Beaverton hears locally preferred alternative for TV Highway bus rapid transit; funding, safety and ODOT pavement concerns raised

Metro and TriMet officials presented the locally preferred alternative (LPA) for the TV Highway Transit and Safety Project to the Beaverton City Council, describing a bus rapid transit (BRT) corridor with station platforms, enhanced crossings and operational upgrades intended to improve safety and travel time for riders.

The project team said the LPA is designed to support TriMet Line 57 — the corridor’s highest-ridership bus line — by adding signals or rapid-flashing beacons at stations, raised platforms with curbs, lighting, seating, real-time arrival signs, transit signal priority (TSP) and all-door boarding using articulated vehicles. The presenters said the package aims to move the corridor from planning into construction through a Federal Transit Administration Small Starts capital grant and a regional local funding match.

Metro planner Jess Sadeb said the steering committee will be asked to adopt the LPA on Feb. 13 and emphasized the project’s safety goals. “This project is really seeking to improve safety and the travel experience for transit riders on TV Highway,” Sadeb said. She and TriMet staff noted that TV Highway is on the region’s high-injury network and that many crashes involve people walking to or from transit.

TriMet Capital Planning manager David Alwis described rider experience and operations measures the LPA would deliver, including station spacing of roughly every third mile,…