Newcomer's Handbook for Moving to and Living in Portland: Including Vancouver, Gresham, Hillsboro, Beaverton, Tigard, and Wilsonville

by Geon, Bryan

  Carpools qualify for reduced parking rates in designated spots in downtown Portland, the Lloyd District, and the Pearl District. The only HOV (High-Occupancy Vehicle) or carpool lane in the Portland area is on I-5 northbound north of downtown, and occupancy restrictions apply from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. only.

  Car Rental

  The following car rental companies have multiple locations in the metropolitan area. For smaller companies and airport-only options, check online or look in the Yellow Pages under “Auto Renting.”

  Avis, 800-633-3469, www.avis.com

  Budget, 218-7992, www.budget.com

  Dollar, 800-800-4000, www.dollar.com

  Enterprise, 800-261-7331, www.enterprise.com

  Hertz, 800-654-3131, www.hertz.com

  Thrifty, 800-334-1705, www.thrifty.com

  By Bike

  Despite its wet, chilly fall and winter weather and hilly terrain in some neighborhoods, Portland is perhaps the most bike-centric large city in America. Bicycling magazine and other granters of accolades have repeatedly named Portland the best overall cycling city in the country, and although it’s no Amsterdam, Portland is a reasonably easy place to get around by bike. The U.S. Census Bureau estimated in 2014 that 6.1% of Portland commuters traveled by bike, and on a typical weekday some 7,000 to 8,000 bicycles cross into downtown on the Hawthorne Bridge. The city currently has 181 miles of striped bike lanes, 79 miles of bike paths, and 59 miles of “neighborhood greenways”—shared-use city streets with low auto traffic volume and (sometimes) obstacles to through car traffic on which bicycles are given priority. The city has (unfunded) plans to triple this mileage by 2030, and suburban areas already add many more miles of trails and bike lanes to the total.

  If you’re interested in commuting or otherwise getting around by bicycle, even on a part-time basis, a host of organizations stand ready to help. The Portland Bureau of Transportation (503-823-5490, www.gettingaroundportland.org) provides extensive bicycling information, both online and in hard copy, and holds frequent workshops designed to inform and encourage nascent cyclists. The following nonprofits are also excellent resources for actual and prospective bicyclists:

  Bicycle Transportation Alliance, 618 NW Glisan St #401, 503-226-0676, www.btaoregon.org

  Community Cycling Center, 1805 NE 2nd Ave, 503-288-8864, www.communitycyclingcenter.org

  Shift, www.shift2bikes.org

  The Portland Office of Transportation publishes several neighborhood bike maps, as well as the fairly comprehensive (and free) citywide Portland by Bicycle map and guide, which includes an inset map of Beaverton and Vancouver bike routes. These maps are available in hard copy or as PDFs at www.portlandoregon.gov/transportation/39402. Multnomah (503-988-5050), Washington (800-537-3149), Clackamas (503-742-4500), and Clark (360-397-6118) Counties all publish county-level bike maps, but the best region-wide map is Bike There, available for $9 at most bike shops, bookstores, and some natural foods supermarkets and co-ops. A free map of Vancouver bike routes is available from the city’s Transportation Services office; call 360-487-7700 to request one or search for “Vancouver bike map” on www.cityofvancouver.us. Many other suburban communities publish their own bike maps. For something higher-tech, try www.bycycle.org or Google Maps, both of which offers online bike directions. For the Google option, go to maps.google.com, input your desired start and end points for directions, and click on the cyclist icon. Be aware that these services will not always send you on the most bike-appropriate route, so use your judgment.

  Many businesses have bicycle parking for patrons and/or employees, and some downtown parking garages have free covered bike parking. For information about bike locker rentals downtown and in the Lloyd District, call 503-823-5345. In addition, bike storage lockers are available at some transit centers and MAX stations; call 503-962-2104 for details or visit www.trimet.org/howtoride/bikes/lockersavailable.htm.

  Two-wheeled, single-seat bicycles are allowed on all public buses and light rail trains in the Portland area, as well as WES Commuter Rail, the Portland Streetcar, and the Aerial Tram. (Tandems, trikes, rickshaws and the like are not permitted.) Buses have a fold-down front rack with space for two bikes, and trains have designated areas for bicycles. For details on how to take your bike on public transit, call 503-238-RIDE or visit www.trimet.org/howtoride/bikes/.

  Bicycle Safety

  The Oregon Department of Transportation produces the Oregon Bicyclist Manual. While at times overly basic—the first of the “Four Basic Principles” presented in the manual is “Maintain Control of Your Bicycle,” and the list of “Practices to Avoid” includes the helpful hint, “Don’t dart out suddenly into the roadway”—the booklet does contain a useful rundown of rules of the road for bicyclists. The manual is available for download online from the DOT’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Program (visit www.oregon.gov/ODOT/HWY/BIKEPED and click on the “Publications” link), or you can order a copy by calling 503-986-4175. The Portland Office of Transportation publishes the slightly less patronizing A Guide to Your Ride.

  Vancouver is the only city in the metro area that requires bicyclists of all ages to wear helmets. Although helmets are not required for cyclists 16 years and older in Oregon, you would be very unwise not to wear one. (Some hipsters, as well as a contingent of people who have had bicycling thrust upon them following a DUII conviction, seem to think that helmets look uncool, but do you know what else is uncool? Permanent brain damage.) For more information about helmets, visit the Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute website (www.helmets.org).

  Roadside Assistance

  Roadside assistance for bicyclists? You bet! Better World Club (866-238-1137, www.betterworldclub.com) has offered bike roadside assistance for several years; bicycle-only plans start at about $40 per year. AAA of Oregon and Southern Idaho (800-444-8091, www.oregon.aaa.com) joined the bandwagon in 2009 and now offers bicycle service to its Plus-level members; AAA does not have a bike-only plan.

  Walking and Skateboarding

  Much of Portland is ideal walking territory, with plentiful sidewalks and short blocks. The Office of Transportation publishes nifty maps of walking routes in different parts of the city; visit www.gettingaroundportland.org for details. If your own two feet aren’t good enough for you, it is legal to skate, skateboard, or ride a (non-motorized) scooter on any street or sidewalk in Portland, except downtown, where you’ll have to stick to streets. (Certain downtown streets have been designated as skate routes.) Visit www.portlandoregon.gov/transportation/article/405782 for more information.

  Public Transportation

  TriMet (503-238-RIDE, www.trimet.org) is by far the largest transit agency in Oregon. TriMet operates a bus network that serves most of the Portland metropolitan area, the MAX light rail system, and a single-line, suburban commuter rail service. The system averages more than 300,000 weekday boardings, with over 100 million boardings annually. While those numbers are impressive, whether and how well the system will serve you depends on where you live, where you need to go, when you need to depart or arrive, and how much time you have to get there. Recent service cuts, fare increases, and the elimination of a fareless zone downtown have caused ridership to decline slightly over the last few years.

  TriMet has scrapped its traditionally zone-based fare scheme, and now a single fare is valid for the entire system. At press time, a single two-hour ticket costs $2.50 and an all-day ticket is $5. Youths under 18 (or in high school) pay $1.65 for a two-hour ticket, honored citizens (i.e., the elderly and disabled) pay $1, and children under 7 ride free. Fares generally increase each September.

  You can pay a single cash fare or buy an all-day ticket when you board a bus; bills are accepted, but exact change is required. Tickets are also available from the self-service vending machines at MAX stations; some of these machines accept credit cards. You can buy books of tickets and monthly passes at the TriMet Ticket Office at Pioneer Courthouse Square downtown (701 SW 6th Avenue) or at many area supermarkets and convenience stores. You can also o
rder tickets and passes online at www.trimet.org. TriMet now offers mobile ticketing apps for both iPhone and Android devices, and these phone-based tickets are becoming increasingly popular (and less subject to glitches than during their initial rollout).

  From 1975 until January 3, 2010, all public transportation was free within an area known as Fareless Square, which ultimately encompassed a 330-square-block area that included most of downtown Portland between the Interstate 405 loop and the Willamette River. Budgetary constraints and anecdotes of drug dealing and other criminal activity on buses in the fareless zone, combined with the opening of new light rail service on 5th and 6th Avenues, prompted TriMet to eliminate Fareless Square and replace it with a Fareless Rail Zone, which was itself discontinued in 2012. A fareless zone no longer exists for any form of TriMet transportation. This fact still confuses tourists using out-of-date guidebooks, but confusion doesn’t count as a valid fare.

  Ride Connection (503-226-0700, www.rideconnection.org) facilitates travel for older adults and people with disabilities, both by helping with independent travel on public transit and by providing public transit alternatives.

  Other regional transit agencies serve southwest Washington and outlying areas in Clackamas County. These agencies currently operate buses only; see “Bus” below for specifics.

  Light Rail

  The Metropolitan Area Express (MAX) light rail system currently has four lines with a total of 52 miles of track, with those numbers set to increase to five lines and nearly 60 miles of track in late 2015. MAX is the backbone of the transit system in that, although light rail accounts for about a bit more than a third of all trips on TriMet, most bus lines connect with MAX. (Some riders have complained that what was formerly a single bus trip now requires a transfer to MAX.) See pages 538–539 for a system map.

  The 33-mile Blue Line runs from Hillsboro in the west to Gresham in the east, via Beaverton, downtown Portland, and Northeast Portland. The eastern portion of this line, from Portland to Gresham, was the region’s first light rail line when it opened in 1986. The Westside MAX opened in 1998. If, for some reason, you wanted to ride the line from end to end, it would take about an hour and a half.

  The Red Line serves Portland International Airport. This line, opened in 2001, shares tracks with the Blue Line from Beaverton Transit Center to Gateway Transit Center in Northeast Portland, then runs the 5.5 miles to the airport on a spur line. It takes about 40 minutes to get to the airport terminal from downtown Portland.

  The Yellow Line runs from Portland State University along the downtown transit mall (5th and 6th Avenues) to Union Station, crosses the Willamette on the Steel Bridge to the Rose Quarter, then heads north along Interstate Avenue to the Expo Center in North Portland, just south of the Columbia River. It takes about half an hour to travel the length of the line.

  The Green Line, opened in September 2009, runs from Portland State University to Clackamas Town Center. The line shares track with Yellow Line trains in downtown Portland from PSU to Union Station, crosses the Steel Bridge (like all MAX trains currently) and uses the Blue Line/Red Line tracks between the Rose Quarter and Gateway Transit Center; the line then branches off and runs south from Gateway to Clackamas Town Center along Interstate 205. The journey from downtown to Clackamas takes about 40 minutes.

  The 7.3-mile Orange Line from downtown, across the new Tilikum Crossing bridge, and through Southeast Portland to Milwaukie and Oak Grove, is scheduled to open in the fall of 2015.

  A lack of funding, combined with opposition in some suburban communities, means that further expansion of the light rail system is in doubt, at least in the immediate future. An extension of the Yellow Line to Vancouver, Washington, was rejected by Clark County voters. Plans for other lines, including a line along Barbur Boulevard to Tigard and a Blue Line extension to Forest Grove, among others, are still ongoing, but construction is a decade or more away and the result (if any) might be a dedicated bus lane rather than a rail line.

  Commuter Rail

  The Westside Express Service (WES), a 14.7-mile commuter rail line from Wilsonville to central Beaverton, opened in 2009. This suburb-to-suburb line, one of the few such lines in the country, makes intermediate stops in Tualatin, Tigard, and southeast Beaverton. It operates during weekday rush hours only. The train connects with MAX in Beaverton, and offers free WiFi and reclining seats, but the line has been something of a fiscal disaster: the Colorado railcar manufacturer TriMet selected to build the trains went out of business mid-project, and ridership, although increasing, has been well below projections, with only about 2,000 riders per weekday using the service. For more information visit www.trimet.org/wes/.

  Bus

  TriMet runs 80 bus lines, including 13 “frequent service” lines, through the metro area. Almost all buses run to or from either downtown Portland or one of 16 regional transit centers. Bus service runs the gamut from frequent and excellent to nonexistent: lines with heavy ridership, or that serve major corridors, run at least every 15 minutes on weekdays (and more often during rush hour), while other lines provide commuter service only, sometimes in only one direction. Most bus lines fall somewhere in between these service extremes. Major service cuts in September 2009 eliminated some routes and reduced frequency or days of service on many others. These changes are likely to be permanent as the agency continues to focus on rail-based projects to the detriment of basic bus service.

  Most bus stops on “frequent service” lines have printed time point information at the stop, and most major bus stops on other lines have schedules posted for the lines that stop there. Every official stop has a stop identification number. In theory, you can obtain up-to-the-minute arrival information by calling 503-238-RIDE (503-238-7433) and entering the stop ID number. If your bus is stalled or broken down somewhere, however, it can be “arriving in three minutes” for half an hour or more. TriMet makes its system information available on an open-source basis, and dozens of third-party programmers have created useful applications for transit tracking from smartphones. Visit www.trimet.org/apps for details.

  In downtown Portland, most bus lines run down the recently redeveloped transit mall (southbound on 5th Avenue and northbound on 6th Avenue).

  In addition to TriMet, the following transit agencies provide bus service in the Portland metropolitan area:

  C-TRAN, 360-695-0123, www.c-tran.com, provides bus service in Clark County, including commuter service between Vancouver and downtown Portland as well as to the Expo Center and Parkrose MAX stations.

  Canby Area Transit, 503-266-4022, www.ci.canby.or.us/transportation/CAThomepage.htm, provides service within Canby and between Canby and Oregon City and Woodburn (via Aurora).

  Columbia County Rider, 503-366-0159, www.columbiacountyrider.com, provides shuttle service between Scappoose, St. Helens, and Rainier, and limited commuter service between downtown Portland and St. Helens and Scappoose. Buses also connect St. Helens/Scappoose with Portland Community College’s Rock Creek campus, Vernonia with Hillsboro and Beaverton, and Rainier with Longview/Kelso, Washington.

  Salem-Keizer Transit, 503-588-2877, www.cherriots.org, runs buses within Salem and adjacent Keizer, and to some outlying areas, and operates an express bus route to Wilsonville and another to Grande Ronde and the Spirit Mountain Casino.

  Sandy Area Metro (SAM), 503-668-3466, www.ci.sandy.or.us/transit, runs buses within Sandy and links Sandy to Gresham (and therefore the MAX light rail system) and Estacada.

  The South Clackamas Transportation District, 503-632-7000, www.southclackamastransportation.com, serves Molalla and runs between Molalla and Canby, and to Clackamas Community College.

  South Metro Area Regional Transit (SMART), 503-682-7790, www.ridesmart.com, serves Wilsonville. In addition to fareless routes within the city, SMART runs buses that connect Wilsonville with Portland, Tualatin, Salem, and Canby.

  Yamhill County Transit Area, 503-474-4910, www.yctransitarea.org, provides limited bus service within Yamhill County and betw
een Yamhill County and Salem, Sherwood, Tigard, and Hillsboro.

  Portland Streetcar

  The Portland Streetcar (www.portlandstreetcar.org) runs desultorily on two close-in lines. The modern, primarily Czech-made trains are the pokey little puppies of the transit system: they get you there, but at a leisurely speed. The NS Line runs between Northwest Portland and the South Waterfront district, via the Pearl District, downtown Portland, and Portland State University. The newer CL line runs from downtown Portland over the Broadway Bridge to the Lloyd District, then down Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard (southbound) and Grand Avenue (northbound) to the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI). In late 2015, an extension of this line will run from OMSI over the Tilikum Bridge to connect with the NS Line in South Waterfront. It takes just over half an hour (more or less) to ride either line from one end to another. Although the lines are owned by the city of Portland, TriMet and some C-TRAN tickets and passes are valid on the streetcar. A streetcar-only fare is $1 for two hours. An annual streetcar-only pass costs $200.