Driving in the Portland area question (Beaverton, Bend: how much, living in, bus)

[TD*]

Dude, the Rail goes to almost all of the Suburbs.... You dont need a car.

[Nell Plotts]

We don't know where he needs to go.. If NIKE or INTEL the MAX will work but if he is going to CastParts he will need a car.

[Minervah]

Originally Posted by TD*

Avoid driving... Ride the Max/StreetCar/Busses/WES

SO much better for the environment, and... you wont have to deal with traffic.

Trimet=sex

That's really not quite fair because it isn't possible to get everywhere by TriMet.

There are also time limits to think about. If the OP has multiple appointments in one day and they are in fairly far apart locations, driving may be the only solution. It's all going to depend upon the circumstances regarding the interview schedules.

As an example, if the OP has an interview in Beaverton and then another in Gresham, he/she would have to go from Beaverton to downtown Portland on light rail which would take about 45 minutes and then transfer to the the light rail that goes to Gresham which I believe takes another 45 minutes or longer. It just wouldn't be to advantageous to take the MAX because most of the time would be taken up waiting for and riding on the train.

The decision to drive between suburbs is a wise one because there are no connecting trains betwen them. It doesn't make sense to back track through downtown.

If the OP wants to tell us where the appointments are, we can map out TriMet routes that would be convenient if there are any.

[EnricoV]

Originally Posted by TD*

Dude, the Rail goes to almost all of the Suburbs.... You dont need a car.

You can't possibly claim that. First off, you don't know. Secondly, it's not close to being true.

The "Rail" (which, incidentally is an indication that you have absolutely no familiarity with light-rail in Portland ... no one would refer to it that way) won't get you to anywhere in the SE quadrant of town or its suburbs, except right along I-205. And unless the appointment is at a mall, that won't get you there. It won't get you anywhere on the west side of town except right along Highway 26. And then there's Vancouver ... good luck with that.

Odds are infinitesimal that MAX will deposit anyone near to a business appointment, in any suburb at all.

[Minervah]

I doubt that TD lives in Portland or anywhere near Portland. His profile says "The Sunshine State" and that is definitely not Oregon. Just another person who for some reason watches a TV show or reads a newspaper article, or the Internet or maybe even spends some time here and believes they know it all. I was trying to be nice but I really am getting weary of these people giving out misinformation that could really do some damage to honest posters seeking information.

To the OP, really, truly, if you have any questions regarding the public transportation system in Portland or the suburbs just ask and there are many people where who will be happy to help you. Just make sure you check their credentials and their profiles actually say they live here.

BTW, you mentioned the EL in Chicago's loop. I am originally from Chicago. You won't need a bus or car to maneuver downtown Portland. It is small and compact and you can easily walk from one end to the other if you need to. Good luck on your interviews and your decisions.

[UrbanAdventurer]

Originally Posted by TD*

Avoid driving... Ride the Max/StreetCar/Busses/WES

SO much better for the environment, and... you wont have to deal with traffic.

Trimet=sex

You sure that wasn't a "u" meant to go between the two other letters?

[KaaBoom]

Originally Posted by Minervah

I'll take a guess. The City of Portland owns the street cars and Tri Met owns MAX. Tri Met maintains the street car lines though. Go figure.

I don't know if this is the reason but it's the only one I can think of as to why they are different.

Streetcars traditionally run on the street in mixed traffic. Light rail trains tend to run on private ROW. There are exceptions. Streetcars can also run on private ROW too, and light rail trains can share lanes with other vehicles. But thats the basic difference between streetcars and light rail. I don't think the ownership issue, really has anything to do with it.

[Nell Plotts]

The history behind the different ownership of streetcars vs MAX is that the city wished to increase the accessibility of specific neighborhoods that weren't high on TriMet's goals. TriMet looks at the metro area as a whole, the city wants to upgrade neighborhoods where a streetcar might incent rehabilitation of structures.

Most of you don't remember the neighborhood now called the Pearl. At the time the city started calling it that we old timers could only smile and think of those pop-it "pearls" of the 50s.

[TD*]

You guys are a bunch of Trolls, LOL. I was just in Portland for a week, and rode the max everywhere around town.. and between that, the streetcar, wes, and the excellent bus and bicycle walking options you can get damn near everywhere.

( i even looked at the sytem map which extends out to the furthest suburbs!)

I would not need a car there.

And seriously, WTF is your issue. You guys are the rudest bunch of jerks I have ever run across on a message board. You assume you are the Masters of Portland and only you know everything..

Seriously.

Im outta here. Congrats on running off a person who loves this board.

[UrbanAdventurer]

It's the Internet. People feel they have carte Blanche to be obnoxious. You have to have thicker skin than that.