OR: Editorial peak: TriMet finds its winter footing

It doesn’t take a lot of snow in the Portland metro area to bring the commute to a standstill. Big storms in previous years have led to drivers abandoning their cars on the highway, TriMet MAX light-rail trains sitting idle due to ice and people walking miles in the cold to get home.

But credit TriMet for being better prepared to serve the public this time when snow and freezing temperatures hit earlier this month. Despite a few glitches, TriMet kept MAX trains running, operated buses on snow routes and provided better communication about what people could expect.

To be sure, the storm was not nearly as destructive as in January 2024, when prolonged snow, ice and winds felled trees and locked the area in ice. But it still shut down schools, businesses and made for some treacherous driving for a population that does not routinely encounter snow. These conditions are exactly when the stakes are highest for public transit to be reliable, safe and capable of getting people to the places they need to go. It’s also an opportunity to show infrequent users of TriMet just how easy of an alternative it could be on other days.

So what did TriMet do differently?

After last year’s debacle, which sidelined TriMet trains for days, a consultant recommended adding “ice tractors,” which can clear snow, ice and other debris from the tracks instead of relying on workers to do so manually. The agency purchased two from the Edmonton Transit System in Alberta, Canada – which saw more than two feet of snow since November – for $190,000 apiece – which helped keep trains in action, said spokeswoman Tia York.

TriMet also ran trains overnight to help keep overhead wires clear. And they have lately been updating electronic messaging boards at bus stations to alert riders to how many miles away the next bus was, as opposed to how many minutes away – an estimate that becomes incredibly unreliable and frustrating during winter weather.

Of course, just because things went well, doesn’t mean that TriMet has mastered the operation of public transit in wintry conditions. As York noted, the weather, preparations and response all “went exactly as predicted” this time. That’s not a guarantee for things moving smoothly in future storms.

And other governmental agencies still have work ahead. Multnomah County refrained from opening emergency shelters in January and leading up to the snow storm this month, even with temperatures at or below freezing levels. At least one person died of hypothermia during that time, the county reported. Washington and Clackamas counties both opened their emergency shelters at various points in January and days before Multnomah County did this month.

In addition to adding more year-round shelter beds, Multnomah officials should take another look at its criteria for opening emergency shelter, which now open if temperatures drop to 25 degrees; temperatures drop to below freezing with 1 inch or more of rain and with sustained winds greater than 10 mph; or a forecast of 1 inch of snow accumulating in a 24-hour-period. At least, however, the county has loosened its requirements for watching training videos for those wanting to volunteer in emergencies.

Agencies must learn from mistakes of the past to better prepare for the future. With ice storms, heat waves and other extreme weather seeming to occur yearly now, Portland can’t adopt a wait-it-out mentality. TriMet deserves recognition for embracing the need to change.

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