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  Transit Sleuth

I've talked about doing this in past entries, but I've moved from discussing this to actually making plans around what and how I will complete this endeavor.  Also note, if anyone would like to join me, please feel free.  I'm intending to shoot some video and would love to have another face besides my own gruff mug.

To recap what I've been talking about in past entries, here's the context.

The Context

I'm planning to travel down and stay in Wilsonville for a few days. These days will be during the week so that I can experience, first hand, what commuting on the WES will actually be like. I intend to stay within walking distance of the Wilsonville WES Station and hopefully will find it easy enough to live for a few days without needing a car.

The Map

The following is a map of where I think I will stay. It appears to be close enough to the following places to make this an easy walk friendly area. I'd dread living out there in most of the areas, as there is a minimal amount of walking distance living abodes.

On the map (click to see the larger image) area A is were the WES trains are kept and part B is were the station is.  Section C is were the commercial area is were I would prospectively stay.  Either which way, there will be at LEAST a 10 minute walk to the train in the morning.  I might have to see about bringing the ole' bike down there, just not sure about the rest of the commute.  Would I have space on MAX to get the rest of the way downtown with the bike?  Would I be able to stow the bike at Beaverton Transit Center in a bike parking locker?  Is one even available?

The Route

The route, as shown on the map, will take me the entire WES journey coming and leaving.

The Transfer

Beaverton Transit Center will be my transfer point. It will be interesting to see how many riders head west versus east at this point. Will these riders be bound for the tech jobs of the west side or the urban enclaves of downtown?

Again click the picture to see the larger image.  You'll see on the larger image section A were the MAX trains arrive or sit waiting and area B were the WES arrives.  Passengers will have to cross both sides of the transit mall were the buses travel to and from.  It should be an interesting site to see 70+ people walking across the transit center.  Talk about increasing the flow of people in the area.  It sure would be great if they could have built this transit center in the middle of all the stores in the area, I gotta say, the location just sucks for Beaverton.  Whoever planned this route thru here did a rather poor job, of course I understand they were probably under some rather absurd limitations.

The End Point

Pioneer Square (Image at right courtesy of Ninjo Chronicles), the living room of the downtown enclave, and people watching center of the city. This is where my commute will end. I'm hoping for a seat on both segments of the ride for plenty of writing, thinking, and coding time. Standing up just doesn't cut it for that.

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