SW Corridor and Tigard Triangle moving along

Metro's transformation  of  the  SW suburbs continues 

Some Favorite Metro Slogans:

"Sharing the benefits and burdens of growth"

"_____, the next great neighborhood"

"Live, Work, Play"

"Leave your car at home"

"Shared Investment Strategy"

"Partners" with Metro

"Supporting local communities"

Metro's plans to create Transit Oriented Developments (TODs) throughout the region are coming right along in Tigard.  The key word is "transit" as in High Capacity Transit (HCT) - Light Rail (LRT) or Bus Rapid Transit (BRT).  Tigard residents voted to withhold money for HCT design and construction without voter approval, but a technical reading of the measure allows Tigard officials to continue with their planning for the Triangle and the intersecting SW Corridor (SWC) Transit Plan.  (Evidently "panning" isn't the same thing as "design".)

With summer over, the two planning efforts are roaring back to life with public meetings and steering committee decisions scheduled.  Even if you can't make it to the meetings, please take the time to read through the plans.  Lake Oswego officially removed itself from the SWC planning effort, however with Tigard just across the freeway, it is naive to expect the transit and Triangle plans won't include our city in some way.  The Kruse Way and the SW Employment districts are on the cusp of the Corridor and will very likely tie into the HCT on ther west side, along with bicycle and pedestrian facilities.

The Tigard Triangle plan includes several Lake Oswego bike/ped projects that are in our Transportation System Plan (TSP).  These are designated as Regional Trails, planned by Metro.  They can't happen without significant funding from Lake Oswego as a "Shared Investment Strategy," and though they are on our Capital Improvement Project (CIP) list, there are no plans to do them.

Planning maps are funny things.  Once a project gets put on a map in one jurisdiction, another overlapping planning effort will pick up the project, and it will be copied and re-copied long after the originator took the item off their planning map.  Maps have legal implications, so getting them right and up to date is imperative, and knowing which map supercedes another in authority is critical.  Just labeling maps with the dates they were created would be a great start!   TIP:  The Comprehensive Plan, including all maps contained within it, is the master land use plan for the city.