Line 5-Interstate operates from Vancouver Transit Center to Downtown Portland and is then through-routed to Line 5-Capital Highway. Although through-routed lines are highly efficient in terms of resource allocation, they are more susceptible to reliability problems due to their length.

Service disruptions on one end of the route can result in delays and passenger inconvenience on the other end of the route. Because of the high probability of substantial delays due to traffic congestion caused by the bridge closure, Line 5-Interstate will be shortlined in the Kenton Park area.

Kenton Park was selected because it is the farthest northern point on the route that can be reached reliably. Line 5 buses should not be subjected to delay due to traffic congestion attempting to reach the Kenton Park area.

Hayden Meadows and Jantzen Beach were determined to be too risky to try and reach due to expected congestion. Transit operations will be further complicated by the closure of the northbound on ramp from Jantzen Beach to I-5. This closure will require all traffic traveling from Jantzen Beach to Vancouver to go south on I-5 to the Delta Park area and turn around.

ODOT plans to close the northbound on ramps from Marine Drive and MLK Jr. Blvd. to autos, however they will allow buses only to use the Marine Drive on ramp to I-5 northbound. This will shorten out-of-direction travel, and allow buses bound for Vancouver to rejoin the traffic queue at a more advantageous point. Autos will be directed to Victory Blvd. at Hayden Meadows to turn around.

Due to the expected traffic congestion and the difficulty of serving Jantzen Beach and Vancouver, Tri-Met will employ a three-shuttle system north of the Kenton Park terminus of Line 5-Interstate. A three-shuttle approach based on a transfer location in Kenton will considerably reduce travel time and out-of-direction travel for most customers. While this plan may require more buses and greater operation supervision, it provides the best possible customer support considering the circumstances.

The shuttle plan responds to the three distinct travel markets now served by Line 5-Interstate:

• Travel between Vancouver and Jantzen Beach
• Travel between Portland and Jantzen Beach
• Travel between Portland and Vancouver

Shuttle operation will be as follows:

Red Shuttle - Running from the Vancouver TC to Jantzen Beach and back to the Vancouver TC.
Blue Shuttle - Running from the Kenton transfer location to Jantzen Beach and back to the Kenton transfer location.
Green Shuttle - Running from Vancouver TC direct to the Kenton transfer to Line #5, then back to Vancouver TC.

All three shuttles will operate seven days a week, throughout Line 5's service day. It is expected that three buses will be required during peak hours on each shuttle route to maintain reliable service.

Blue and Green shuttles will use the Denver Ave. "Bus Only" lane to bypass any traffic queues to enter I-5 from the Kenton area. ODOT will be asked to see if the bus lane can temporarily be extended through an underpass to provide even better queue bypass opportunities. Should the Denver Ramp become congested alternate shuttle routes will be implemented. The Red shuttle will use the Marine Drive "Bus Only" on-ramp to return to I-5 after leaving Jantzen Beach for Vancouver.

Road Supervisors, in conjunction with Bus Dispatchers using Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL), will need to closely monitor and manage bus movements to ensure the best possible transfer connection for passengers. Supervisors may need to be located at the Kenton transfer location, Jantzen Beach, and possibly the Vancouver TC stop.

Efforts are underway to arrange use of a vacant lot between Argyle and Willis, across from Kenton Park. The lot would be used as a temporary off street transfer facility. Passenger amenities such as shelters, lighting, telephones, etc. would be installed during the project. Should the lot be unavailable, Tri-Met will then use city streets in the area of the Kenton Park. The City of Portland Parking Control Department has indicated that they would make special on-street no parking area arrangements for our buses if necessary.

Tri-Met and C-TRAN are developing an integrated plan to increased ridership from Clark County. All C-TRAN service operated across the I-205 Bridge will terminate at Gateway Transit Center. Passengers on that service will transfer at Gateway to MAX or other Tri-Met bus lines to complete their trips.

MAX service will be increased by four additional two-car trains from Gateway to 11th Avenue (over the "planned" September Service Improvement). Introduction of the Low Floor Cars and the extension to Salmon Street would likely occur as planned. The "planned" September 1997 service improvement is designed to accomplish three goals:

• Introduction of the new low floor cars
• Extension of service to Salmon Street Station
• Provide a slight increase in peak capacity

The "planned" September capacity increase is accomplished by converting all single car units to two-car consists and extension of any shortline trips to/from Gateway to the end of the line. There will be 14 peak hour trains each operating as a married pair of Type I and Type II cars.

C-TRAN can operate more trips from Clark County via I-205 by terminating their service at Gateway Transit Center. Due to a shorter "cycle" time for existing service and the addition of more buses, C-TRAN projects that an additional 1,500 passengers a day can be delivered to Gateway. Four additional two-car trains can be added during the project to provide increased peak capacity for 2,400 more passengers. During the project period MAX will operate 18 peak hour trains. The extra trips will be "non-scheduled" and placed between regular service spread out over the extended peak period.

The extra trips will operate only to the 11th Avenue Terminal due to switching configurations at Salmon Street Station which prevents all trips from being extended.

The goal is to operate all trains with at least one Low Floor Car. If fewer than 18 Low Floor Cars are available, then service would be supplemented by Type I vehicles. C-Tran will terminate three express routes at Gateway, resulting in an effective five minute headway from Clark County. C-Trans' drop off and pick up point will be moved from the south end of the platform to a more centrally located bus bay to facilitate transfers. Extra supervisory support plus "Ask Me" volunteers will be deployed at Gateway. Volunteers will be trained to not only guide commuters to waiting rail cars, but to quickly determine passenger destinations which, in many cases, would be better served by local bus service when customer destinations lie outside the downtown area.

Additional buses may be needed to handle the increased C-TRAN passengers at Gateway. Implementation of an HOV lane on the I-205 bridge will probably result in a considerable jump in transit riders going into Gateway.

The Burlington Northern Railroad has given conditional approval to a proposal from Amtrak to operate increased passenger service between Vancouver Depot and Union Station. Service may be provided by the "Seattle Seahawk Special" that is used to transport passengers to football games in Seattle. There would be three trips in the a.m. peak and three in the p.m. peak. Morning departures from Vancouver are scheduled at 5:30 a.m., 6:45 a.m., and 8:00 a.m. Afternoon departures from Union Station would be at 4:00 p.m., 5:15 p.m., and 6:30 p.m. One way running time is about 20 to 30 minutes. A each train trip has a one trip capacity of 750 seats. Demand is not expected to exceed capacity.

Arriving passengers at Union Station will be accommodated primarily by buses that are departing North Terminal to begin their outbound trips. It is anticipated that most passengers arriving at Union Station will be destined for the downtown core. All buses departing North Terminal operate on 5th. Avenue through downtown. Between 6:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m. buses depart North Terminal on average every 2 minutes.

Three additional buses will be on standby at Union Station to help accommodate unexpected demand. If needed, garage bound buses will be diverted to Union Station by the Road Operations Department. If necessary, Road Supervisors can hold departing buses for a short time so that departures can more closely correspond to Amtrak arrivals.

Trained "Ask Me" volunteers will be deployed at Union Station to guide commuters toward the first southbound stop on the Mall at 5th and Hoyt, and to specific lines when their destinations are outside the downtown core.

Tri-Met's Park and Ride lot at 95th and Sandy Blvd. is mostly empty, yet is situated in an ideal location to capture commuters from I-205. Effective promotion of the Park and Ride, combined with increased service on Sandy (Limited Stop Service), should attract new riders. Five extra buses will be needed to operate 15 minute service during the peak hours.

"Limited Stop Service" is modified express operation that only serves bus stops at transfer points. In this case, the extra Sandy buses would serve Parkrose Park and Ride, 82nd Avenue, 57th Avenue, 42nd Avenue (no deviation to Hollywood Station), 12th Avenue, and then all stops on the Portland Transit Mall.

A dedicated Road Supervisor to monitor and mange operation of this service should not be necessary. All trips on the Sandy "Limited" will be scheduled. Dispatchers using AVL in coordination with the area's district Supervisor should be able to effectively direct operation of the service.

Extra or special event service needs to be closely monitored and supervised to be effective. Each extra service element contained in this plan will require on site Road Supervision and/or monitoring by Dispatchers using Automatic Vehicle Location equipment (AVL). The largest allocation will be managing the Kenton Park transfer location. A Supervisor will be needed on site throughout the 20-hour service day to not only manage operations, but also to provide a high level of customer service. A dedicated supervisor will be needed at Union Station in the morning.

Although the MAX component of the Operations Plan provides a substantial increase in service, it can be accomplished with a relatively small allocation of personnel. Through the hiring process described above, new Operators will be made available to support increased peak hour service during the project. Since this is also a time of highly focused training in anticipation of Westside LRT opening, these Operators will remain in the Rail Transportation headcount to support training and car "burn in" elements of Westside Start-up.

There will be a need for "Ask Me" duty volunteers during the project. In most locations, the need for Ask Me staff should be limited to the morning rush hours. Ask Me staff should be deployed at Gateway Transit Center to help guide C-Tran passengers to MAX and other bus routes. At Union Station, Ask Me volunteers will help guide passengers deboarding Amtrak to buses that will complete their commute.

Although the closure of the northbound span of the I-5 Bridge would appear to be an isolated event, it is expected to have a regional impact. It is difficult to predict how many other Tri-Met services will be affected. Logically, one would expect that the routes closest to the bridge in North and Northeast Portland might be impacted. These routes are 4-Fessenden, 6-MLK Jr., 8-15th Avenue, and 75-39th Avenue/Lombard. Of these, Line 6 and 8 could be severely impacted. Line 6 operates peak hour trips on Marine Drive to/from St. Johns via the Rivergate Industrial District. There could be significant delays due to the proximity of the bridge closure. Most of the trips however terminate at the Jubitz Truck stop on North Vancouver Way, and have adequate layover to accommodate some delay.

Line 8's terminus is at Hayden Meadows, which could become highly congested as commuters seek quicker paths north other than I-5. Road Operations will have to monitor service on these routes to determine impacts and possible solutions should the routes suffer severe delays. It is conceivable that Line 8 may need to be shortlined with Line 5 in Kenton. The Jantzen Beach shuttle may need to be used to serve both Hayden Meadows and Hayden Island.

As increased traffic uses the I-205 Bridge, commuters will likely find that I-84 is too congested. As they seek another East/West route, arterial streets like Stark, Glisan, Morrison/Belmont, Division and even as far south as Powell Blvd. may show the effects of increased traffic.

Projects of this magnitude typically have modifications made during the implementation process. Shifts of trip times and routes will likely occur as plans are finalized. The above information should not be used by riders as the primary source in planning alternate modes or routes during the bridge closure.