JIM HOWELL

 

TriMet will soon start construction on an unneeded and expensive light-rail project. They call it “A Better Red,” but a more accurate name would be “A Redundant Red.” 

This project is intended to improve the MAX system’s schedule reliability and increase service frequency between Beaverton and the Hillsboro Fair Complex. It will do this, but at what cost? It will: Retain the light-rail bottleneck at the Rose Quarter Junction and the Steel Bridge; limit TriMet’s ability to improve service frequency on all other MAX lines; reduce Red Line connections to eastside buses and trains at the Gateway Station; require building an operator layover facility, track and switches at the Hillsboro Fair Complex; require building a station two blocks north of the Gateway Station; require laying one-third of a mile of new track and two bridges north of the Gateway Station; not significantly increase system ridership; and waste over $200 million of taxpayer money. 

 It is a waste of money because the benefits of “A Better Red” can be achieved at little cost and, at the same time, allow TriMet to improve service frequency on the entire MAX system. I presented an alternative to TriMet at its March board of directors meeting but, so far, I have not heard from them. Jim Howell, Portland Howell is a retired TriMet planner.

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