Opening in September of 2022, the Portland region will celebrate opening of FX-2 Division – the Portland region’s very first Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) line.  TriMet will soon open 63 station platforms along Division Street – an extremely constrained corridor that changes drastically in terms of the street cross section, urban context and adjacent land uses. The new enhanced bus service provides a vital connection between Downtown Portland and City of Gresham.

Recognizing the inefficacy of a “one-size fits all” station design approach, TriMet, in collaboration with partner agencies and key design consultants, orchestrated an innovative hands-on, iterative station design and stakeholder engagement process to address the complexity and diversity of the corridor.

This process included; block by block design studies that documented urban context, streetscape neighborhood character and building typologies of every block along a 13 mile corridor; extensive hands-on stakeholder workshops & community engagement; construction and simulated testing of full-scale adaptable mock-up of new station platform types with accessibility and transit experts, active transportation advocates and others to refine design details and treatments; a planned post implementation study and ongoing evaluation of platform types through partnerships with Portland State University to continue monitoring and evaluate new station designs after BRT service opening for the benefit of informing future designs.

This rigorous design process led to more context-driven station designs that better responded to community and stakeholder feedback. Service begins on Sunday, September 18th! Mark your calendar, and come join the September Urban Design Panel as Jesse, Derek and Scott share how this unique and nuanced approach shaped the regions new transit investment.

Presenters:
Jesse Stemmler, Design Manager
TriMet

Derek Abe, Senior Planning Associate
Alta Planning + Design

Scott Clarke, Associate Architect
Pivot Architecture