Archives for June 2012

The Source, Transportation News and Views about LA’s Metro, runs an occasional series called The Transit Tourist.

The Transit Tourist takes a look at other transit systems across the globe from the first person perspective of a visitor. What can Metro learn from how these other systems treat the uninitiated – and often bumbling – tourist?

London and New York have been featured, so of course it’s Portland’s turn!

Blogger Carter Rubin recently visited our fine city for a few days, rode our fine public transit, and filed this report: The Transit Tourist: Portland, Ore.

During my week-long visit to Portland, my primary agenda was to explore a city that is often held as a model of good public transportation and urban design.

I got very lucky on the weather front: six consecutive sunny days. That made touring the city on transit and foot even easier, though perhaps I didn’t quite get a representative experience of a city known for its seemingly perpetual drizzle and rain.

The good weather made Portland even more comfortable to explore on foot. Especially in downtown and its environs, the sidewalks tend to be very generous, the streets pretty narrow, and the blocks very short — all of which make the city feel more intimate and accessible. And those are all features that make it pleasant being out in public and taking transit…weather permitting.

Read the rest at The Source.