This week’s hike centered on an errand—the bank. The thing is the bank is about 3 miles away. We did cross the MAX (Metropolitan Area Express) lines on our route today. The MAX is a part of the mass transit system which is a descendent of Portland’s once extensive trolley system. There are currently 44 miles of track crossing the Portland Metro area.
Each rail line is color coded—blue, red and yellow. The blue line was started in 1981 with the first 15 mile stretch from downtown Portland to Gresham. Construction on an 18 mile stretch toward Hillsboro began in 1994 and opened in September 1998. The red line travels from the blue line to the Portland Airport. On September 10, 2004, the red line opened to the public although the celebration was cancelled following the attacks on New York the following day. The yellow line was originally planned to cross the Columbia River into Washington, but voters there rejected the plan. A scaled back route opened in May 2004 and travels from the blue line to the Expo Center in north Portland.
The photo is from the Willow Creek Transit Center on the blue line. The theme of this station is literacy. The stop is a place to rest surrounded by cherry trees and pink stone benches. Originally to be the final stop on the westside line, the quick growth of the county led to the expansion of the line into downtown Hillsboro.
During the walk today, we experienced rain, wind and some sunshine—a very typical Portland winter. We walked on along main streets with wide sidewalks, narrow dirt shoulders, in quiet neighborhoods and through a park with a duck pond. All this trekked in a brief 6 mile loop. We do live in a great place!
Each rail line is color coded—blue, red and yellow. The blue line was started in 1981 with the first 15 mile stretch from downtown Portland to Gresham. Construction on an 18 mile stretch toward Hillsboro began in 1994 and opened in September 1998. The red line travels from the blue line to the Portland Airport. On September 10, 2004, the red line opened to the public although the celebration was cancelled following the attacks on New York the following day. The yellow line was originally planned to cross the Columbia River into Washington, but voters there rejected the plan. A scaled back route opened in May 2004 and travels from the blue line to the Expo Center in north Portland.
The photo is from the Willow Creek Transit Center on the blue line. The theme of this station is literacy. The stop is a place to rest surrounded by cherry trees and pink stone benches. Originally to be the final stop on the westside line, the quick growth of the county led to the expansion of the line into downtown Hillsboro.
During the walk today, we experienced rain, wind and some sunshine—a very typical Portland winter. We walked on along main streets with wide sidewalks, narrow dirt shoulders, in quiet neighborhoods and through a park with a duck pond. All this trekked in a brief 6 mile loop. We do live in a great place!
2 comments:
Sheeesh .. I wish we had better public transport here.. this has to be the worst city to get around in. If you want to go from one end to the other, you better pack a lunch ... LOL
Wow the way you described your walk I could almost see it. How lovely and peaceful. I bet your area is gorgeous. (smiling) I am glad you had some sunshine!! Duck ponds and cherry trees..sound so beautiful.
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