TriMet is one step closer to revamping public transit on one of Portland’s busiest and most dangerous roads.
The Federal Transit Administration last week awarded TriMet a $630,000 grant that will go toward helping TriMet build a rapid transit line on 82nd Avenue — a major artery that runs through east Portland.
The existing bus route, Line 72, is the busiest transit line in the Portland area. Officials hope to build a frequent express line similar to the one TriMet recently began operating on Southeast Division Street.
According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, car ownership is lower than the regional average for those living on or around 82nd Avenue. The road is also home to some of the most racially diverse communities in Oregon.
TriMet received the grant less than a month after U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg toured 82nd Avenue by bus during a visit to Portland. During the visit, Buttigieg listened to local leaders talk about the dangers of the road and the work being done to improve it.
“While 82nd Avenue has become a relic of an orphaned highway, there is so much potential for its future and the people who rely on it,” Sam Desue Jr., TriMet’s general manager, said in a statement. “Through dedicated federal support, TriMet and our regional partners have the opportunity to transform 82nd into a safe, vibrant, thriving corridor,” he said.
Portland’s 82nd Avenue has been the target of much scrutiny in the past few years, as the formerly state-owned freight route is one of the state’s most dangerous roads. It has long lacked safety mechanisms, like adequate lighting, consistent sidewalks and crosswalks. Nearly 150 serious-injury or fatal crashes have happened on or near the road in the past four years.
Portland’s city government took over responsibility of 82nd Avenue last year and plans to overhaul the formerly state-owned highway to make it safer, using $185 million of federal, state and local money to build crosswalks, improve lighting and repave the road.
— Jayati Ramakrishnan; jramakrishnan@oregonian.com
