Sunset Transit Center

Sunset Transit Center
MAX Light Rail Station
Location 10470 Southwest Barnes Road
Portland, Oregon
USA
Coordinates 45°30′37″N 122°46′52″W / 45.510244°N 122.781012°WCoordinates: 45°30′37″N 122°46′52″W / 45.510244°N 122.781012°W
Owned by TriMet
Platforms Side platforms
Tracks 2
Construction
Parking 579 regular spaces
13 accessible/disabled spaces
2 Quick Drop spaces
16 carpool spaces
12 short-term parking spaces
Bicycle facilities 74-space secure area
Disabled access Yes
History
Opened September 12, 1998
Parking garage, March 3, 1997[1]
Services
Preceding station   MAX Light Rail   Following station
Blue Line
Terminus
Red Line

The Sunset Transit Center is a TriMet bus transit center and light rail station on the MAX Blue and Red lines in Washington County, Oregon. It is the 5th stop westbound on the Westside MAX. This is the first stop after the Robertson Tunnel under Portland's West Hills. Named for the adjacent Sunset Highway (part of U.S. 26), the transit center also has a pedestrian bridge over that freeway, to connect to the Cedar Hills Shopping Center and Cedar Hills neighborhood.[2] Several bus routes serve the center.

The transit center's MAX platforms are below street level, set in an open cut, immediately west of an unnamed 600-foot-long tunnel to the shoulder of Oregon Route 217. Multiple bus stops are located around the top of the station pit, and at the station's west end is a two-story park-and-ride garage with 622 parking spaces on three levels (the top level is open). The garage includes a mostly unused 74-space secured parking area for bicycles,[3] opened in 2010. The park-and-ride is the busiest park-and-ride in TriMet's system.[3]

History

The parking garage opened on March 3, 1997, served by a single bus line (89) whose route was altered for the purpose, because its construction was completed well ahead of the opening of the Westside MAX line.[1] Route 89 provided service between downtown Portland and Rock Creek at that time.

The bus portion of the transit center

The transit center effectively opened on September 12, 1998, with the start of MAX service and the addition of several more bus routes,[4] the latter altered to serve Sunset TC in place of the 1979-opened Cedar Hills Transit Center, located on the other side of the freeway (and closed permanently on this date).

In 2010, TriMet converted eight automobile parking spaces to a secure bicycle parking area, opening in July of that year. The bicycle parking cage was built at a cost of $275,000, using federal economic-stimulus funding, and has a capacity of 74 bicycles.[3] As of April 2011, its usage was averaging 1.2 bicycles per day, with an observed maximum of seven bicycles.[5] TriMet closed the MAX station platforms on September 3, 2014 in order to replace the platforms, with trains passing through but not stopping during the closure period.[6][7] The station reopened on September 17, two days ahead of schedule.[8]

Bus service

This station by Sunset Highway (U.S. 26) is served by the following bus lines:

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Oliver, Gordon (March 3, 1997). "Tri-Met will open 2 park-and-ride lots". The Oregonian, p. B2.
  2. ↑ Hamilton, Don (June 18, 1998). "Footbridge over Sunset Highway will reopen by early August after repairs". The Oregonian, weekly "Portland" section, p. 10.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Rose, Joseph (July 29, 2010). "Sunset Transit Center now holds eight fewer cars -- but 74 more bikes". The Oregonian. Retrieved July 24, 2011.
  4. ↑ Hamilton, Don. Eastside, Westside, all around the town, it’s MAX party time. The Oregonian, September 12, 1998.
  5. ↑ Rose, Joseph (April 22, 2011). "Sunset Transit Center's 'Bike and Ride' is a lonely cage". The Oregonian. Retrieved 23 April 2011.
  6. ↑ Hall, Kasia (August 26, 2014). "Sunset Transit Center closure to disrupt MAX service starting September 3". The Oregonian. Retrieved 27 August 2014.
  7. ↑ "Sunset Transit Center MAX Station construction and temporary closure". TriMet. September 3, 2014. Retrieved 12 September 2014.
  8. ↑ Redden, Jim (September 16, 2014). "Sunset Transit Center MAX Station reopens Wednesday". Portland Tribune. Retrieved 2 October 2014.

External links

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