expected to hold bike in place. Capacity, 4 per uncrowded car - a rarity.

I've only seen the upright bike slots used properly on a single occasion, the only reason I'm therefore aware of their existence. Future versions may mount them externally up front like Trimet buses for that reason. We'll see. Time will tell.

Mode: AROUND

Type: Other

Time Machines Car/Rental Car Review

Update: December 2007

Newly installed parking meters in the PDX downtown core have not been well received for obvious reasons; there is more to it now then merely dropping in a few coins, although that is still an option. Most local folk should be used to them by the time the Monsoon Season rolls around.

In the meantime, read the instructions. Price & time alloted may vary depending on location. The mean green time machines are solar powered, about 7 feet tall, and one per block instead of one per parking slot. Since they always show the correct time, they are obviously satellite controlled as well as solar powered.

The good news is there is an accurate digital clock on almost every downtown block, they accept Visa & MC cards as well as coins - and skimming by collection agencies in high traffic areas may become a thing of the past.

A later, smaller version version of the mean green machines have been installed curbside near the Lloyd Center.

Mode: AROUND

Type: Car/Motor Home