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TriMet caves on 82nd Ave transit plans as business owners threaten lawsuits – BikePortland

TriMet caves on 82nd Ave transit plans as business owners threaten lawsuits – BikePortland


lead-image-template-5 TriMet caves on 82nd Ave transit plans as business owners threaten lawsuits – BikePortland
(Image: Google Streetview outside Fubonn at SE Woodward and 82nd. Inset: Kellington Law Group letter.)

In a move that has stunned transit advocates, TriMet 82nd Avenue Transit Project staff have recommended just three miles of semi-dedicated bus lanes along the entire 10-mile project corridor. In a memo shared with members of the project’s Community Advisory Committee (CAC) Wednesday night, the staff recommendation for 60% design scope clarified the intention to move forward with BAT lanes in just two sections: between NE Lombard and Tillamook, and between SE Foster and Clatsop.

The decision comes after advocates publicly aired concerns that TriMet might cave to 82nd Avenue business owners who oppose BAT lanes in the most dense commercial areas of the project. It turns out those concerns were valid.

The Line 72 that runs north-south on 82nd Avenue is the busiest bus line in the entire state of Oregon and has around 10,000 daily boardings. Back in 2023, TriMet launched a $350 million project to upgrade transit service on a 10-mile section of the corridor between Clackamas County and Northeast Portland. The project is part of a massive effort from the City of Portland, Metro and TriMet to remake what was once a highway into a local street that reflects local visions and values following its transition away from state ownership that became official in 2022.

At issue for TriMet is how much of the 10-mile project length would get its “Business Access and Transit” or “BAT” lane treatment. BAT lanes are TriMet’s version of high frequency bus service. They come with signal priority, major stop upgrades, and other improvements aimed at speeding up buses. Essential to the BAT concept is that car users are not allowed in the (usually red-colored lanes) unless they’re turning right and/or access driveways. In May TriMet released results of a survey showing that, despite its higher price tag, 70% of the 1,400 respondents said the agency should build seven miles of BAT lanes along the corridor. An option to build just three miles of BAT lanes received 58% support.

Transit advocates supported the option to implement BAT lanes along the entire corridor. Back in June The Street Trust submitted a letter to TriMet that read: “We strongly urge TriMet… to prioritize Business Access and Transit (BAT) lanes along the entire corridor, not as an isolated goal but as a means to make alternatives to driving faster, more reliable, and more appealing.”

Last month BikePortland reported heartburn among some advocates who felt TriMet was setting the stage for this recommendation. In slides presented to the CAC last month project staff said they’ve heard “significant concerns” to BAT lanes from businesses, specifically around “customer access,” “construction impact,” and “traffic and vehicle diversion.”

In the official recommendation issued last night, TriMet says budget constraints were mostly to blame. The seven-mile BAT lane option (known as “More BAT” in project documents, which also includes widening one intersection) costs $10.8 million while the three-mile option (known as “Some BAT”) is just $2.8 million — a difference of $8 million, or just 2% of the total project cost.

While cost figured into their calculation, it’s likely that intense pushback from some business owners along the route also influenced this decision.

Through a public records request, BikePortland has obtained two letters submitted to TriMet that strongly oppose BAT lanes. Both letters come from law firms who represent business owners on 82nd Avenue and make it clear legal action would be taken if TriMet didn’t change their proposal.

82nd-fubonnplan TriMet caves on 82nd Ave transit plans as business owners threaten lawsuits – BikePortland
TriMet proposal at Fubonn location.

On September 22nd, Wendie Kellington of Lake Oswego-based Kellington Law Group, sent a letter to TriMet on behalf of her clients Washman and Fubonn. Washman has two car wash locations where BAT lanes were proposed — one at NE Glisan and another at SE Raymond. Fubonn is located in a large shopping center on SE Woodward.

In the letter, Kellington described the “More BAT” option as, “an extreme proposal” that “should simply be a nonstarter” and complained that, “the voice of business is simply not being heard.” Here’s more from the letter:

“The proposal is that two entire lanes of 82nd Ave (both northbound and southbound), will be closed to motor vehicles and that “bus lanes” will take their place, dedicated to 4-5 buses every hour, creating serious additional congestion – taking away 50% of 82nd Ave.’s capacity to speed up transit times by an just a few minutes, but causing the same or worse corresponding delays for motor vehicle traffic.”

Kellington says her client’s opposition to the proposal is rooted in their claim that busses represent less than 1% of the vehicles traveling on 82nd Avenue, but would get half the lane capacity. This proposal would, “add serious impediments to the 99% of vehicles trying to get to 82nd Ave. business destinations,” and would lead to frustrated drivers, empty bus-only lanes, and more traffic diversion into local streets.

TriMet’s plan for BAT lanes in the central portion of the project is, “dangerous and poses an existential threat to 82nd Ave businesses,” Kellington contends in her letter.

82nd-petersonplan TriMet caves on 82nd Ave transit plans as business owners threaten lawsuits – BikePortland
TriMet proposal at Peterson Crossing location.

Lawrence Wagner, an attorney from Portland-based law firm Sokol Larkin, who represents the owner of the Peterson Crossing shopping center on the corner of SE Foster and 82nd (at 8136 SE Foster Rd), sent a letter of opposition to TriMet on October 1st. The letter, which threatens legal action if the project moves forward, came after the business owner met with a Portland Bureau of Transportation staffer and learned about the BAT lane proposal. Wagner says his client was told the project would “completely take away” the shopping center’s “critical driveway access to 82nd Ave.”

“Peterson cannot lose that access,” the letter warned (emphasis Wagner).

Here’s more from Wagner’s letter:

“Tenants have indicated that their businesses will not survive without the 82nd Access. Given the various other issues along 82nd Avenue, we cannot imagine that TriMet wants another shopping center to go dark, and we assume that TriMet has no interest in seeing these local businesses fail. If these businesses need to close or move due to loss of the 82nd Access, then Peterson will also suffer significant financial hardship, and it may be left with a valueless property.”

The businesses have another driveway entrance along SE Foster, but Wagner says having only that one driveway isn’t feasible for his clients due to space constraints and access issues.

Reached for comment about TriMet’s decision, CAC member and local resident who uses Line 72 regularly, Meghan Humphreys, told BikePortland she is “disappointed”. The decision, “Runs counter to what we heard support for in community surveys, especially from transit riders and residents,” Humphreys said. “The ‘more BAT lanes’ option is what would actually make the 72 bus run reliably and be a real asset for the neighborhood and its residents like me.”

Zachary Lauritzen, a CAC member of executive director of nonprofit Oregon Walks, said he was caught off guard by TriMet’s decision. “PBOT did their analysis and said full BAT lanes were possible. Amazing! To have Trimet, our transit agency, the folks who should be the biggest advocates for excellent transit, choose to recommend this half-measure is mind boggling,” Lauritzen shared with BikePortland this morning. “The project team has moved further and further away from BRT and should call it what it is: a nice transit improvement. It’s not BRT and it’s not going to transform 82nd Avenue as people have asked for and been expecting from half a billion dollars in investments.” 

Lauritzen is calling on TriMet to live their own values. “You can’t say, ‘We think transit is a priority. We want to give people the best transit experience. We think transit is a climate solution,’ and then choose to give all the space to cars where it matters most,” he said.

TriMet says there’s still a chance more BAT lanes could be built; but only if additional funds become available.

Given the hints coming from TriMet in recent weeks, advocates were already ramping-up organizing efforts. There’s a rally to push for more BAT lanes planned for 1:00 pm on Sunday at Montavilla Park. Some activists are planning to attend a meeting of the SE Uplift Neighborhood Coalition Land Use & Transportation Committee meeting on Monday (10/20) at 7:00 pm (via Zoom or in person at 3534 SE Main St.). where PBOT and TriMet are expected to make a presentation about the project. The project’s next CAC meeting is Wednesday, October 22nd from 6:00 to 7:30 pm at Portland Community College Southeast Campus.

TriMet’s staff recommendation will now be forwarded to the project’s Policy and Budget Committee meeting on November 7th where the final decision will be made.

For transit riders who rely on 82nd Ave, all they can do is hope there’s still a chance to salvage this project. “This is our city’s opportunity to make 82nd Avenue safer for more than just cars only,” Humphreys said. “And I would hate to see us lose this chance.”





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