Planning & Public Involvement

Who decided to add light rail to the Portland Mall?

During the last 20 years, a series of studies considered whether or not to add a Portland Mall light rail alignment to add transit capacity to our growing region. Various committees repeatedly evaluated putting light rail on the Portland Mall, and each time the decision was reaffirmed.

The plan to put light rail on 5th & 6th avenues also was approved through two public processes. This consideration of a 5th and 6th avenue alignment was explored in 1993 through the Downtown Rail Advisory Committee that included citizens, business and property owners, and transit riders. This idea was explored again in 1998 through the Downtown Oversight Committee process, which included representation from a cross section of downtown interests. Finally, the Mayor's Project Steering Committee confirmed the decision by selecting 5th and 6th avenues as the preferred alignment in 2004.

Public involvement in the project

TriMet integrates extensive public involvement activities into every phase of its projects. To ensure consistent information and to facilitate dependable lines of communication with the general public and specific downtown communities, the project team has implemented a community relations program to ensure that the project serves community needs and mitigates, as much as possible, the negative effects of construction on businesses and neighborhoods along the downtown route. The purpose of this process is to provide information and an opportunity for the public to comment on the proposed project's scope, design, schedule and impacts. Our public involvement process will continue through the project's completion.

TriMet coordinates regular meetings with various stakeholder groups, including two Citizens Advisory Committees, one for the Mall segment and one for the I-205 segment. The Project also is implementing an extensive community outreach program to businesses, organizations and communities through neighborhood associations and local civic and business organizations. The program also includes postcard mailings; quarterly open houses showcasing project concepts; transit rider alerts; hundreds of news stories on TV, radio and in newspapers; postings on TriMet's website and portlandmall.org; and email alerts sent to subscribers who wanted to keep up-to-date on the Project. Plans are also shared with TriMet's Committee on Accessible Transportation (CAT), which consists of riders who advocate for seniors and people with disabilities.

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Independent review

TriMet's rail projects require extensive independent reviews to receive funding from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA). The FTA requires that all projects undergo a comprehensive and rigorous evaluation, which TriMet and other transit agencies must follow, to evaluate strategies for addressing transportation problems and ensure project viability through engineering, design, construction, operation and maintenance.

The I-205/Portland Mall Project will go through a number of rigorous safety reviews by staff, consultants, and state and federal regulators. The following is a summary of the independent reviews for this project to date.

• PB Transit and Rail Systems, a national expert firm in rail safety operations and related pedestrian and vehicle safety, conducted a Preliminary Hazard Analysis (PHA), which is a complete and thorough review of the project regarding all aspects of safety. In this document, possible hazards are identified and several mitigations are suggested to address every hazard. TriMet will incorporate these items into the Safety Certification Process to ensure every hazard is addressed and mitigated properly.
• TriMet requested a peer review to focus on operational aspects of the Mall and the interaction between buses, light rail vehicles, pedestrians and general traffic. This group was assembled with assistance from the United States Department of Transportation Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) Peer-to-Peer program and facilitated by the Safety Management Program of the American Public Transportation Association. The review resulted in a 19 action items that TriMet and its project partners are incorporating into the design and operation.
• Throughout the project, the Project Management Oversight Consultant (PMO), an FTA contracted engineering technical firm, oversees all aspects of any federally funded project we undertake. It has specialty subcontractors reviewing designs, costs, schedules, safety plans and issues, and every other aspect of the project.
• The PMO also oversees a comprehensive Risk Assessment evaluating cost and schedule risks, including safety issues. The Risk Assessment was completed in February 2005 and the project scored very high on this initial Risk Assessment. An updated Risk Assessment will be completed in summer 2006.

Community outreach efforts

Community relations activities have been designed to:

• Establish regular communications with downtown businesses, organizations and communities to solicit good advice and encourage engagement and ownership in the project.
• Build public awareness and support for the project as essential to enriching the region's economy and livability.
• Work directly with residents, businesses and property owners along the proposed route to inform them about project impacts and timelines.
• Provide downtown property owners a convenient forum to participate in design alternatives specific to their properties.
• Influence project design and planning so that impacts to properties, communities and transportation system users are minimized during construction, to the extent possible.