I-5 Bridge Replacement - Formerly Columbia River Crossing | Proposed

[green_man]

Originally Posted by urbanlife

Especially with the waterfront development going on, it makes sense for them to want it to be connected to light rail. I always imagined Vancouver adding three stops to the Yellow Line, one at the riverfront, one in downtown, and a park and ride just north of downtown.

If the downtown stop was to serve Turtle Place, it would offer a ridiculously easy transfer to the Vine BRT Fourth Plain line as well as the planned Mill Plain Line.

[urbanlife]

Originally Posted by green_man

If the downtown stop was to serve Turtle Place, it would offer a ridiculously easy transfer to the Vine BRT Fourth Plain line as well as the planned Mill Plain Line.

Which this would be a smart move for everyone

[PdX Farr]

Originally Posted by NOPO

I sent a letter over to Kate Brown online that this project must include light rail. We as Oregonians must fight for light rail to be a requirement along with congestion tolling. I encourage everyone here to inundate Brown with constituent desire for light rail being included in this project.

And I like the idea for three stops in Vancouver another poster stated. The yellow line just makes sense in Vancouver proper.

Shouldn’t the letter have been sent to somebody that would actually do something?

[NOPO]

Originally Posted by PdX Farr

Shouldn’t the letter have been sent to somebody that would actually do something?

Can you tell me who to talk to? I really am not well versed in getting involved.

[Derek]

He was being cheeky...

[NOPO]

Originally Posted by Derek

He was being cheeky...

Oh, dear...

Edit: well, I suppose it’s also true. I can’t lobby public officials in Washington as I don’t live there, and they need to agree on including light rail.

Edit 2: I actually messaged Inslee in support of MAX on the Columbia River Crossing. Seems nothing to stop me.

[green_man]

Clearance for proposed I-5 Bridge replacement echoes CRC

The Columbian
March 24, 2022
Will Campbell, Columbian Innovation Editor

A proposed replacement Interstate 5 Bridge would have the same clearance for marine traffic that the Columbia River Crossing project considered nearly a decade ago, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.

Plans for the new bridge under review by the Coast Guard propose a 116-foot clearance for vessels, the same as the Coast Guard approved in 2013. The current twin spans provide 178 feet of clearance when their drawbridge sections are fully raised.

https://www.columbian.com/news/2022/mar/...posed-i-5-bridge-replacement-echoes-crc/

[green_man]

New Interstate Bridge project down to two options, public input sought

KATU News
April 8, 2022
Kellee Azar

There is no such thing as a perfect plan.

“There is no perfect solution out there. Everybody has different views of what this thing is and what it should be, but we are looking at a bridge that is 105 years old and we know it must be replaced,” Greg Johnson, administrator for the Interstate Bridge Replacement Program, said.

https://katu.com/news/local/new-interstate-bridge-project-down-to-two-options-public-input-sought

[dizflip]

Some renders posted on bikeportland:

New renderings offer clearest picture yet of Interstate Bridge Replacement project design

[green_man]

Interstate Bridge committee to vote on bridge design; proposal includes light rail and more lanes

Jayati Ramakrishnan | The Oregonian/OregonLive
April 29, 2022

Planning officials are finalizing a proposal for a new Interstate Bridge that includes both light rail and more lanes for cars.

They will present the proposal to a committee of elected leaders and transportation officials from Oregon and Washington next week.

https://www.oregonlive.com/commuting/202...lude-light-rail-and-increased-lanes.html

[NOPO]

Apparently, 1000 Friends is pushing for less freeway, more light rail in Vancouver. I really hope they are listened to!

https://www.oregonlive.com/commuting/202...lude-light-rail-and-increased-lanes.html

“The group [1000 Friends of Oregon] is also calling for light rail to extend further into Vancouver, Morgan said. The current proposals show the light rail line terminating at at Evergreen Boulevard, just before Clark College and the Washington State School for the Blind. Extending the line would be a benefit to students of both schools, he said.”

[urbanlife]

Originally Posted by NOPO

Apparently, 1000 Friends is pushing for less freeway, more light rail in Vancouver. I really hope they are listened to!

https://www.oregonlive.com/commuting/202...lude-light-rail-and-increased-lanes.html

“The group [1000 Friends of Oregon] is also calling for light rail to extend further into Vancouver, Morgan said. The current proposals show the light rail line terminating at at Evergreen Boulevard, just before Clark College and the Washington State School for the Blind. Extending the line would be a benefit to students of both schools, he said.”

It would be nice to see the light rail extended a few stops at least so that it could have a downtown stop and a couple park and ride stops.

[uncommon.name]

Originally Posted by NOPO

Apparently, 1000 Friends is pushing for less freeway, more light rail in Vancouver. I really hope they are listened to!

https://www.oregonlive.com/commuting/202...lude-light-rail-and-increased-lanes.html

“The group [1000 Friends of Oregon] is also calling for light rail to extend further into Vancouver, Morgan said. The current proposals show the light rail line terminating at at Evergreen Boulevard, just before Clark College and the Washington State School for the Blind. Extending the line would be a benefit to students of both schools, he said.”

I feel like this is two seperate issues. The I-5 Bridge replacement definitely should not have less lanes as traffic with the existing 6 lanes is far under capacity as it is, being only 2 Metro Columbia River crossing points. The light rail being taken as far as Evergreen is really what is in the scope of this project and a good start. C-Tran and Trimet should really work out any further extension/added services beyond that point as a seperate project. Vancouver could certainly use the Light Rail and hopefully one day they can send a line out as far as East Vancouver with service to the Vancouver Mall. Maybe one day an extension line out as far as Salmon Creek... but I won't hold my breath of that happening anytime soon.

[NOPO]

I think this project should maximize the extent of MAX as far as is possible. Like you say, extensions aren’t likely in the near future after it’s built, so building MAX deeply into Vancouver is important. So that is to say I disagree with you.

[uncommon.name]

Originally Posted by NOPO

I think this project should maximize the extent of MAX as far as is possible. Like you say, extensions aren’t likely in the near future after it’s built, so building MAX deeply into Vancouver is important. So that is to say I disagree with you.

I think you're missing my point. This project (I5 Bridge Replacement) is not handled by TriMet, so any MAX lines beyond the bridge itself, will need to be handled by TriMet/C-Tran. I actually agree that they should coordinate these projects so that MAX lines extend out further than Evergreen initially, but that won't be something that the organizations building this bridge will be involved with.

[NOPO]

Looks like they narrowed it down to MAX and one new lane each direction. What’s the likelihood that they congestion toll this bridge?

[eric cantona]

Originally Posted by NOPO

Looks like they narrowed it down to MAX and one new lane each direction. What’s the likelihood that they congestion toll this bridge?

Both I-5 and I-205 bridges will be tolled in the future. For I-5 it's a big piece of paying for the replacement bridge, and just tolling one of them would be a disaster.

[uncommon.name]

Originally Posted by NOPO

Looks like they narrowed it down to MAX and one new lane each direction. What’s the likelihood that they congestion toll this bridge?

I just participated in a survey regarding the congestion priced tolling that they are planning for both I5 and I205 in the future. The way they worded it, the decision has already been made to toll, now they are just trying to figure out how much (congestion periods would be a higher rate) as well as toll options on transit vehicles, trucks, frequent commuters (monthly toll caps, etc).

[urbanlife]

Originally Posted by uncommon.name

I just participated in a survey regarding the congestion priced tolling that they are planning for both I5 and I205 in the future. The way they worded it, the decision has already been made to toll, now they are just trying to figure out how much (congestion periods would be a higher rate) as well as toll options on transit vehicles, trucks, frequent commuters (monthly toll caps, etc).

Technically the tolls were approved back in 2017. To cover the cost of the highway improvements, a good chunk of it would be paid for with tolls. After that, they had to get the federal government approval, which is strict when it comes to tolls but not hard to do. So no matter how much people complain about not wanting tolls, they will eventually happen for a specific duration of time.

[2oh1]

Originally Posted by urbanlife

So no matter how much people complain about not wanting tolls, they will eventually happen for a specific duration of time.

And once that time ends, the tolls will be extended indefinitely, because there's no way they'd let a revenue stream go away.

I dread everything about this project. I wish they'd consider The Common Sense Alternative.