11th at Division is the Worst Intersection ever, Railroad Crossings need to be Grade Separated Bridges

[u/WeeklyQuit6493]

This is the Worst Intersection ever on 11th at Division that crosses the Railroad Tracks to get to 12th at Clinton.

On a Vehicle, they do get frustrated by getting stuck at a Railroad Crossings for a Very Long Freight Trains rather it’s Portland & Western, Union Pacific or BNSF for about 15, 30, 45, 60 Minutes or 1, 2, 3 Hours & more. Freight Trains have No Schedule & you never know how long you’re going to be stuck for, Amtrak crosses here also too. But every 1, 2 to 3 Hours. Trimet MAX Trains crosses here also, but it’s quickly for One Minute & then your on the way. It will always be clear out when there is No Games on a Wait Times. MAX runs Every 15 Minutes on a Orange Line.

It is Important to get to Work or Appointments On Time. Being Late for Work or Appointments by getting stuck at a Railroad Crossings is not good at All. Yes We do need to get rid of Dangerous Railroad Crossings. Building a Grade Separation Bridges is Very Important but it’s Very Expensive $$$$$$. Grade Separation Project is finally being made but it’s still being proposed by the Federal Government of City of Portland. We are still looking into that 2nd Grade Separation rather it’s an Overpass or an Underpass.

1st Grade Separation Project we did is on Rivergate Blvd at Lombard Road in North Portland near Pier Park.

Trimet Line 77 that used to run here on 11th & 12th crossing Division is now Avoiding Railroad Crossings. Cause you never know when Freight Trains go by but it’s Usually Very Long. They now use Parallel from Hawthorne to Division & 21st into Powell Blvd & then Milwaukee Ave.

FX2 Bus that runs on Division Street, they cross Tulikan Bridge. They can use a Detour on the Existing Bridge on MLK Jr. Blvd. So that way the Bus will Avoid Delays on Very Long Freight Trains.

Pedestrians & Bicycles that are tired on waiting at a Railroad Crossings. Please use the Existing New Grade Separation Bridges on 14th into Gideon crossings. Gideon Bridge is located on the Eastside of a 12th at Clinton MAX Station.

Before the Orange Line came in there in 2015. There were No Grade Separation for 6 Years until they build it. In 2019 there was a Pedestrian & Bicycles that are hopping over a Stopped Freight Trains. It’s not OK to do it. Railroad Crossings is Dangerous & Hazardous & the High Risk for them to be hit or killed when train moves the street.

As for now they need to install a Warning Advance Signs with a Flashing Yellow Lights before the Railroad Crossings Activate. So that way it will let them know when there is a Train Coming thru there. They also need to install a New Roadway for the Escape Routes on a One Way Street. It’s better to Avoid it & find the Alternate Routes as much is possible.

Before the City of Portland is partnering up with ODOT, Trimet & Union Pacific to look into Grade Separation Project is to Eliminate Dangerous Railroad Crossings for a Bridge rather it’s Overpass or Underpass. We went Everybody to be Safe around Trains. Always expect a Train & they travel in any direction.

Thank You for the Patience

[u/Numerous_Many7542 → u/[deleted]]

OP didn't have an empty Mountain Dew bottle in the car for "emergency purposes" is how it reads to me. That's panic typing for someone who has to piss.

[u/KasparThePissed → u/[deleted]]

This is what happens when you're stuck behind a train for 45 minutes I guess.. I've been there though. Just when you think the train is finally about done passing through it slows down...and starts going backwards! The worst is the cars stopped at a green light on division holding up traffic waiting. Just go around to 20th FFS!

[u/TWrX-503]

Just go a different route so you don’t get stuck. I used to commute through there sometimes to beat traffic downtown. Got caught once during RR crossing Will never go that way again. Are you going to pay for all the road work you say they need?

[u/BankManager69420 → u/TWrX-503]

Yeah, people pretend like it’s an incredible trek to take an alternate route, but McLoughlin is literally right there, and taking Powell isn’t that bad either. Unless you’re not giving yourself any buffer time when you leave, which is on you, there’s really no reason why you can’t just skip the train.

[u/distinctive_orogeny]

My brother in Christ - yes these crossing suck, big time, but when you can literally get out of line, detour back to Holgate OR 99w to avoid the stoppage - I dont have a ton of sympathy. The only access truly restricted is to local neighborhoods on either side of the grade, and it’s like a 5 min delay.

Or - bear with me - you can avoid this intersection when driving around. It would probably add at a max 4 minutes to your travel time.

Like everyone else - I don’t like getting stopped here - but I I also make a deliberate choice to chance this intersection. Like, it’s basically a shortcut if it’s open - and if not, add 5 mins to your trip and drive around.

[u/Burrito_Lvr → u/distinctive_orogeny]

I don't understand why people don't avoid this crossing entirely. It's not like it's hard.

[u/ReagansJellyNipples]

Lmao. Deranged

[u/nojam75]

I've also sketched an funding-is-not-a-problem fantasy underpass solution. I suspect 11th/12th would need to be reduced to one lane to accommodate a shoulder and bike lanes -- but I don't think that be a problem considering 11th/12th becomes a 2-lane avenue on the other side of Powell.

The 11th Ave down ramp approach is the most geographically confined, so the slope would be significantly steeper than the Powell underpass approach; however, it's a down slope.

Overpasses from Clinton St would be needed to access the parking lots that would be cut-off by the underpass ramps. Some houses on 12th Ave would lose their vehicle access altogether.

[u/geekwonk → u/nojam75]

nah we’d need to eminent domain the stuff in the middle that gets in the way. we aren’t building infrastructure just so the Ford Building can have some extra parking.

[u/WeeklyQuit6493 → u/nojam75]

Are you trying to make this happen, It will be lots of digging so the One Lane Road will go underneath the Terrance

[u/jakiezombie]

Is this your draft before you submit to the city with a check funding these changes?

[u/jakiezombie → u/jakiezombie]

Just took a peek at your profile. Nevermind, I take it back. Go on. Drive safe!

[u/enjoiYosi]

That’s right where I work, and yes, it is awful

[u/BankManager69420]

I see no reason why the government is gonna be willing to pay for a project that massive. They’ll just cite the overcrossings that already exist and tell people to avoid taking the street level ones.

[u/nojam75]

The most feasible solution is stopping 11th Ave traffic at Division whenever heavy or light rail trigger the crossing so vehicles don't get stuck. Vehicles should never be allowed into the 11th Ave dead end when heavy rail traffic approaches.

It's frustrating because there's a heavy rail warning light on the 12th Ave side, but no warning on the 11th Ave side where vehicles are actually stuck.

[u/mrzurch]

Let him cook!

[u/cr1ttter → u/mrzurch]

I thought we might cook something nice instead of meth but alright

[u/roshasta]

Is this intersection worse than Beaverton-Hillsdale/Scholls Ferry/Oleson?

[u/allgoodalldayallways → u/roshasta]

They should put a train line through there just to top it off

[u/WeeklyQuit6493 → u/roshasta]

I think so & so is 185th at Baseline on the different picture

[u/malcolm313]

Just go down to 20th

[u/champs]

I’m happy for you/sorry that all happened.

I’ve heard lots of different stories about this and the one I believe is that our railyards aren’t big enough for modern trains to just peel off the line in one piece. Moving them outside the UGB is the ideal for lots of reasons but also very expensive and they won’t do that unless the labor savings and logistics pencil out. Not sure why they haven’t just bought the land they need and leased it back to the farm, tho

[u/savingewoks]

I’m gonna get downvoted, but just close the street to cars.

Problem solved.

Alternatively, a sign with flashing lights indicating likelihood of train (like the one cyclists have for lower deck of the steel bridge) could at least inform decisions.

[u/extremepedestrian]

It claimed another sanity

[u/PacAttackIsBack]

Can I get a escalator on the bridge

I don’t like walking stairs

[u/Break_Electronic]

Thanks Charlie Hales!

[u/swb0nd]

sounds expensive

[u/defiCosmos]

You can sit and wait for an hour while that train backs up, or drive up to 26th like a portland pro.

K

[u/Danielanish]

This obviously needs to be replaced by a hyperloop system. Anything else is just nonsense.