There is an In-Person Open House for this project Wednesday, April 23, 4–6:30 p.m at PCC SE Campus, Great Hall in Mt Tabor Hall building, 2305 SE 82nd Ave, Portland OR 97216. Please show up and let everyone know you don’t support the removal of lanes for busses only.
Don’t ruin 82nd avenue in portland, oregon
Tri-Met, PBOT, METRO and other agencies are considering reducing 82nd avenue in Portland and Clackamas down to 1 lane in each direction
We need your help to make sure 82nd avenue remains accessible by cars.
The “Don’t ruin 82nd avenue” committee is a non-profit group of citizens living in and around Portland, Oregon, who’s primary goal is to convince lawmakers to keep 82nd avenue’s 2 travel lanes in each direction.
Tri-Met’s plan to upgrade the bus service is commendable, but not by removing a lane in each direction and causing issues for our way of life in this important roadway. If you’ve driven down 82nd avenue recently, you’ll likely see many upgrades to the sidewalks, pavement, businesses and public areas, which is a very welcome change from the neglect we’ve seen in the past from Portland. Looking forward, this plan of adding more bus shelters and longer buses could be another welcome change. But reducing our major though fare to one lane each way and dedicating one lane in each direction for busses to force ridership to increase is not a smart way to help our area of town.
82nd avenue has become a major artery of our part of town, with vibrant businesses, non-profit organizations, houses of worship and more. We’ve seen how PBOT’s war on cars has dramatically reduced travel lanes downtown and in other areas of the city, making it much more difficult to get around by car, and dramatically increasing traffic and travel time. Extremist organizations like “No More Freeways PDX” and “Bike Portland” have the ear of PBOT, ODOT and other lawmakers, whose policies have pushed many businesses further and further out of the city into suburbs and severely reduced capacity on roadways like Foster and Holgate, all while jamming cars onto ineffective freeways and blocking any attempt at widening them. The City of Portland, meanwhile, has attempted to increase population by increasing density with the zoning of large multifamily apartments, while providing no on site parking for cars. Personal vehicles are a part of life in this city and our region. Improving the mass transit system is commendable, but such a tiny improvement in bus ride time (Trimet estimates only a 10-20% improvement) resulting in such a massive impact to personal vehicle traffic is outrageous. Please let Tri-Met/PBOT/METRO and others that you agree and to kindly drop the idea of a lane reduction in each way from their master plan. For more information about Tri-Met’s plan, click the link below:
This is an image from the February 2025 open house at PCC, showing the part of this plan to reduce lanes in each direction in what Tri-Met is calling a BAT lane (Bus AND TURN). Tri-Met and PBOT were very effective at shutting down any counter arguments to their plan. Please let your opinion know by emailing, writing letters and attending these events.
Here is an email letter written to [email protected], and feel free to use it’s contents in your own letter to Trimet:
Hello, my name is Ken Butler and I am a very concerned citizen who lives a few houses down from SE 82nd Avenue on SE ********* Street in Portland. I saw that Trimet is set on reducing 82nd Avenue to one lane for cars in each direction to put in some so called BAT lanes, meant only for busses and as an immediate turn lane for passenger vehicles. I do not support this part of Trimet’s 82nd Avenue plan at all! I think it will severely impact our neighborhoods way of life in a negative way. This is a very important artery for SE Portland, and any tiny improvement to service times for the Trimet busses will come at way too high of a cost for everyday citizens who drive passenger cars, and businesses or non-profit organizations that have finally been able to survive after constant neglect and abuse from The City of Portland, ODOT and other agencies in the past. It is my wish that Trimet does not proceed with these “BAT” bus only lanes, and I am working tirelessly to get the message out to like-minded citizens who utilize 82nd Avenue. I am finding that many people have no idea what is about to happen to 82nd Avenue, and based on what I’ve seen as a reaction, they are angry at Trimet for it’s role in this project. If Trimet forces these “BAT” lanes, the public outcry will be swift and painful for Trimet. Again, I urge you to reconsider reducing 82nd to one lane for cars in each direction.
Best regards,
Ken Butler