Sunset Transit Center

The Sunset Transit Center is a TriMet bus transit center and light rail station on the MAX Blue and Red lines in Beaverton, Oregon. It opened for MAX in 1998 and is the 5th stop westbound on the Westside MAX. This is the first stop after the Robertson Tunnel under Portland's West Hills. Sunset TC is the second-busiest station on the Westside MAX line, with a weekday average of almost 6,000 daily riders in 2012.[2] Though the station has a Portland address, it primarily serves residents of the communities of Cedar Hills, Cedar Mill, and Beaverton.

Sunset TC  
TriMet transit center
The transit center's bus bays in 2011
General information
Location10470 Southwest Barnes Road
Portland, Oregon
United States
Coordinates45°30′37″N 122°46′52″W
Owned byTriMet
PlatformsSide platforms
Tracks2
Construction
Parking579 regular spaces
13 accessible spaces
2 Quick Drop spaces
16 carpool spaces
12 short-term parking spaces
Bicycle facilities74-space secure area
AccessibleYes
History
OpenedSeptember 12, 1998
Parking garage and one bus line: March 3, 1997[1]
Services
Preceding station TriMet Following station
Beaverton Transit Center
towards Hatfield Government Center
 Blue Line Washington Park
towards Cleveland Avenue
Beaverton Transit Center
Terminus
 Red Line Washington Park
towards Portland Airport

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.[3] 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 74-space secured parking area for bicycles,[4] opened in 2010. The park-and-ride is the busiest park-and-ride in TriMet's system.[4]

History

Under land development terms set by Washington County, J. Peterkort Co., which had owned the site of Sunset Transit Center, was required to include a transit center in the development of its 252-acre (102 ha) property north of the U.S. Route 26 (US 26) and Oregon Route 217 (OR 217) junction. On December 31, 1986, Peterkort sold 3.4 acres (1.4 ha) of the land to TriMet for $962,000.[5]

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.[6]

MAX light rail train arriving at 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,[7] 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).

Sunset TC is the second-busiest MAX station on Portland's west side, with a weekday average of almost 6,000 daily riders in 2012.[2]

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.[4] As of April 2011, its usage was averaging 1.2 bicycles per day, with an observed maximum of seven bicycles.[8] 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.[9][10] The station reopened on September 17, two days ahead of schedule.[11]

On October 24, 2016, POINT began serving the transit center with its Portland–Astoria service, four times a day[12] (twice a day in each direction).[13]

Bus service

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

See also

References
  1. Oliver, Gordon (March 3, 1997). "Tri-Met will open 2 park-and-ride lots". The Oregonian, p. B2.
  2. Rose, Joseph (November 15, 2012) [online date Nov. 14]. "Speeding BMW goes airborne, takes out pair of MAX lines". The Oregonian. p. C1. Archived from the original on November 17, 2012. Retrieved May 3, 2018.
  3. Hamilton, Don (June 18, 1998). "Footbridge over Sunset Highway will reopen by early August after repairs". The Oregonian, weekly "Portland" section, p. 10.
  4. Rose, Joseph (July 29, 2010). "Sunset Transit Center now holds eight fewer cars -- but 74 more bikes". The Oregonian. Retrieved July 24, 2011.
  5. Colby, Richard (January 1, 1987). "Tri-Met obtains site from Peterkort for Washington County transit hub". The Oregonian. p. A20. Retrieved April 8, 2022 – via NewsBank.
  6. "89 Rock Creek [schedule page]". TriMet. August 31, 1997. Archived from the original on January 22, 1998. Retrieved May 3, 2018.
  7. Hamilton, Don (September 12, 1998). Eastside, Westside, all around the town, it’s MAX party time. The Oregonian.
  8. Rose, Joseph (April 22, 2011). "Sunset Transit Center's 'Bike and Ride' is a lonely cage". The Oregonian. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
  9. Hall, Kasia (August 26, 2014). "Sunset Transit Center closure to disrupt MAX service starting September 3". The Oregonian. Retrieved 27 August 2014.
  10. "Sunset Transit Center MAX Station construction and temporary closure". TriMet. September 3, 2014. Archived from the original on September 13, 2014. Retrieved September 12, 2014.
  11. Redden, Jim (September 16, 2014). "Sunset Transit Center MAX Station reopens Wednesday". Portland Tribune. Retrieved October 2, 2014.
  12. Feder-Sawyer, Mandy (November 3, 2016) [web version date October 20]. "New option offers transportation to and from the Oregon Coast". Beaverton Valley Times. p. A5. Retrieved November 5, 2016.
  13. "NorthWest POINT Schedules: Portland–Astoria". Oregon Department of Transportation. 2017. Retrieved May 3, 2018.
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