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TriMet gets greenlight to build new bike and pedestrian overpass in Southeast Portland

Construction will begin in the Spring and is expected to take a year to complete.

PORTLAND, Ore. — If you've ever been stuck at a train crossing, you know it can go on for what feels like forever.

A new bike and pedestrian overpass that just got the greenlight to go up in Southeast Portland will help people avoid that.

On Thursday morning, commuters were stuck waiting for the train to pass near SE Gideon Street and SE 12th Avenue.

But soon, they might not have to wait. TriMet got the green light to build a new pedestrian and bike overpass about 300 feet away from the Clinton St. and SE 12th MAX stop on the Orange Line. The overpass would provide bicyclists and pedestrians a way over the railroad tracks and connect SE 13th Place to SE 14th Avenue.

“I think it'd be really useful. If traffic is stopped like this, at least there's some way that people can get across,” said Lana Senten, a commuter on her way to school.

Getting across the tracks is part of the issue. TriMet said people have been seen jetting across the tracks when they're not supposed to. Some people have even climbed over stopped freight trains to get across.

“It seems every time it’s stopped right there, there’s at least one person that will hop on one side, climb along and jump on,” said Brendan McGirk, a MAX commuter.

“It’s terrifying to watch,” he said.

But not everyone is so thrilled about the plan.

“This is the corner of the elevator that's proposed for the Gideon overcrossing,” said Michael Koerner. “So that means the curb is going to be here and this is my driveway so how does this function.”

Koerner owns Koerner Camera Systems. His business rents out motion picture equipment to major TV shows and movies. The building is located on SE 14th Avenue. He said the new overpass would severely limit delivery truck access to his business.

“My FedEx driver said have they got that figured out yet […] she's freaked out about hitting people,” he said.

Koerner believes he'll probably have to move because trucks may be unable to back in due to the location of the overpass.

“The driveway is about four feet or so from the edge of it,” said Koerner.

Aside from his business, he said he’s also worried about safety for commuters.

“The bottom of the staircase coming off the bridge is right here, and this is an active forklift loading and unloading zone,” Koerner said. “Then down the street, we have five businesses that also use forklifts.”

A TriMet spokesperson said the City of Portland conducted a study and found SE 14th Avenue safe, with low traffic volume. They emphasized the overpass will be located only on the public street.

Koerner said he supports building a new overpass but disagrees with the current plan. He said TriMet had promised to bring forward multiple design options. Koerner said that didn’t happen.

TriMet officials said a number of design alternatives were initially considered, but the current plan was picked because of its limited impacts on private property.

There was an old overpass in the area before, but it was taken down during the construction of the MAX Orange Line.

Leftover federal dollars from the Orange Line’s construction are paying for the new overpass. It'll have lights and be ADA accessible with elevators as well as stairs on both sides.

Construction will begin in the Spring. It’s expected to take a year to complete.

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