Wilsonville Transit Center

Wilsonville Transit Center, also called SMART Central at Wilsonville Station,[1] is a bus and commuter rail transport hub in Wilsonville, Oregon, United States. The transit center, which is owned and operated by the City of Wilsonville, is the hub for the South Metro Area Regional Transit (SMART) bus system. The Portland metropolitan area's regional transit agency, TriMet, operates the southern terminus of its WES Commuter Rail at the facility; WES connects with the Blue and Red lines of MAX Light Rail at Beaverton Transit Center. Opened in January 2009, the transit center includes a 400-car park and ride.

Wilsonville Transit Center
Train at the WES platform, with the WES maintenance building in the background
General information
Other namesSMART Central at Wilsonville Station
Location9699 Southwest Barber Street
Wilsonville, Oregon, U.S.
Coordinates45°18′41″N 122°46′31″W
Owned byCity of Wilsonville
Line(s)Portland and Western Railroad
Platforms1 side platform
Tracks2
Construction
Parking400 park and ride spaces
AccessibleYes
History
OpenedJanuary 2009
Services
Preceding station TriMet Following station
Terminus WES Commuter Rail Tualatin
towards Beaverton Transit Center

History
The WES platform under construction in 2008

Plans for the commuter rail between Beaverton and Wilsonville began as early as 1996, led by Washington County officials.[2] In 2001, the Federal Transit Administration authorized the project, and in 2004 it approved the project,[3] by which time regional transit agency TriMet had taken over as the lead agency in planning the project. Construction began in October 2006.[4] The station was originally planned to be built at Boberg Road, and was later changed to the location on Barber Street as suggested by the Villebois developers.[5]

On March 2, 2007, a groundbreaking ceremony was held at the station's site, attended by officials from TriMet, the state, and Wilsonville politicians.[6] These included former mayor and then state representative Jerry Krummel, an early proponent of the line.[7] The public artwork was installed on September 3, 2008.[8] The line was scheduled to begin service in September 2008,[9] but delays led to an opening in January 2009.[10]

Details

The station is one of five on the 14.7-mile (23.7 km) rail line that utilizes Portland and Western Railroad's freight rail line.[6] Located on Barber Street on the west side of Interstate 5, the station and line are in operation only during the morning and evening commute times, Monday through Friday.[11] Averaging 37 miles per hour (60 km/h), each trip between Wilsonville and Beaverton is scheduled to take 27 minutes, and trains depart every 30 minutes.[11] Wilsonville station has bus connections through SMART, Canby Area Transit, and to Salem via Cherriots.[11]

Wilsonville station, WES's southern terminus, was built by contractor Stacy and Witbeck.[6] The stop includes a park-and-ride lot with 400 spaces along with the platform.[6] The platform includes a shelter for waiting passengers measuring 40 feet (12 m) long.[6] The station includes 12 bays for the transit center and a 17,000-square-foot (1,600 m2) maintenance building for SMART buses.[7] Future plans call for a mixed-use development to include SMART offices, retail shops and restaurants, along with public restrooms, bicycle storage and an outdoor play area.[7]

A SMART bus at the transit center in 2018

Additional amenities at the station are wind screens, public artwork, and a scored-concrete plaza featuring trees.[6] Public art consists of an interactive sculpture created by Frank Boyden and Brad Rude.[12] The sculpture features bronze heads and a vehicle designed to represent the train and the variety of people who ride the line.[12] The vehicle can be moved (by hand) along a track and has an animal figure displayed in a scene atop the piece.[12] Additionally, glass in the windbreak is etched with a willow pattern.[12]

Commuters from the surrounding communities of Lake Oswego, Canby, Donald, Woodburn, and Aurora are expected to utilize the station.[13][14] Washington County provided the land for Wilsonville station.[15] Self-propelled, diesel-fueled rail cars are used for the line.[4] The park-and-ride lot was partly built to allow for interconnection between the city's SMART bus service and the rail line.[16] For the first five years of operation, Wilsonville will pay a maximum of $300,000 a year to help fund the annual operations of the TriMet-operated line.[17]

References
  1. "Map of All Routes". South Metro Area Regional Transit. Archived from the original on September 29, 2013. Retrieved September 29, 2013.
  2. Hamilton, Don (July 18, 1996). "Cities take another look at passenger trains". The Oregonian.
  3. "Wilsonville-to-Beaverton commuter train gets OK". Portland Business Journal. May 10, 2004. Archived from the original on November 26, 2004. Retrieved 2019-06-12.
  4. "TriMet building passenger train line". Portland Business Journal. October 23, 2006. Archived from the original on November 2, 2006. Retrieved 2019-06-12.
  5. Frost, Danielle (July 31, 2003). "Commuter rail plans delayed". Wilsonville Spokesman.
  6. Tucker, Libby (March 5, 2007). "Commuter rail project breaks ground in Wilsonville". Daily Journal of Commerce. Archived from the original on September 6, 2014. General contractor Stacy and Witbeck began construction on the Wilsonville station and 400-space park-and-ride area at the southern terminus of the new line Friday.
  7. Jagernauth, David (March 7, 2007). "Wilsonville rail station finally gets on track". Wilsonville Spokesman. Eagle Newspapers, Inc.
  8. Foyston, John (September 4, 2008). "Ambitious crews install 5 steel sculptures in a day". The Oregonian.
  9. "WES rail car debuts in Wilsonville". Portland Tribune. June 19, 2008. Archived from the original on June 23, 2008. Retrieved 2019-06-12.
  10. Rivera, Dylan (October 1, 2008). "TriMet delays opening of Westside commuter rail line until February". The Oregonian. Retrieved 2019-06-12.
  11. WES Fares, Route/Station Map and Schedule. TriMet. Retrieved on 2010-03-19.
  12. Public Art on WES Commuter Rail. TriMet. Retrieved on 2019-06-12.
  13. Tims, Dana (June 28, 2001). "Shaping Wilsonville's center". The Oregonian.
  14. Tims, Dana (August 2, 2001). "Commute rail line closer". The Oregonian.
  15. Bella, Rick (March 29, 2007). "Planners can count on one thing: complaints". The Oregonian.
  16. Kipp, Curt (November 24, 2004). "Congress puts goodies under Wilsonville's tree". Wilsonville Spokesman. Eagle Newspapers, Inc.
  17. Jagernauth, David (November 23, 2005). "City and TriMet agree on rail costs". Wilsonville Spokesman. Eagle Newspapers, Inc.

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