Portland Streetcar News

[urbanlife]

The numbers are still very good, just not as good as we were originally told. My issue is less to do with ridership numbers and more to do with on time percentages. Originally it was said the streetcar is on time 98% of the time, but turns out to be ontime only 82% of the time. That is a huge difference, and not a good one.

I seriously want to see the streetcar lines to put in turn car turn lane buffers so that the streetcar lines can't be used as car lanes, but can only be used as car turning lanes. It makes no sense having a streetcar sitting in traffic along MLK and Grand and does nothing to help the system with being on time.

[2oh1]

I forgot the streetcar even has a schedule. I guess the schedule matters for people who use it at exact times, but everybody I know uses either an app or the LED info at each stop to know when the next one is coming. That's one of the differences between the streetcar and a bus. Busses are about schedules, whereas the streetcar is about catching the next one that comes along. I've been riding the streetcar for 12 years, and never once did I use a schedule.

[twofiftyfive]

Originally Posted by 2oh1

Busses are about schedules, whereas the streetcar is about catching the next one that comes along.

I honestly don't see the difference. In fact, morning rush hour downtown-bound Frequent Service buses arrive so often you don't need a schedule at all. The streetcar apparently never runs more often than every 14 minutes (not accounting for segments that carry both lines).

[cailes]

Off topic, but a couple more pictures of the wrapped up jasmine block double tracking for those who may not make it over there that often.

[maccoinnich]

Totally on topic; thanks for posting. Now we just have to wait for the wait for the bridge to open and then the CL line will be complete.

[babs]

Originally Posted by cailes

Off topic, but a couple more pictures of the wrapped up jasmine block double tracking for those who may not make it over there that often.

Now we just need to develop all of those empty parking lots and the underutilized motel site on the left

[maccoinnich]

Babs - there's an active proposal for one of the parking lots visible in the second picture. The discussion thread is here.

[PDXDENSITY]

Is that where Spunky Monkey usually sits? Or do they go all over. I've missed the little shop on 20th and E Burnside.

[maccoinnich]

Posted by @PDXStreetcar on twitter:

Coming back from the first trip across the Tilikum Crossing. @trimet

[UofC.engineer]

Originally Posted by twofiftyfive

I honestly don't see the difference. In fact, morning rush hour downtown-bound Frequent Service buses arrive so often you don't need a schedule at all. The streetcar apparently never runs more often than every 14 minutes (not accounting for segments that carry both lines).

Forgive me if this has been discussed before, I am new to ssp Portland, but with the new extension opening in September how many more streetcars are on order?

How many streetcars does the city currently have in it's fleet?

Are there any plans to increase the headways between trains?


When I visited your city a couple summer's ago I remember waiting a long time for the streetcar to arrive(not like I was in a hurry though). None the less it was a pretty wicked system and made me jealous that Calgary doesn't a streetcar along our active corridors. It's good to see ridership increasing steadily though:

http://www.portlandstreetcar.org/node/28

[maccoinnich]

Originally Posted by UofC.engineer

Forgive me if this has been discussed before, I am new to ssp Portland, but with the new extension opening in September how many more streetcars are on order?

They received a new streetcar in November, to enable them to run a full service when Close The Loop opens.

Originally Posted by UofC.engineer

How many streetcars does the city currently have in it's fleet?

17, including the new one.

Originally Posted by UofC.engineer

Are there any plans to increase the headways between trains?

I don't think so. The peak headways are every 14 minutes on each line, with 7 minute headways where they overlap.

[2oh1]

I assume they're going to have two central loops going at the same time, right? One, going north through downtown then south through SE, and one going south through downtown then north through SE. I mean, the central/SE loop isn't like the NW loop. The NW loop goes from downtown to NW then backtracks to downtown. The central/SE line currently does this too, going from downtown to OMSI and then backtracking, but once they finish the loop, there will be no backtracking... so, technically, the central/SE loop is actually going to be two loops, each going in opposite directions. Right?

[urbanlife]

Originally Posted by 2oh1

I assume they're going to have two central loops going at the same time, right? One, going north through downtown then south through SE, and one going south through downtown then north through SE. I mean, the central/SE loop isn't like the NW loop. The NW loop goes from downtown to NW then backtracks to downtown. The central/SE line currently does this too, going from downtown to OMSI and then backtracking, but once they finish the loop, there will be no backtracking... so, technically, the central/SE loop is actually going to be two loops, each going in opposite directions. Right?

That is my belief or it would be completely useless on the eastside to have to take a train northbound through downtown to go southbound on the eastside. Right now they are running trains each direction.

[davehogan]

Originally Posted by 2oh1

I assume they're going to have two central loops going at the same time, right? One, going north through downtown then south through SE, and one going south through downtown then north through SE. I mean, the central/SE loop isn't like the NW loop. The NW loop goes from downtown to NW then backtracks to downtown. The central/SE line currently does this too, going from downtown to OMSI and then backtracking, but once they finish the loop, there will be no backtracking... so, technically, the central/SE loop is actually going to be two loops, each going in opposite directions. Right?

From my understanding, correct. The Central Loop will have half the trains going one way, half going the other. The NS will serve NW 23rd to South Waterfront with one set of trains going back and forth.

[maccoinnich]

The most recent Citizens Advisory Committee minutes [PDF] states that the CL will operate as a loop in both directions, which is "a difficult thing to do as there is no logical place to build in extra time and layovers which are used to make up time and get back on schedule". The plan is to have both lines operating at the 15 minute frequency, up from 14 minutes at present. The extra time will enable the CL trains to pick up time along the route. Where the two lines overlap, between the Pearl and the Tilikum Crossing, services will be a 7-1/2 minute frequency.

[NMH]

It's nice to hear the times will be split between the two lines downtown. It kills me to see one streetcar a minute behind the next. I'm not sure if it is planned this way currently or if I only seem to notice when it is happening..

[maccoinnich]

Streetcar project comes in $230,000 under budget: Portland City Hall Roundup



A construction project to fix a streetcar bottleneck near Portland State University came in at least $230,000 under budget, transportation officials said this week.

The savings on the project, originally expected to cost $3.7 million, means more money for the city's general fund.

The so-called Jasmine Block, between Southwest Fourth and Five Avenues and Montgomery and Harrison Street, was the one portion of streetcar line without two tracks, forcing streetcars traveling in opposite directions between the South Waterfront and Northwest Portland to wait.

...continues at the Oregonian.

[maccoinnich]

Here's the streetcar service pattern while the President is in town. Interesting preview of what a line from NW 23rd, over the Broadway Bridge and towards the Lloyd could look like.

[cailes]

Stay tuned mac, there could be a CL last route of the night that looks something like that come Sept.

[65MAX]

Originally Posted by cailes

Stay tuned mac, there could be a CL last route of the night that looks something like that come Sept.

For CL trains traveling counter-clockwise, that would make sense.