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Latest light rail design plans topic of open house

Issue of extending system to Vancouver headed to voters next year

By Erik Robinson
Published: September 20, 2010, 12:00am

Voters in Clark County will decide next year whether to boost the sales tax to operate an extension of Portland’s light-rail transit system in Vancouver.

o What: Open house regarding the proposed design of a new light rail station in downtown Vancouver.

o When: 6 to 8 p.m. today.

o Where: Vancouver Convention Center, 301 W. Sixth St., Heritage Ballroom A.

In the meantime, officials are planning for the possibility that MAX will arrive in Vancouver with a new Interstate 5 bridge. A public open house this evening will provide an opportunity for area residents to provide input on the latest developments regarding station location and design in downtown Vancouver.

Planners are considering moving a proposed park-and-ride structure downtown a block west onto Columbia Street between Fourth and Fifth streets. By moving it out of a new cloverleaf onramp carrying vehicles onto the bridge from state Highway 14, city officials believe they can better incorporate the structure into the urban fabric of downtown.

o What: Open house regarding the proposed design of a new light rail station in downtown Vancouver.

o When: 6 to 8 p.m. today.

o Where: Vancouver Convention Center, 301 W. Sixth St., Heritage Ballroom A.

“With it outside the loop, you could have a mixed-use function, particularly on the first floor,” said Katy Belokonny, a C-Tran employee working in the bistate Columbia River Crossing office.

Designers have also proposed changes to the point where trains stop to pick up and drop off passengers along Washington Street between Fifth and Sixth. At that point, the light rail line peels off the new bridge and meets Washington atop four feet of fill — a less-than-attractive entrance to businesses now situated along Washington Street.

“We’re looking at incorporating stairs or risers to bridge that grade distance in a more creative way than just a retaining wall barrier,” Belokonny said. “By the time it gets to the Plaid Pantry, it meets the existing grade.”

Finally, officials want input on whether to block Fifth Street in a cul-de-sac at Washington or push it another block east to Main Street underneath the new Highway 14 onramp.

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