Portland, Oregon Part 2: Airport to Gateway TC

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Entry posted by thecitiescenter · July 1, 2014

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Before we continue on our journey, here are a few bonus shots of Portland International Airport (PDX).

The first picture is a historical photo, circa 2004, of a Northwest Airlines DC-10, preparing to depart to Tokyo/Narita Airport in Japan, and a Lufthansa A340-300, which had just arrived from Frankfurt, Germany.

Both Lufthansa and Northwest no longer serve PDX. Lufthansa ended PDX service in September, 2009 due to lack of ridership and competition from Northwest Airlines' flight to Amsterdam. Northwest Airlines, on the other hand, no longer exists as an airline, having merged with Delta Airlines several years ago. Fortunately for Portland, Delta has continued to operate PDX-NRT on Boeing 767-300ER aircraft (after the Port of Portland offered to subsidize the route), and PDX-AMS on both Boeing 767-300ER and A330-300 aircraft. The Amsterdam flight is often full during the summer months, as many Oregonian Sims enjoy traveling to Europe for leisure.

The next photo is a present-day shot of the PDX Cargo Center. The Cargo Center is located on the south side of the airport, directly opposite Runway 10R/28L from passenger concourses A and C. Current cargo service at PDX includes ABX Air flights to/from Seattle, FedEx flights to/from Anchorage, Indianapolis, Memphis and Oakland and UPS flights to/from Chicago-Rockford, Louisville, Ontario, CA and Spokane, WA.

PDX is also home to the Portland Air National Guard Base. The Portland ANGB is located directly east of the PDX Cargo Center, and directly south of passenger Concourse A (opposite Runway 10R/28L). The base is home to the Oregon Air National Guard's 142nd Fighter Wing, the 125th Special Tactics Squadron, the 366th OL-A Communications Squadron, the 123rd Weather Flight and the Air Force Reserve 304th Rescue Squadron. The 142nd Fighter Wing is tasked with supporting global drug interdiction, USAFE air defense, and has participated in operations such as Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom.

Now that we've seen some of the non-commercial passenger related operations at PDX, it's time to continue on our tour. Our final destination will be Portland's downtown (also known as City Center).

For those of you who plan to take the MAX Light Rail, you will need to purchase a ticket prior to boarding the train. Tickets are $2.50 per adult. Your ticket acts as proof of payment, and you may be required to show it if random ticket checks are conducted. MAX tickets are good for 2 hour time frames, you can hop on and off as much as you want within the 2 hour time period, and tickets are not destination specific (so you can go to as many destinations as you like, regardless of distance from your point of origin). It is OK if the ticket expires before you reach your destination, as long as you got on the train prior to the expiration time. MAX trains consist of one or two cars. There are no trains with three or more cars (we'll get to the reason for that a little later). MAX tickets are also good for all bus lines operated by Tri-Met (the primary transit agency in the Portland metropolitan area), as well as buses operated by C-Tran (the primary transit agency in Vancouver, Washington - which is located just across the Columbia River from Portland). Full day passes (good until 2:30 am next day), and 30-day passes are also available.

Below is a photo of a MAX Red Line train leaving the Airport station.

For those of you who decided to rent a car, you will follow NE Airport Way to exit the airport, then proceed to Interstate 205 south. Follow the signs for "Portland". Note that the speed limit on NE Airport Way is currently set to 10 mph near the airport terminal, and 40 mph as you get farther away from the terminal building. Be cautious as the Port of Portland Police have been known to heavily patrol this stretch of roadway, happily handing out costly tickets and surly lectures to Sims who are in a hurry to get to and from the airport, or not paying attention when driving. They usually like to ticket you for any speed greater than 5 mph above the posted speed limit. Also beware of the "red light cameras" on intersections along this roadway. Unlike most states, it is illegal to enter an intersection in Oregon when the light is yellow.

As you proceed down NE Airport Way, or the MAX Red Line, you will notice Runway 10L/28R, as well as Alamo Rental Cars and the PDX long term parking lot to the left. Also in the distance is the Columbia River, which separates the states of Oregon and Washington. The Columbia River is a favorite of local Sims for boating and sailing, as well as other water sports. Immediately adjacent to the Columbia River is NE Marine Drive (on the top in the picture below). Sims who are aviation enthusiasts are known to park their cars along this road for plane spotting, as it provides great views of planes taking off and landing on Runway 10L/28R. NE Marine Drive is also a favorite during the 4th of July (Independence Day) Holiday, as it provides a good place to park and watch the fireworks from across the river in Washington State.

If you're on the MAX, the first stop along the way is the Mt. Hood Station, located at the corner of NE Airport Way and NE 82nd Avenue, not too far from the airport terminal.

You may notice that there is plenty of bicycle storage available at the station. Portland is a very bicycle friendly city, and the city government actively encourages Sims to use their bikes. A few years ago, this entire area was nothing but open grassland. Since then, development has really taken off, despite being of the suburban "big box" variety. There is a Holiday Inn Express immediately adjacent to Mt Hood Station, a Target and a couple small retail shops.

Just about a thousand feet from Mt Hood Station is the next stop, Cascade Station.

Similar to Mt Hood Station, Cascade Station is surrounded by recently developed big box retail and office space. There is a small park located just north of the station. Some of the retail here include Best Buy, TJ Maxx, Staples and DSW Shoes. There is also a Hyatt Place hotel, which is the only Hyatt branded hotel currently operating in the State of Oregon.

Cascade Station is also adjacent to Oregon's only IKEA...

You may be wondering why there's so much big box retail near the airport. One reason is that there was lots of open space here before, and therefore, lots of build-able land. However, the primary reason is the proximity to Washington State, which is just across the river. Washington State has a sales tax, and Oregon does not. So lots of Sims from Washington State looking to save a few bucks on stuff such as do-it-yourself "furniture" with odd Swedish names and not-so-good picture-like instructions, or electronics with bad return policies, take the short hop across the Interstate 205 bridge to shop here.

if you're driving, here's where you will get onto Interstate 205. Since we are going to downtown Portland, you will want to go southbound. If you accidentally go northbound, you will find that you are crossing the Columbia River on the I-205 Bridge and will end up in Washington state. Note that in Oregon, most Sims will refer to interstates as I-xxx, as in "eye-xxx" where xxx is the number designation of the route. For example, Sims here will refer to Interstate 205 as "eye-205".

In this area, Interstate 205 features 3 general purpose lanes in each direction. The speed limit is 55 mph. The roadway is made of asphalt, as are most Oregon freeways and highways. This makes for good traction due to the abundance of rain here.

The next stop along our journey is the Parkrose Transit Center, located less than a mile from the Cascade Station. If you're driving, and want to see the transit center, you can take Exit 23 "Bypass US-30/Sandy Blvd".

The Parkrose Transit Center serves the Parkrose and Sumner neighborhoods. It is primarily a park & ride facility for local Sims. From here, Sims can take the MAX light rail, as well as various Tri-Met and C-Tran bus routes. The transit center is also served by the I-205 Multiuse Path, a north-south bicycle and pedestrian pathway that parallels the MAX tracks and I-205.

From here, we continue southbound toward our destination.

As we leave the Parkrose Transit Center, we will pass by Rocky Butte. Both MAX passengers and drivers along I-205 will be able to see it on the right-hand side when traveling southbound. Rocky Butte is an extinct volcanic cinder cone butte, and is a designated natural area.

It is also home to the Portland Bible College and City Christian School/Church. Portland Bible College is a small, four-year bible college offering degrees in theology and church ministry. It is a private college with about 200 students currently enrolled and was founded in 1967.

As we pass Rocky Butte, we will come to the junction of I-205 and I-84 (known locally as the "Banfield Freeway"). For those who are driving, you will want to take Exit 24A, I-84/US-30 West "Portland".

For those on the MAX Red Line, we will continue southbound past I-84, then loop back around. In this area, the MAX tracks transition from ground-level to elevated, as it crosses I-84.

If you look to your left, you will see that the I-205 Multiuse Pathway continues in a southbound direction, paralleling the MAX Red Line, heavy-rail tracks used by Amtrak and freight rail lines, and I-84.

The next stop on the MAX Red Line is the Gateway Transit Center, located about a mile south of the Parkrose Transit Center.

The Gateway Transit Center serves multiple Tri-Met bus lines, and the MAX Red, Blue and Green lines.

Here passengers can transfer to both bus lines and other MAX lines. The Blue line is an east-west line connecting the western suburb of Hillsboro and the eastern suburb of Gresham. The Green line is a north-south line connecting downtown Portland with the southeast suburb of Clackamas. For our tour, we will stay on the Red Line, which loops around at Gateway Transit Center, as the route switches from a southbound to westbound direction.

The Gateway Transit Center is centrally located near the junction of I-205 and I-84, and is surrounded by office space, retail and residential land uses, as well as the Providence Medical Group-Gateway Hospital and various supporting clinics and doctor's offices.

As we leave the Gateway Transit Center, the train will head north slightly, then switch onto the westbound track to continue toward downtown Portland. We have about 5 miles to go before we reach downtown, but still plenty of stops and sights to see in between.

Stay tuned!