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Mall/Southwest 4th Avenue and Mall/Southwest 5th Avenue stations

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Mall/Southwest 4th Avenue and Mall/Southwest 5th Avenue were a pair of light rail stations in Portland, Oregon, United States, served by TriMet as part of the MAX Light Rail system. Built into the sidewalk at Southwest Yamhill and Morrison streets between 4th and 5th avenues in downtown Portland, the Mall stations were served by the Blue and Red lines upon closing. They had also been served by the Yellow Line from May 2004 to August 2009.

Mall/SW 4th Ave and Mall/SW 5th Ave
Former MAX Light Rail stations
An eastbound Red Line train at the platform of Mall/Southwest 4th Avenue in 2009
General information
LocationSW 4th & Yamhill (eastbound) and SW 5th & Morrison (westbound)
Portland, Oregon, U.S.
Coordinates45°31′06″N 122°40′38″W / 45.51833°N 122.67722°W / 45.51833; -122.67722
Owned byTriMet
Platforms2 one-way side platforms
Tracks1 per split
Construction
ParkingPaid parking nearby
Bicycle facilitiesRacks
AccessibleYes
History
OpenedMarch 26, 1990 (1990-03-26)
ClosedMarch 1, 2020 (2020-03-01)
Former services
Preceding station TriMet Following station
Mall/SW 5th Avenue
Pioneer Square North
towards Hatfield Government Center
 Blue Line
1990–2020
 Morrison/​Southwest 3rd Avenue
One-way operation
Pioneer Square North
towards Hillsboro Airport/​Fairgrounds
 Red Line
2001–2020
Pioneer Square North
towards Galleria/​Southwest 10th Avenue
 Yellow Line
2004–2009
Mall/SW 4th Avenue
Pioneer Square South
One-way operation
 Blue Line
1990–2020
 Yamhill District
towards Cleveland Avenue
Red Line
2001–2020
 Yamhill District
towards Portland Airport
Yellow Line
2004–2009
 Yamhill District
towards Expo Center
Location
Map

MAX began operating in 1986 without stations at this location to make way for the Morrison Street redevelopment project. The stops were infilled during the construction of Pioneer Place and opened on March 26, 1990. On March 1, 2020, TriMet closed the stations in an effort to speed up MAX trains in downtown.

History

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See also: Pioneer Place
 
An information pylon on Southwest 4th Avenue with a sign indicating the station's planned closure

In July 1981, the Portland City Council presented the Morrison Street Project, a proposed redevelopment of three blocks in downtown Portland near the Portland Transit Mall, around the intersections of 5th and 6th avenues and Morrison and Yamhill streets.[1] That November, TriMet published a conceptual design report for the Banfield Light Rail Project, which would traverse Morrison and Yamhill streets, that outlined a pair of light rail stations to serve the development. TriMet recommended platforms along the north end of the block southeast of the intersection of Southwest 5th Avenue and Morrison Street and along the opposite end of the same block on Yamhill Street.[2]: 37–38 

In 1983, the Portland Development Commission (PDC) hired the Rouse Company to develop the Morrison Street Project. The developer designed a mall and mixed-use development proposal called "Pioneer Place".[3] PDC approved Rouse's design, which included a 400-room hotel, 1,025 underground parking spaces, and buildings up to 25 stories high. In 1985, Rouse revealed that it was encountering problems signing tenants, citing a weak market for hotels and department stores, and announced a six-month delay in construction.[4] After failing to secure key tenants the following year, the developer offered a scaled-down revision of its initial proposal and further postponed construction to 1987, a year after the scheduled completion of the Banfield Light Rail Project, which by then was formally named "Metropolitan Area Express" (MAX).[1] MAX thus began operating on September 5, 1986, without a stop at this location.[5]

PDC approved Rouse's scaled-down plans in October 1986.[6] In December, the city council authorized the construction of a six-story parking garage for Pioneer Place on a fourth block bound by 3rd and 4th avenues and Yamhill and Taylor streets.[7] The Oregon Court of Appeals ruled the following year that the city violated state law by condemning this fourth block without first seeking a review from Multnomah County,[8][9] but the county board ultimately approved it.[10] The groundbreaking of "Pioneer Place I", the first of a two-phased development plan of Pioneer Place, finally took place on March 3, 1988.[6]

During the construction of Pioneer Place I, TriMet revisited its original plans and proposed infill stops to serve the development.[11] The MAX platforms were ultimately built; the Mall stations—their names referring to the Portland Transit Mall—opened on March 26, 1990.[12] In September 2001, the Red Line became a second MAX line to serve the stations while TriMet rebranded the original service the "Blue Line".[13][14] From May 2004 to August 2009, the Yellow Line also stopped at the Mall stations until TriMet rerouted it to the Portland Transit Mall.[15]

After nearly 30 years in operation, TriMet closed the Mall stations on March 1, 2020, as part of a consolidation program to speed up MAX trains in downtown Portland.[16][17] The area will continue to be served by the Blue and Red lines via the Pioneer Square South and Pioneer Square North stations, which are located two blocks to the west;[18][19] and the Yamhill District and Morrison/Southwest 3rd Avenue stations, which are located two blocks to the east.[20][21]

Station details

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Mall/Southwest 5th Avenue station in February 2018

The Mall stations occupied the sidewalks facing Southwest Yamhill and Morrison streets between 4th and 5th avenues in downtown Portland. Pioneer Place I is situated between the former platforms. The stations' amenities included benches, bicycle parking racks, garbage cans, shelters, and schedule information displays.[22][23] The southbound MAX tracks on the Portland Transit Mall run along the immediate west side of the defunct platforms on 5th Avenue; this provided a direct transfer to the MAX platform of Pioneer Place/Southwest 5th station across the street,[24] which is served by the Green and Orange lines.[25] On the opposite end of this adjacent block, which is occupied by the Pioneer Courthouse,[26] is the northbound MAX station, Pioneer Courthouse/Southwest 6th served by the Green and Yellow lines.[27] The Mall stations also facilitated transfers to transit buses serving the Portland Transit Mall.[25]

On the final day of service, the Mall stations were served by the MAX Blue Line, which connected the stations to Beaverton and Hillsboro to the west and Gresham to the east, and the MAX Red Line, which connected the stations to Beaverton to the west and Portland International Airport to the east.[28] In late 2019, Mall/Southwest 5th Avenue and Mall/Southwest 4th Avenue were the 25th and 39th busiest stations of the MAX network's 97 stations, respectively, based on TriMet's weekday on-and-off boarding totals; Mall/Southwest 5th Avenue recorded 3,436 passengers on weekdays while Mall/Southwest 4th Avenue recorded 2,467 passengers.[29]

References

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  1. ^ a b Hayakawa, Alan R. (March 30, 1986). "Future, shape of Morrison Street Project in question". The Oregonian. p. C2.
  2. ^ Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon (November 1, 1981). Banfield Light Rail Project: Conceptual Design Information for the City of Portland (Report). Vol. 9. TriMet Collection. Archived from the original on September 28, 2015. Retrieved July 27, 2018.
  3. ^ Jenning, Steve (January 19, 1986). "Plan to sell store chain clouds mall project". The Sunday Oregonian. p. D1.
  4. ^ Hayakawa, Alan R.; Jenning, Steve (March 30, 1986). "Morrison project shrinks in scale, raising issues". The Oregonian. p. 1.
  5. ^ Federman, Stan (September 5, 1986). "Going to the MAX: Your ticket to light rail". The Oregonian. p. T10.
  6. ^ a b Hamburg, Ken (March 25, 1990). "Pioneer Place arrives -- At last and in style". The Oregonian. p. P1.
  7. ^ Painter Jr., John (August 13, 1987). "Court OKs key role of county, city loses ruling on Pioneer Place". The Oregonian. p. B1.
  8. ^ Painter Jr., John (August 13, 1987). "Pioneer Place ruling slaps city". The Oregonian. p. A1.
  9. ^ Laatz, Joan (October 8, 1987). "Parking garage condemnation heads for new review". The Oregonian. p. D12.
  10. ^ Wade, Michael (October 23, 1987). "County board OKs Pioneer Place work". The Oregonian. p. C8.
  11. ^ Kirchmeier, Mark (September 29, 1989). "3-year-old MAX near turning point". The Oregonian. p. E10.
  12. ^ "Arriving with a smash [photo and caption only]". The Oregonian. March 27, 1990. A Metropolitan Area Express train breaks through a banner Monday afternoon marking the opening of a new light-rail station in front of Pioneer Place...
  13. ^ Oliver, Gordon (September 11, 2001). "Portland now 'the city that moves', mayor says [opening of MAX Red Line]". The Oregonian. p. 1.
  14. ^ Leeson, Fred (August 27, 2003). "MAX fares increase, direct service from Beaverton to PDX starts". The Oregonian. p. D2.
  15. ^ "New MAX line opens downtown". Portland Tribune. August 28, 2009. Archived from the original on January 3, 2015. Retrieved May 13, 2014.
  16. ^ "Speeding Up MAX Through Downtown". TriMet. Archived from the original on February 27, 2020. Retrieved July 24, 2019.
  17. ^ Theen, Andrew (February 25, 2020). "2 downtown MAX stations close permanently next week; changes coming to more than a dozen TriMet bus routes". The Oregonian. Retrieved March 9, 2020.
  18. ^ "Pioneer Square North" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved March 9, 2020.
  19. ^ "Pioneer Square South" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved March 9, 2020.
  20. ^ "Morrison/SW 3rd Ave MAX Station" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved March 10, 2020.
  21. ^ "Yamhill District MAX Station" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved March 10, 2020.
  22. ^ "Stop ID 8335 – Mall/SW 4th Ave MAX Station, Eastbound". TriMet. Archived from the original on March 2, 2019. Retrieved March 10, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  23. ^ "Stop ID 8382 – Mall/SW 5th Ave MAX Station, Westbound". TriMet. Archived from the original on March 2, 2019. Retrieved March 10, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  24. ^ "Pioneer Place/SW 5th Ave MAX Station" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved March 10, 2020.
  25. ^ a b Portland City Center and Transit Mall (PDF) (Map). TriMet. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 10, 2019. Retrieved July 30, 2018.
  26. ^ "Pioneer Courthouse" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved March 10, 2020.
  27. ^ "Pioneer Courthouse/SW 6th Ave MAX Stn" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved March 10, 2020.
  28. ^ Rail System Map with transfers (PDF) (Map). TriMet. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 10, 2019. Retrieved July 25, 2018.
  29. ^ "TriMet MAX Light Rail Passenger Census – Fall 2019" (PDF). TriMet. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 10, 2020. Retrieved March 10, 2020.
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