Tigard City Council Votes to Support Route for New Light Rail Line in Southwest Corridor
On Tuesday, November 13, 2018, the Tigard City Council approved (4-1) a Resolution supporting the Preferred Alternative (PA), the final route alignment, for a new light rail line that would serve southwest Portland, Tigard and Tualatin.
The Council also voted to approve an agreement with TriMet ensuring the light rail project be designed and constructed to meet the needs of the community and complement redevelopment plans for downtown and the Tigard Triangle
The agreement states that:
- Four stations will be located within Tigard (two in the Triangle, one Downtown and one serving 72nd Ave Corridor)
- Tigard will work jointly with TriMet in determining the final location of the downtown station, park and ride, and bus transit center
- There will be clear and safe bicycle and pedestrian access to the Downtown Tigard by reconstructing Hall Blvd. from Hunziker Street to the railroad crossing near Burnham
- A Shared Use Agreement will be negotiated so the downtown park and ride will be built to accommodate space for downtown employees, shoppers and residents
- Design and construction of any Operations and Maintenance Facility will maximize redevelopment opportunities adjacent to the downtown station
- Employment density will be increased in the Hunziker Industrial Core after the project is finished and redevelopment occurs
- Affordable housing will be preserved and increased in the corridor
- City staff’s participation in planning, permitting and design review will be scoped and budgeted in a future agreement
What is the Preferred Alternative (PA)?
The Preferred Alternative (PA) is the final route alignment for a new light rail line stretching 12 miles between Downtown Portland and Bridgeport Village in Tualatin. The line route features 13 potential stations and as many as seven Park & Rides with up to 3,500 parking spaces. In Tigard, the proposed station locations include 68th/Hwy 99W, Elmhurst St, Hall Blvd/Downtown, Bonita, and Upper Boones Ferry.
What happens now that the Tigard City Council approved the Preferred Alternative (PA)?
- Other alignment options studied in the Draft Environmental Impact Statement will be dropped from consideration;
- Environmental review will continue to address all issues raised to this point, and those that arise from shifts in the alignment;
- TriMet will begin advanced design work to avoid or minimize adverse impacts, and to develop detailed cost estimates,
- A funding plan will be developed that could include a regional (Washington, Multnomah and Clackamas counties) vote in November 2020 to pay for roughly half of the projects costs. The other half is expected to be paid through the Federal Transit Administration’s competitive New Starts Program.
