Drawing attention to Oregon’s transportation challenges, Governor Kate Brown received a transportation briefing and toured Lane Transit District’s Emerald Express (EmX) Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system last month.
“The transformation of a transportation corridor would help improve the economic vitality of the Springfield-Eugene region and the entire state,” said Governor Brown. “To achieve this, Oregon needs a transportation package to make critical investments in seismic retrofitting and investments in transit to reduce congestion and give more choices to Oregonians.”
Traveling Franklin Boulevard, an important transportation link between the two largest cities in Lane County, Eugene and Springfield, Brown was given highlights on infrastructure needs along the corridor. The project is hoped to be completed before the 2021 IAAF World Track & Field Championships comes to town.
More than 50 guests joined Governor Brown April 25 for the tour of the region's model BRT system. Guests included State representatives John Lively and Phil Barnhart; Eugene Mayor Kitty Piercy and Springfield Mayor Christine Lundberg; the director of the Oregon Department of Transportation; the presidents of both the University of Oregon and Lane Community College; local school district administrators; directors of the Eugene and Springfield chambers of commerce; local elected officials; business leaders; and other transit advocates.
“Our vision is to create a transit system that gets people to school, home, work, and where they want to play; a transit system that supports economic development by supporting employers and employees; and, a transit system that shows what type of community we are,” said Eugene Mayor Kitty Piercy.
Just one of 34 routes, EmX (pronounced “M-X") carries 26 percent of the more than 10 million passenger trips made on LTD each year. When a third segment is completed, the EmX system will serve 52,000 residents and an estimated 81,500 jobs along the corridor, improving access to employment, education and recreation.
"Investments in these types of thoughtful, multimodal improvements are essential to making Oregon a transportation innovation hub," said Governor Brown.
“EmX has revolutionized transit in Eugene and Springfield. Our Bus Rapid Transit system has many of the same amenities that make light rail so popular, but it operates at one-tenth the cost,” said Aurora Jackson, LTD general manager.
The governor’s tour highlighted the vision of both communities to transform corridors into complete streets with improved transit and other amenities supporting multimodal travel. Beginning development in the early 2000s, LTD’s EmX system was one of the first Bus Rapid Transit systems in the nation. The third EmX segment will be operational in late 2017.
