Quote:
Originally Posted by NOPO
No, this is not the kind of thinking we need. MAX needs to go into Vancouver and they need to not widen the freeway. I’m really liking the idea of a tunnel with a tram for pedestrians on top of MAX. If they’re wasting money and you think they should build anything you are indeed going to get a car-centric monstrosity that does not serve the multi-modal needs of our region and the reality of induced demand.
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This is always going to be "car-centric", it's an interstate bridge, not some downtown Portland local access bridge. This bridge's primary purpose is quite literally a freeway. Also considering there are only two bridges across the Columbia in the Portland Metro area, capacity IS a concern and the primary reason for massive backups for a majority of every day of the week. Yes, bridge lifts also contribute, but traffic congestion also happens when there is no lift.
I'm going to bring up lane-mathematics (traffic flow) again here. On the North end of the bridge, you have a major highway intersecting with I5 (SOUTHBOUND - two lanes merging to 1 lane ramp, then merging to 3 thru lane I5 = negative 2 lanes with addition of 2 lanes of traffic) and on the South, you have Jantzen Beach and Delta Park (NORTHBOUTH - addition of 6 lanes worth of traffic added to a 3 thru lane freeway with no auxiliary lanes = negative 6 lanes). That’s 4 major interchanges within about a mile of freeway and I’m not even factoring in Mill Plain and Fourth Plain Blvds. There are currently no auxiliary lanes in this section to ease the congestion of massive amount of merging vehicles. Adding auxiliary lanes to the new bridge design does not affect "induced demand" for this very reason. The auxiliary lanes are not thru lanes and therefore do not apply to induced demand.
Yes, MAX service should be extended to Vancouver, whether on this new replacement bridge or something separate. Nobody disputes that and this group is already planning for that and has included this option in what they are proposing. This carless utopia that keeps getting brought up on these forums are not going to happen in our lifetime. The transition to non-fossil fuel vehicles is going to continue to support our dependence on vehicles and the growth of the Portland Metro/Vancouver area are not going to stop, meaning this bridge (or tunnel if we get lucky) MUST plan for the next 50+ years.
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