Fourth Plain group to host meeting on bus plan

A newly formed business coalition will host a presentation this evening on the proposed bus rapid transit line envisioned along Fourth Plain Boulevard.

The Fourth Plain Business Coalition will host the meeting from 5:30 to 7 p.m. in the community meeting room at Vancouver’s west police precinct office at 2800 N.E. Stapleton Road. It’s free and open to the public.

C-Tran is proposing a bus rapid transit line connecting the VanMall neighborhood with Clark College.

The system generally involves extended buses with their own dedicated lane, fewer stops and quicker trips than standard coaches. But the specific design for Fourth Plain won’t be finished until the agency draws up a financial plan and conducts a formal analysis of its alternatives.

Getting the design right is crucial, said Mark Maggiora, a coalition member who is organizing tonight’s event. Some business owners have already raised concern about the line curtailing access by limiting motorists’ left-hand turns, for example.

“There are ways this could be done that would kill businesses and really compromise livability and access, and would be a nail in the coffin of the Fourth Plain corridor if not done properly,” Maggiora said.

Or, he said, a major infrastructure investment could — if done properly — promote revitalization of a corridor straddling some of Vancouver’s lowest-income neighborhoods.

“It can really be an asset in a lot of ways,” he said.

The business coalition has enlisted Portland land-use consultant Michele Reeves to help guide the discussion.

C-Tran planners anticipate the Federal Transit Administration would pick up as much as 80 percent of the cost of the project. A previous ballpark estimate was $72 million for a line running down the center of the boulevard, but C-Tran spokesman Scott Patterson said an alternative that runs along the side of the road could be cheaper.

Local voters will have to boost the sales tax to pay the local funding share.

C-Tran’s nine-member board of directors is due to meet April 12 to decide on the timing of a pair of ballot measures. One would ask voters to increase the sales tax by two-tenths of 1 percentage point to maintain existing bus service, add new routes and shore up C-Van service for disabled riders. The other would boost the sales tax by one-tenth of 1 percent to build the bus rapid transit line and provide money to operate an extension of Portland’s light-rail transit system across a new Interstate 5 bridge.

The Fourth Plain Business Coalition is hosting tonight’s event as a way of forging a vision for the corridor running through central Vancouver.

“This is a unique opportunity for us as a community to chart a course for a corridor future that assures stronger businesses and more livable neighborhoods — not just a street that moves people from point A to point B with limited regard for those who live, work and play in between,” the group stated in its announcement.