Portland — Streetcar Speedup

Rail Transit Online, September 2004

A slight route change of the proposed $15.5-million, 0.6-mi. (1 km) extension of the Portland Streetcar from RiverPlace to the South Waterfront could allow the project to be completed in summer 2006, about six months earlier than planned.  The revised alignment would place the track on an abandoned streetcar right-of-way parallel to Moody Street instead of on the street itself.  This would reduce construction and utility relocation costs while accelerating construction because crews would not have to work along a busy thoroughfare.  In addition, Portland Office of Transportation streetcar manager Vicky Diede said the monetary savings could allow the purchase of an additional Astra streetcar from the Czech Republic, bringing the fleet to 10.  The new segment would terminate at Moody Avenue, a former industrial area intended for residential and commercial redevelopment.  Diede hopes work on the extension can start when a 0.6-mi. line from Portland State University to RiverPlace is completed in January.  The waterfront extension would be funded exclusively with local sources.  A further expansion south to Bancroft Street is planned but no financing has yet been identified.