Transportation Operations
July 22, 2010
Video Feature - Neil McFarlane Interview - Part 4
Here is the next segment in our interview with TriMet's new General Manager, Neil McFarlane.Today's installment takes a look at transit modes such as BRT and future technology, and discusses issues related to rider involvement in agency decisions.
The complete list and schedule, after the break:
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday |
| Part 1: Introduction, Safety and Priorities |
Part 2: Funding, Capital Projects and Budget Concerns |
Part 3: Health Care, LIFT Service and the Fare System |
Part 4: Mode Choice, Technology and Rider Involvement |
Part 5: Future Planning, The Big Picture, and... |
Posted by Bob Richardson at 8:20 AM | Comments (4) | Permalink
July 20, 2010
Video Feature - Neil McFarlane Interview - Part 2
Here is the next segment in our interview with TriMet's new General Manager, Neil McFarlane.[Corrected] Today's Topic: Funding, Capital Projects and Budget Concerns.
The complete list and schedule, after the break:
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday |
| Part 1: Introduction, Safety and Priorities |
Part 2: Funding, Capital Projects and Budget Concerns |
Part 3: Health Care, LIFT Service and the Fare System |
Part 4: Mode Choice, Technology and Rider Involvement |
Part 5: Future Planning, The Big Picture, and... |
Posted by Bob Richardson at 7:24 AM | Comments (22) | Permalink
July 19, 2010
Video Feature - Neil McFarlane Interview - Part 1
Last week, we sat down with TriMet's new General Manager, Neil McFarlane, for an interview featuring your questions.We have over 40 minutes of material. So that people can digest this via YouTube and comment, the interview has been divided into five segments, the first of which is shown today:
This segment provides some background and context, and gives Neil a chance to speak about his priorities. There's not much Q&A here -- reader questions begin in the following segments.
The complete list and schedule, after the break:
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday |
| Part 1: Introduction, Safety and Priorities |
Part 2: Funding, Capital Projects and Budget Concerns |
Part 3: Health Care, LIFT Service and the Fare System |
Part 4: Mode Choice, Technology and Rider Involvement |
Part 5: Future Planning, The Big Picture, and... |
Posted by Bob Richardson at 9:01 AM | Comments (24) | Permalink
July 13, 2010
Video - TriMet Safety Review Press Conference
Yesterday, TriMet general manager Neil McFarlane held a press conference to talk about safety in light of this spring's tragic bus accident and the ongoing safety review that incident spurred.Some of the big changes announced (more are pending the outcome of the review):
- TriMet will create a new safety director position which answers directly to the general manager
- A safety task force will be empaneled, to be headed by former TriMet general manager Tom Walsh
- Restrictions on the use of personal electronics by transit operators will be expanded to mandate that any such devices must be turned off at all times while operating a vehicle
Video - Part 1 - Main Presentation
Video - Part 2 - Q&A
We will be including portions of these videos in our feature interview with Neil McFarlane to provide additional context.
Posted by Bob Richardson at 9:00 AM | Comments (22) | Permalink
June 19, 2010
The Four-Car Type IV MAX Train
(Or, unfortunately, not a good afternoon for TriMet employees and customers.)
Video after the jump...
Yesterday was one of those "may you live in interesting times" sorts of interesting times. TriMet had a relatively-new Type IV light rail train (a variation of the Siemens S70) which became stuck at the NE 60th MAX station, right as Friday rush hour was warming up. This is the central I-84 corridor which carries the Blue, Red, and Green line trains.
I subscribe to TriMet's rider alerts via email for the lines which run near my house, and as it happens this station is within a few blocks. I noticed the alert about a mechanical failure at around 4:45pm, and then an hour or so later it occurred to me that I didn't see the alert which usually follows to note that all is up-and-running again.
With a quick double-check of TriMet's web site, I confirmed that service was still interrupted and TriMet was running shuttle buses instead. I decided to grab my camera and walk over to the station for a closer look.
What I found was that a disabled eastbound Blue Line train was going nowhere.
I took care not to disturb the employees while they were working, but what I was able to pick up from casual remarks I overheard, and what was being told to curious passers-by outside the station area, was that an electrical and/or software problem was preventing the train from moving. It appeared that whenever it was attempted to move the train just a few inches, the brakes on one of the two cars would automatically fully kick in.
I'm not sure what all they tried before I arrived, but at this point they were attempting to couple another train (a type II or III) to the rear of the disabled train, and give it a push out of the station. But there were problems during and after the coupling process, and that train eventually left.
More attempts were made to inspect and manipulate the brakes and control connections between the two halves of the Type IV train, but it still exhibited the sticking problem.
Eventually, another Type IV train was brought in from the east, and through a carefully-orchestrated maneuver, was coupled to the disabled train and slowly pushed it to a spare track at the Hollywood Transit Center station. This provided a rarely-seen glimpse of a (slightly inoperative) four-car MAX train operating on the main tracks.
It took some time after this for service to be fully restored, with the final email update going out around 8:45pm, four hours later.
I imagine there's going to be some interesting chats back and forth between TriMet and Siemens in the near future. :-)
Special thanks to the TriMet personnel who tolerated the presence of a camera nearby when it was optional for them to do so.
Posted by Bob Richardson at 12:01 AM | Comments (18) | Permalink
March 25, 2009
TriMet Updates Service Cut Proposals
TriMet has a new press release out today outlining changes to the service cut proposal. They received over 1,500 comments.
Check out the press release for details.
In summary: Fewer cuts than originaly proposed to buses (5 lines cut instead of 12, but the "spared" 7 face other changes/consolidations.) MAX cuts stay basically the same as originally proposed, including on the yet-to-open Green Line. Further cuts will be proposed agency-wide due to reduced revenue projections, but won't affect service in this round. If future service cuts are to be proposed, there will be another round of public involvement.
Posted by Bob Richardson at 12:46 PM | Comments (18) | Permalink
March 6, 2009
TriMet Schedules Public Hearings for Service Cuts and Fareless Square
TriMet will be holding a series of three public hearings in rapid-succession. The hearings will cover the dual (and somewhat intertwined) topics of service cuts due to reduced revenue, and the future of Fareless Square.
From:
http://trimet.org/meetings/publichearings.htm
Monday, April 6, 2009, 4-7 p.m.
Wilson High School Auditorium
1151 SW Vermont
Portland, OR 97219
Tuesday, April 7, 2009, 4-7 p.m.
Portland Building Auditorium, Second Floor
1120 SW 5th Avenue
Portland, OR 97204
Wednesday, April 8, 2009, 4-7 p.m.
Clackamas County Sheriff's Office
Public Safety Training Center
12700 SE 82nd Avenue
Portland, OR 97015
Posted by Bob Richardson at 3:34 PM | Comments (12) | Permalink
August 9, 2007
Keep Portland Moving - Bridge Pedal Edition
From Multnomah County:
Traffic plan set for Providence Bridge Pedal The 12th annual Providence Bridge Pedal on Sunday morning, August 12, will involve ten Willamette River bridges in Portland. The event includes three different cycle routes and one for walkers. As usual, the event will require some changes in how motorists get around the city, especially when crossing the Willamette River. Several bridges – including the Broadway, Morrison and St. Johns -- will remain open to vehicular traffic in both directions, despite the presence of cyclists and walkers. Here is the traffic plan for Bridge Pedal, starting with bridges from south to north:Bridge Pedal will also require traffic changes on several state highways and Portland streets Sunday morning, including:
- The Sellwood Bridge will be closed westbound from 6:45 am to 9:15 am.
- The Ross Island Bridge will be closed westbound at 4:00 am and will reopen by noon.
- The Marquam Bridge/Interstate 5 will be closed northbound (upper deck) at 4:00 am and will reopen by noon.
- The Hawthorne Bridge will be closed eastbound from 6:30 am to 10:30 am, with TriMet bus service operating in both directions. The outside eastbound lane will be closed beginning Saturday at 6:00 pm.
- The Morrison Bridge will be open in both directions. The outer two eastbound lanes will be closed from 6:30 am to 8:30 am.
- The Burnside Bridge will be closed from 6:30 am to 11:00 am. (The bridge will be closed for lift span repairs starting at 8:00 pm on August 9 and is not expected to reopen until after Bridge Pedal.)
- The Steel Bridge will be closed in both directions from 6:45 am until 11:30 am. TriMet bus and MAX service will operate in both directions.
- The Broadway Bridge will be open in both directions. The outermost westbound lane will be closed from 7:30 am to 12:30 pm.
- The Fremont Bridge/Interstate 405 will be closed southbound (upper deck) at 4:00 am and will reopen by 12:15 pm.
- The St. Johns Bridge will have one lane open in both directions (the other two lanes will be closed) from 6:00 am to noon.
The Broadway, Burnside, Morrison and Hawthorne drawbridges will not be able to open for river traffic between 6:00 am and noon. TriMet buses and MAX trains may experience delays up to 15 minutes in downtown during the event. Many downtown lines will have minor detours and lines 12-Sandy, 19-Glisan and 20-Burnside/Stark will cross the Morrison Bridge instead of the Burnside Bridge. The following bus lines will also have minor detours: 12-Barbur/Sandy, 14-Hawthorne, 15-Belmont/NW 23rd Ave., 17-Holgate/NW 21st Ave.-St. Helens Rd., 19-Glisan/Woodstock, 20-Burnside/Stark, 33-Fremont/McLoughlin, 35-Macadam, 43-Taylors Ferry Rd., 44-Mocks Crest, 70-12th Ave., 72-Killingsworth/82nd Ave., and 77-Broadway/Halsey. Signs will direct riders to nearby stops where buses are on detours. The Oregon Department of Transportation maintains the Fremont, Marquam, Ross Island and St. Johns bridges. Multnomah County maintains the Broadway, Burnside, Hawthorne, Morrison and Sellwood bridges. Union Pacific Railroad owns the Steel Bridge. Keep Portland Moving is a multi-agency effort to coordinate public works construction, manage traffic impacts and coordinate public information. Agencies include the City of Portland’s Transportation and Environmental Services bureaus, Multnomah County, Oregon Dept. of Transportation and TriMet. For more information, visit www.keepportlandmoving.org. For Bridge Pedal information, visit www.providence.org/oregon/events/bridge_pedal.
- I-5 and I-405: Motorists approaching the Marquam Bridge on northbound I-5 will be routed to northbound I-405 during the temporary Marquam Bridge closure (from 4:00 am to noon). All lanes of southbound I-5 will remain open at all times. All southbound lanes of I-405 will be closed between U.S. 30 and the Marquam Bridge. Motorists headed for southbound I-405/southbound I-5 will take northbound I-405 across the Fremont Bridge to southbound I-5.
- The right lane of eastbound U.S. 30 will be closed between NW Kittridge Ave. and the St. Johns Bridge from 6:00 am to noon.
- Motorists traveling eastbound on U.S. 26 (Sunset Highway) to southbound I-405 will be routed to northbound I-405, across the Fremont Bridge to southbound I-5. This detour will be in place from 4:00 am to noon.
- SW Macadam Ave./Highway 43: One northbound lane of Macadam/Highway 43 will be closed between the Sellwood Bridge and Ross Island Bridge, with some delays accessing areas east of SW Macadam Ave. from 6:00 am to noon.
- Highway 99E: One southbound lane of Highway 99E will be closed between SE Mill St. and the Milwaukie Ave. off-ramp. from 6:00 am to noon.
- Naito Parkway: Closed in both directions between SW Columbia and the Steel Bridge. NW Naito Parkway/NW Front Ave. will be closed southbound from NW Nicolai to the Steel Bridge. SW Naito will be closed northbound from SW Harrison to SW Columbia.
- N Willamette Blvd.: Closed eastbound between N Richmond Ave. and N Portland Blvd.
- N Greeley Ave.: Closed southbound from N Killingsworth St. to N Interstate Ave.
- N Ivanhoe St.: Closed between N Leavitt Ave. and N Philadelphia Ave.
- N Interstate Ave.: both directions closed between Larrabee and Mississippi, southbound only closed Fremont to Multnomah.
- SE Milwaukie Ave.: southbound only closed between Schiller and Ellis.
- N Russell St: closed both directions between Kerby and Mississippi.
- SE Clay St.: West of Martin Luther King Blvd., access for local traffic only to Water Ave. (OMSI access provided).
Posted by Chris Smith at 12:00 AM | Comments (6) | Permalink
July 26, 2007
Congestion: Average Travel Time vs. Reliability
I had the opportunity to attend a "Travel Time Reliability" workshop at Metro a few weeks ago (I never said I wasn't a wonk). The speaker was kind enough to forward the PowerPoint since I wanted to blog about a few of the slides.
My point here is that when most people think about congestion, they think in terms of capacity constraints. But the reality is that the pain has to do more with unreliability. Not that the two aren't related - more capacity does make you less sensitive to SOME of the factors that create reliability problems, but it's an expensive answer and there may be more cost effective approaches (with way fewer negative environmental effects than adding capacity).
Here's the psychology, and the problem with the way we usually measure now. |
More after the break.
Managing the system DOES improve performance. In this famous experience in Minnesota, ramp meters were turned off for a period (the 'before' segment in the slide). The result was longer after travel time AND less reliability. 
I think this is the critical concept out of the discussion. The pain of congestion is not the difference between the free-flowing travel time (11 min in this slide) and the average travel time (+4 min). The pain is the extra 7 minutes of buffer you have to add to make sure you're not late more than once in every 20 trips (95% case = 1 day in 20). I suspect we'd have to put $Billions in to work on the 4 minutes, but we can probably spend $Millions and work on the 7 minutes! |
Posted by Chris Smith at 7:14 AM | Comments (6) | Permalink
June 22, 2007
The Good Kind of Holes in the Street
The Daily Journal of Commerce reports on a pilot of porous street paving treatments in Salem.
I wonder if we spent the price of the Big Pipe on this, if we would have needed the pipe?
Posted by Chris Smith at 7:00 AM | Comments (6) | Permalink
