Big Trimet day.

Wanna come along?  Well, you missed the first part, because I didn't think to take pictures.  Imagine the Lombard Transit center, where I picked up the #4 and rode it over to Vancouver street.  There, I disembarked and went to the Dishman Community Center to swim.  Finished there, I walked to MLK to grab the #6.  Here we can switch to photos.

Across the street from this stop for the #6, are two houses, both alike in dignity/ in fair Portland where we lay our scene.  They are also apparently owned by the same person, who painted them the same color.
 

Where I came from:  Dishman.
 

I disembarked at Burnside and MLK to switch to the #20.  I probably had enough time to walk up to the theater, but was hungry, and wanted to leave time for a lunch more substantial than popcorn.  While at this stop the gentleman waiting with me asked me what I took the picture of.  When I explained it was for my blog he asked, "Who reads it?"  I told him that friends did and his reply was "Oh" and he ceased talking to me.  This amused me.  I guess I wasn't a famous enough blogger for him.
 

I went with Tapalaya for food and had a very good pulled pork sandwich with two sides:  collards with bacon and a black-eye pea salad.
 

My movie destination was right around the corner.
 

Waiting for the #20 again.  This was my longest wait of 20 minutes.  O! Sunday schedule, why must you thwart me!  Happily, my time was taken up by watching a disaffected youth cross Burnside, forcing cars to stop for him while he flipped them off.  He then stood behind a pole that was part of the building across the street and in short order a police cruiser pulled up, parked and talked with him then searched. him.  A second cruiser arrived to help with the search and a third cruiser showed up, searched him again and then took him away.  He didn't seem to be opposed to the idea and I wondered what story I missed there.  Of note:  the first police officer was a man, but the other two were women.
 

The #20 deposited me a block from my work, where I ran a quick errand.
 

Then walked to the Yellow Line and had to wait another 10 minutes.

From the Yellow Line, I disembarked and walked the final four blocks to my home.  Thanks Trimet for ferrying me around.

Steadfast bee (or wasp?)

Internet research has convinced me this is a wasp, and furthermore, that it's a Yellow Jacket.  At any rate, I have a very clear picture of it because it stuck itself to the window of the Max right next to the seat I was sitting in.   I noticed it at Killingsworth and it rode with me for three more stops before I had to get off.  I wonder where it was going?

End of the 6 in Kenton

When I moved to the Kenton neighborhood, I was thrilled that not only was I smack dab in the middle of two Max stops, but that one of the stops was a "Transit Center" meaning a number of bus routes converged at that point.  I was in public transit heaven.  I could take the yellow line downtown. Or I could take the #4 to George Middle School where I volunteered for two years.  I could also take the #4 back toward downtown taking me through Mississippi's hip neighborhood.  I could take the #75 to the St. John's Movie theater or the other way to a variety of places: Trader Joe's in Hollywood, Laurelhurst Park, Hawthorne Blvd.  I could also take the #6 to Jantzen Beach and once they cut the amount of service on Sundays, the #6 was my quickest route to church, depositing me a short three blocks away.  Living near a transit center is awesome.

I still have the Yellow Line,  #4 and #75 at my service.  But beginning September 1, the #6 route changed "to  eliminate duplicate service."

I understand that Trimet is stretched to capacity, but as someone who doesn't own a car, some of those duplicate services are important.  Now if I want to go to Jantzen Beach I have to take the #75 to MLK and transfer to the #6.  If I want to go to church I get there way too early or way too late.  I'm disappointed to lose the #6 route through Kenton and I hope service will be restored someday.

Car

Most of the time, I'm happy with my car-free existence. Or, to put a finer point on it: the existence in which I don't own a car myself, but my live-in boyfriend does so we get to use it for dates and I can drive it sometimes when he is not using it. I like that not having a car means that I have two ways to get to work: taking the Max or biking. I like that when I have to go somewhere and use public transportation, I can read. "How do you read so much?" people ask me. The answers: I'm a fast reader, work 32 hours per week and am not very social. But one of the keys is that when I'm on the Max or the bus, I've always got my nose in the newspaper or a book.

I love that the employer-paid-for Trimet pass means I pay very little to haul myself around town. I love that sometimes when taking public transportation, I can just change my mind and walk. I love the "public-ness" of public transportation--the smells (though sometimes, not pleasant, always a great reminder of the "us" of "us") the people watching, the stories that come from it. I love peeking at what people are reading, eyeing their shopping bags and wondering what their story is.

When I bike or walk, I love that I get to where I'm going under my own power and have time to memorize poems and sing some songs. I love that I watch the scenery, that I am "in" the weather. I love that people say, "You biked here?!?" "You walked here?!?!" as if that was some miraculous feat only accomplished by lesser gods.

And some days I don't love my car-free existence at all. Today, for instance, when I just want to see a movie at a theater I know will take me two buses and a good twenty minutes of waiting in the cold rain to get there I wish more than anything I could just jump in my non-existent car and drive there in only twenty minutes, with no stops for other people to climb on and off. When the bus is hot and steamy from so much vapor coming off of people I can't see out the windows I always feel a very special kind of car sick that I don't enjoy much. I wish that when I am done watching the movie I could just jump back in my car, set the radio to my own station and zip home, avoiding just missing one bus meaning waiting the full 16 minutes until the next one and then just missing the connection which means huddling in the corner of the bus shelter and holding my book just so so the rain doesn't come down on it.

Most days I like my car free existence. But today I would love to have a car of my own.

What I want for Christmas

Smart Car wants people to drive them. So they set up on Broadway, right across the park from my work. I wandered over and got a test drive and a ten dollar gift certificate to the Pearl Bakery. They were fun to drive and now I know what you can get me for Christmas.

Only $12,000-$17,000 and you can make my wish come true.

Where can I read interesting and informative posts about your bike trip?

Glad you asked. They can be found on the other Patricia blog (this one with a side of Matt.) The first post is here. If you just want to read the summary and why we think you should take a bike trip, go here.

"Shelter"

It's pouring down rain, and do you know where the majority of people waiting for the train are standing? In the real shelter of Big Pink, not under the faux shelter that Trimet provides.

Just think. We used to have actual shelter like this. Get back into the business of shelter us, TriMet, we're tired of the rain.

Rain and Trimet's inefficient shelters.

Hey look! It's torrentially raining at an angle of approximately 45 degrees. Too bad our "shelters" have a flat top which enables that 45 degree rain to come right into the shelter and onto us. I wonder how Trimet could have designed the shelters differently? Hmmmmm and hmmmmmm.

ps. That guy with the umbrella has very good boots for the amount of rain that is occurring. Well done, random passerby.

Leaves on "shelter"

I've written about how little shelter the new "shelters" in the transit mall provide. They do, however, make a nice flat place for fall leaves to land on and rain to form droplets, making a pretty autumn picture. And then the "shelter" leaks and drops rain on my newspaper while the winds buffet me from every side because THERE IS NO PLACE TO GO TO GET OUT OF THE WIND AND RAIN.

Wind eddies and leaves

On Tuesdays and Wednesdays I take two buses to far North Portland to volunteer at a Middle School. My bus stop is right next to "Big Pink" which is the tallest building in Portland. I think Big Pink messes with the air currents a bit, because today the wind was swirling all the leaves into a tidy pile.

Park(ing) Day.

What did you do on Park(ing) day? The students of John's class transformed one of our parking spaces into a park complete with small pond, palm-ish tree, picnic table, grass, wood chips and a few chairs. The students enjoyed creating the temporary park and people walking by enjoyed looking at it.

Bus Tips: Vomit Wisely

I'm willing to bet that 87% of the vomit in public is the result of over consumption of alcohol. So most of you may be too drunk to make a better choice, but could you please pick a better place to throw up than exactly where I stand every morning to wait for the train? Two steps to your right or left would have had you puking either on the tracks, or over the railing.
The problem isn't just that you have made the area where I stand a disgusting biohazard, it's also that Trimet doesn't come around to clean very often. I'm sure they do the best they can, but your stomach acids and bits of food sat there for several days soaking into the concrete and they have created a stain. I'll be looking at that stain for a long time, thanks to your choice.

So next time please aim for the tracks or the street. Thanks.

I-5 Bridge North at Rush Hour.

I had a class to get to in Vancouver, so off I rode on my bike. There is a section of the bike path to the I-5 bridge where the path is surrounded by freeway and freeway on ramps.

On this Thursday night traffic was not moving.

Not on the freeway, not on the on ramps, no where.

I beat a lot of these cars over the bridge.

Though then I had a long ride up a gradual hill before I got to my class.

I don't want a huge bridge to replace the current bridge, I think the people who choose to live in Vancouver and work in Portland have made their beds and need to lie in them. I would, however, be in favor of a bridge the same size with a rush hour tolling structure, and the extension of light rail across the Columbia into Vancouver. In the meantime, I'm glad I have no reason (nor car) to drive across the bridge during rush hour.

I can't look away.

This photo doesn't accurately capture the object of my fascination and for this you should thank me. This gentleman, who I sat behind on the train, clearly had trouble shaving all the hair from his head. The hair caught in the fat rolls was rather long, and you could see how the clippers and razor missed them. As he would turn his head, different hairy patches were exposed. I tried hard to concentrate on the newspaper, but I kept getting distracted.

Rain

Remember how I wrote about the new (lack of) Trimet shelter on the new transit mall? Well, it has started raining and the above sight is not unusual. For shame, Trimet, for shame.

We have a problem with the bus mall, er, I mean "transit mall"

The Portland Transit Mall is the new name for the Bus Mall. Before 2008, the major bus routes ran through downtown North/South along the Bus Mall, which took up SW 5th & SW 6th avenues. The Red, Yellow and Blue lines all ran East/West through the downtown area, so the buses and the trains crossed. The Bus Mall was easy to navigate. The city was divided into four regions, each designated by an icon, and each block had a stop for two regions. This was quite handy in two ways. First of all, you could access all the buses that ran though the bus mall in the length of two-blocks. Secondly, if you lived in an area that was served by more than one bus, as I did when I lived close-in on Barbur Boulevard, you could stand at the bus stop serving your area and grab the first bus that came by.

The transit mall has changed all that. Because the Yellow and Green Max lines now run on the former "bus mall"--as do cars, which I really hate, but that is another post--Trimet has changed the "area" plan. The icons are gone, instead replaced by letters. I can never remember what letter I'm supposed to stand at. The stops are much, much further apart and it is harder now to catch multiple buses that go to one place. But the biggest problem of the new Transit mall? Shelter.

If you have heard of Portland, you might know that it rains a lot here. Sometimes, in the dead of winter, I think of Forrest Gump talking about the many different kinds of rain in Vietnam. It's a bit like that here, just minus the tropical setting. We have beautiful summers (July, August and September) but most of the year it's raining very hard, raining a little, or looking like it is going to rain. So when waiting for our famous public transit, it is very good to be out of the rain.

Here is a picture of the shelters that used to be along the bus mall. Notice the huge, overhanging lip. That's to keep the rain off. This is because the rain rarely falls straight down here, unless there is a downpour. Notice also the wooden bands around the outside and inside of the shelter. Those give someone something to lean on. When it is really rainy and the weather is blowing everywhere, there is also shelter inside. This inside shelter provided a place where you could stand, lean, and watch for your bus all at once. There were also a few seats to sit in, too. There were two of these per block, so everyone waiting for a bus had the option of shelter.

photo from: http://www.bobrichardson.com/transitmallfeedback.html

Here's the block downtown in the new Transit Mall where I wait for my train. Do you see any shelter here? There actually is one, and you will see it a few photos from now, but it is so insubstantial as to not show up in this photo. The Max trains are one city block in length. In November 2009, Max had an average weekday boarding of 117,300 people. That's a large city getting on the Max every day. This stop is one of six northbound stops for the yellow and green lines. It's also right in between the east/west Red and Blue lines. A lot of people stand here waiting for a max train. Some of them are tired after a long day. Where are they supposed to sit? What can they lean against? Notice that gray building on the right? That's Pioneer Courthouse. It is a working federal courthouse.
Here's the sign on the fence around Pioneer Courthouse. The sign tells people not to sit on the historic stone wall. Yet this is also a place to wait for Max with little seating or places to lean. Guess what happens?
Here's a view from halfway down the block. Due to the lack of seating or sheltered leaning space, someone has taken respite on the ground. You can barely see the shelter in the background.
So here's what happens. That shelter--that would be the flat, glassed roofed thing on the left, has two seats and very few places to lean. So people sit on the stone wall.
A close up view of shelter. When the wind blows, where does the rain fly? Right into the "shelter." Because there is only one of these per Max stop, an entire city block worth of people have to take shelter in this tiny space. This is ridiculous, and not workable on a commuting day when it is raining.

In addition, the two (TWO!) seats provided are at an odd height. When I sit in them, my feet don't touch the ground unless I slump over as the woman in this picture is doing.
Many of the shelters have a vertical wall of glass on one side of them. But there is a gap between the top of the glass and the flat top of the roof. The rain and wind fly right in and there is nothing to lean against, except the glass itself. Who designed these? Did they have any knowledge of Portland weather patterns? Did they take into account any commuter preferences?

When the old shelters (one has been preserved and will be turned into a coffee shop) were pulled down to make way for the bus mall there was a lot of talk about the drug dealing that took place inside them. I've spent a lot of time waiting for buses in those shelters. I never once saw a drug deal. You know what I did have? A clear view of the bus, with places to sit and lean and protection from the rain. The current shelters say, "we have to give you something for protection from the weather, but we don't want you to be comfortable. We don't want to spend very much money on it, either."

Thanks Transit Mall. So far I don't like the "improvements" at all.

As the Max Turns.

Today is the last time my Max train turns to the left as it comes off of the Steel Bridge into downtown Portland. Beginning Monday, we will be traveling on those other tracks, instead.

Last days on first avenue.

Stopped at the Yahmill stop today my Yellow Line Max driver came on with this announcement, delivered in a bored, but gleeful tone: "Starting THIS SUNDAY the Yellow Line Max train will not stop at the Yamhill station. EVER. AGAIN. Instead, it will be on Fifth and Sixth Avenues."

His delivery cracked me up, and I was not surprised to hear several conversations such as this: "The Max isn't going downtown anymore? What?"

The challenge of the informed public taking advantage of the information available to them in several forms remains. Sigh.

Things I will miss when the Max switches streets:

Being first to get on the train. The stop you see below is the first stop for the North-bound Yellow line Max train. It's also the stop nearest to the library and church. I know exactly where to stand to be the first on the train and the first to my favorite seat. Although I do let old or infirm people on first if they are around. My new stop will be the third on the North-bound line and my favorite seat will not be guaranteed. It's also a further walk, not that that ever hurt me.

Here is my preferred seat. Right behind the driver, is a single seat. Sitting here I don't have to worry about sharing with someone and I am away from the general hubbub of the train, usually. On cold days, the second seat back on either side nearest the windows usually is quite warm due to heater placement. So in the winter, sometimes my favorite seat is variable.

Discovery while errand running

Today I went to the Whole 9 Yards to pick up the material for the curtains in the bedroom.

The bus route is not it's normal route and so I ended up taking a short detour. This was a great detour because I tripped across this space:

Some depaving becomes stairs.

A sign asking for appropriate behavior.

A shady place to rest.

A not-good picture of a tire swing.

A lovely garden.

This little paradise was carved out of a boring empty lot. Thanks unknown person who did that.

It is back to the bus mall!

This is the last weekend I will catch the bus on Third or Fourth avenues. Very soon, the bus stops will move back where they belong: on the bus mall. There will be a summer of "only" buses, cars, pedestrians, then in August and September the new Max lines will also join the cars and bikes and buses on the "transit mall." We shall see how that goes. At any rate, I'll be glad to be back on the mall. The sight lines are much better there.