The MAX just got nailed on 6th and Harrison. No one was hurt, just a door and a car. The drivers weren't from Portland (and admitted as much as they got out of the car).
They didn't want us to get off the train because we're witnesses.
I just want to get to work. :(
Posted Mar 22, 2016, 4:05 PM UTC
You must love your job. When I was working a 9-5 type job, I'd have relished the opportunity to have a legitimate reason to be late for work that the boss couldn't argue with.
Tuesday is breakfast day! I like to get there when it is still hot... And there's still bacon.
I missed out on the bacon today.
Tuesday is breakfast day!
=-O
Why does my work suck?
To be fair, I did many years in retail. I know shitty jobs. I am absolutely thankful and appreciative of my lovely, wonderful job in all of its frustrations and stupid stuff.
Breakfast Tuesdays!
They did take away our keg, though. :|
If you're a dev of some sort, feel free to shoot me a message. We have openings!
That's what I'm sayin (as I sit here begrudgingly scarfing down a dry pastry)
Fair enough. I wouldn't want to miss breakfast day either. Those would be the days I showed up 30 minutes early, as a matter of fact.
Tuesday is breakfast day!
Are you hiring? I finished my associates this week!
We've got a LOT of dev positions open. Not sure how many are strictly entry level, but I could browse through them again.
dev positions
Not really my field. I've got a history of caregiving with some entry level office stuff sprinkled in.
I appreciate it, though. I hope your next breakfast day is extra great.
"I just want to get to work" but what you really meant was, "I just want to get some BACON!"
Little bit of one, little bit of the other...
Um, where do you work? Marriott?
I bet I'd get more food if I worked there...
But no, I work at a (boo, hiss) tech company.
This is unacceptable, a good employee would have gotten on a MAX train that wasn't going to later hit a car. I'm going to put a note in your file.
I got in a car accident several years ago, while taking my then GF to work at Stream when it was in Beaverton. Despite the fact that the car was flipped, and we took pictures, she still got points taken off for being late that day.
I'm so glad that I dont work somewhere where I have points.
My husband worked there for a year or so until they moved, that place sucked! He always came home cranky and pissy every day. One time I went to meet him after work and I was in the lobby, not bothering anyone, and I got treated like I was trying to rob the place. I was escorted in! YOU SAW IT, WHY ARE YOU CALLING SECURITY.
Was that when they were forcing people to stay at work with Tuberculosis, thereby causing an epidemic?
Yes, right about that time. I believe that she quit soon after that.
I was there for that.. Nasty stuff.
I remember when they put the point system in. 1 point for being late but the 1 point was the same if you were 4 hours late or 6 minutes late. So if you were going to be late, just take 1/2 the day off.
They use to make us park in the Techtronic's parking lot and grab a shuttle (7 additional minutes) and if it was filled and you didn't get on, 15 minutes...
Thank goodness when I worked there, huge lucrative high end contracts, networking, server support, OS support, hardware, security. Got me a I.T. Manager job.
Yep! We hired a bunch of former Stream people over at Nike Help Desk back in the day. Good techs back then.
Now days it is a mill, minimal training, scripted responses and punishment if you deviate from it. Not to mention minimum, or barely above minimum wage. Barely hireable, and only good for another help desk position.
legitimate reason to be late for work that the boss couldn't argue with.
Cute. My boss would have still docked me.
Docked you? You mean beyond the time you missed? I wouldn't expect to get paid for the 15-30 minutes late I'd be, for example, but... if they didn't pay you for time you actually were clocked in for, that's definitely illegal. Not that employers don't do that shit, people are so desperate to keep their jobs these days employers are pulling some shady things. My previous employer was always making thinly veiled attempts to get me to continue working off the clock for a while after my shift ended, or to come in an hour early to help out... also off the clock. When I refused, I'd get shit like "Well, we really need you to be a team player..." I ended up causing somewhat a mass exodus of employees when I finally quit, mostly thanks to my resignation letter detailing these things which I had made available to people working under me, apparently I was not the only one experiencing those problems. I had no intention of making anyone quit, nor did I ever express such a desire, but it was very gratifying nonetheless. If you're stuck in a job like that, you have my sympathy. That's a shitty position to be in. Maybe worse than anal after your partner ate 36 dollars worth of taco bell.
Old job not current. And they had a "point" system which counted against you, so they didn't dock pay, just points.
Hmmm.... this sounds very familiar. Was this a sign shop?
It was pretty great, I got to work about 45min late. We were waiting for the officers to come get our names and numbers since we saw that accident. Had time to pick up some shitty coffee from McDonalds while waiting. I was thinking something else crazy would happen as I walked the rest of the way to AmBest.
Man Im late like everday to work by 5-10 mins. My boss dont care. I get there and do my shit. I do commute 20 miles though so he cuts me slack.
Glad no one was hurt. I snapped some pics of it from the outside: https://www.reddit.com/r/Portland/comments/4bi29q/aww_its_so_cute_the_car_wanted_to_snuggle_with_max/
My mystery is gone! I was attempting to post my thread while you were snapping these.
Annnd this is one if the reasons I was against a car lane on 5th and 6th Avenue. Surprised this doesn't happen more often.
I'm in a cube overlooking 6th, and the last two days someone has drove the wrong way down the street causing the MAX to ding at them like crazy, or just made a sharp right in front of them like the train was a cyclist or something.
It's like 2 or 3 times a month you hear he MAX just going ballistic because someone is doing something dumb, and thats just next to my window.
I worked in a food cart on 5th (between oak/stark) for about a year. It's a daily occurrence of bad driving, people are ALWAYS going into bus lanes, taking wrong turns, not seeing the max /bus when they do so. So much honking from bus divers and dings from the max.
Be safe! Sorry to hear about that man.
I dream of the day the max goes under downtown. I know this is never going to happen, but boy would it help out traffic and cut down on the Max travel times.
Max travel times won't be improved too much going underground, it already receives an automatic green light. The streetcar on the other hand doesn't and suuuuuucks.
The MAX still has to go slow through downtown and is often held up by cars or pedestrians, or there are big delays because of things like this. I think reliability would definitely get better
The max would still need to go slow through downtown, all the stops are 2 or 3 blocks from each other.
I am not sure what your definition of often is but having ridden it for 15 years downtown it happens occasionally that it is held up by cars or pedestrians. Not enough that it would greatly improve the speed of max downtown.
There are big delays when things like this happen but for downtown, it happens rarely. It happens more near Lloyd center, than in downtown. But this is a discussion about it being underground for downtown, not the whole max line - which would be a totally different discussion.
Soooo make the stops 4 blocks or more apart?
It would be able to go a little bit faster, but my point was the biggest delay in downtown is due to pedestrians crossing illegally that the MAX has to wait for (which I see almost every time I am in downtown) and cars that drive erratically (by which I mean people trying to run a yellow or switching lanes with little to no signal, that kind of thing).
Max lines through downtown are basically at capacity; there is barely any room to add more trains.
Oh dang! Glad you weren't hurt. I was just on the train heading the other direction about an hour ago.
They need to make the transit mall easier for drivers to know where they're suppose to drive, and when to give others priority. I see drivers in the transit-only lanes often.
There's plenty of signage letting you know which lane you should be in, which lanes are turn lanes, when you shouldn't turn right
It's pretty apparent that they had a big fat no turn on red light and they ignored it, and got hit by a train.
I mean, if you're familiar with the area it's pretty obvious, but for someone from out of the city or state, and have to suddenly deal with all these light rail and street car lanes. Which rail lanes can you drive on? Which rail lanes can't you drive on? I just don't think it's very clear for people that's unfamiliar with the area, that's all. Then add in transit only lanes with bunch of buses and trains. One nice improvements would be using one of those no turn on red signs that light up, especially if the turn involves a rail line like in this case.
I could see ending up in the MAX lane for a bit, but at least then you wouldn't be able to side swipe one. As soon as you noticed the solid double white lines are on your left, that should be a huge red flag that you're not where you're supposed to be.
The bus lanes say BUS ONLY, I think that one is pretty straightforward.
Turning on a red when there's a sign that says NO TURN ON RED, I mean that's a good way to get hit by any number of vehicles whose right of way you're violating, and there are worse things to be hit by than slow moving light rail. And I don't think the signs should be lit up, if people thought that only the important signs are lit up, they'd start ignoring the 'regular' signs. Trying to idiot proof everything is counterintuitive.
There really needs to be a giant sign that says, "If you turn left down this street, pray to god you never need to turn right, because it is never going to happen."
Okay, that is a pretty big and lengthy sign and also the ACLU is going to be on my ass for it.
totally agree even if you are from town if your new to the area it is confusing as fuck.
the signs in portland and oregon as a whole suck , oh fuck you mean that i need to be in that lane!
then add in rain and the crazy and fuck down town traffic/pedestrians/cyclists its easy to miss something
They didn't want us to get off the train because we're witnesses.
umm its not a felony so dont think they can force you to stay on the train. not like they need 100 witnesses
Also, not like the max doesn't have right away always, unless running a read light.
"You hit a train, there is almost nothing that can make this the train's fault."
Everyone except for me, two dudes, and one other lady booked it out of there when they requested people stay so they could get statements.
I don't blame them for booking it. I'd be really curious what legal right they have to detain a rider after a crash.
It wasn't the police that requested, it was the trimet driver. I imagine they get royally screwed on a regular basis.
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Just underground the MAX already.
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Lets just increase the tickets for driving in the transit lanes to $1 Billion. Should have that funding in no time!
Of course it will and it's a fifty year plan, but no major city in the world has their major rail lines mix with pedestrian, bike, and vehicular traffic.
We just built a transit only bridge (first in US I am aware of) but a MAX ride through downtown going west-east takes fucking 20 minutes to get through downtown.
One of the major reasons why transit-to-work modal split is virtually unchanged since the 1990s -- years before we spent billions on rail. That's right, we get the same percentage of people taking transit to work as we did 20 years ago.
We will continue to struggle to increase transit ridership, "car-free" Portland will continue to be the joke that it is, addressing climate change and other environmental issues will not happen and we will not create a diverse economy with slow transit that we have.
Our lauded transit system in Portland is probably one of the most overrated in the entire US, and the numbers show it. Faster rail with increased employment density will also open up more affordable TOD housing along rail lines in Hillsboro, Beaverton, and Gresham.
As someone that has lived in LA the last few years, this reply smacks of not knowing what other cities are like.
The Portland transit system is not a joke, and the fact that you think so says to me you are sort of in a bubble.
BART in San Francisco for instance is operating at 4x its designed capacity, and because of that is extremely unreliable. LA has no real transit system and is too spread out for transit to work properly anyway.
Cities like Houston are sprawling messes that just don't have the density to support comprehensive transit.
There are pain points in the Portland system, but people in Portland have no idea just how good they have it.
It is embarrassing reading the trimet Facebook page. Those people complain about waiting around for 10 mins when most frequent service buses in other cities are hourly instead of 5/hr
BART in San Francisco for instance is operating at 4x its designed capacity, and because of that is extremely unreliable
This is though the lens of a huge metro area that is experiencing major growing pains in addition to the deferred maintenance that has occurred on BART.
SF is far better with an underground rail system, that is expanding. Is the argument that SF should have relied on surface rail for its main rail through its downtown?
Did you see the BART Twitter account the other day angrily explaining why they are always delayed? Very entertaining.
I too wish we had a faster transit network, but I'd like to point out that Portland's population has increased a lot since the 1990s, so the same percentage of people taking transit still means a lot more total number of people taking transit. If we hadn't invested in all of the transit capacity increases, ridership percentage probably would've gone down because of the increase in population.
I too wish we had a faster transit network, but I'd like to point out that Portland's population has increased a lot since the 1990s, so the same percentage of people taking transit still means a lot more total number of people taking transit. If we hadn't invested in all of the transit capacity increases, ridership percentage probably would've gone down because of the increase in population.
Technically this can just be solved by running more busses at reduced headways.
Let's just put it in that secret tunnel that reroutes Tanner Creek down to the river.
Agree. Eventually, with enough population density, a well-funded light rail or metro system will be a necessity. Public transit needs to be made more convenient and accessible. For many commuters, bicycles are not an option.
Of course it will and it's a fifty year plan, but no major city in the world has their major rail lines mix with pedestrian, bike, and vehicular traffic.
You mean in a manner comparable to Portland? Like Amsterdam? Or Manchester? Or Prague? Or Vienna?
Do you mean something different or are you just quite unworldly?
Amsterdam:
Already has an existing subway system and is already expanding its system with a new N-S line that goes under the central city and under the IJ River.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amsterdam_Metro#North-South_Line
Prague:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prague_Metro
Huge underground metro system.
Vienna:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vienna_U-Bahn
U Bahn = Underground Railway
Huge system.
Manchester lacks an underground system, from what I can tell.
I am not against surface rail, but not for the spine of the transit system. Our entire spine is reliant on grade-mix rail running through downtown. All lines go through downtown. We are not planning a good transit system for the future. We will continue to lack ridership because trip times are crazy and headways have large gaps.
Let's put it in the sky then. That'll only cost a coupla bucks.
Chicago does this.
Chicago doesn't have to plan its infrastructure around the potential for earthquakes.
On the other hand, some underground subway tunnels have held up very well in major earthquakes around the world, and have actually provided a very good options for first responders to get around in some instances. I have no idea how well tunnels would hold up in Portland, however, given that our soil will liquify in a large enough earthquake.
The city can't even keep the streets from flooding. I would hate to see what tunnels would look like here.
I'm pretty sure the reason why we don't have underground trains is because when they tried it a long time ago, it wouldn't stay dry. Portland used to have a subway, you can even see the old entrances in some places. One has a restaurant in it, or did a handful of years ago when I was last there. Portland used to be all marsh land that was drained and filled in, not super great for underground stuff. Or so I was told.
I'm pretty sure the reason why we don't have underground trains is because when they tried it a long time ago, it wouldn't stay dry. P
We have the second deepest subway tunnel in the world. This is not the reason, we have less precip than NYC.
NYC sits ontop of solid rock, we sit ontop of mud.
We also have less money than NYC.
Literally hundreds of pumps run constantly to keep NYC's subway dry(ish).
We have the second deepest subway tunnel in the world.
There's a huge difference between the Robertson tunnel and most others in the world. For one, 100% of it is above sea level. In some places, it's nearly 450 feet above seal level.
It would be much cheaper to just ban cars from the transit mall and Yamhill / Morrison.
Cheaper for whom? Given the whimpy access to transit and their times, this will impact area businesses, especially ones that operate off of peak transit times. People drive for very good reason: it's more convenient than transit for many trips.
Cheaper for everyone. Putting it underground (which is a good idea eventually) would cost billions that we would have to fund. Removing cars from the transit mall would only cost calories.
And where would we park our cars? The west transit centres fill up really early
Way too late for that, there is no way that would happen with the cost, time it would take, and just sheer annoyance putting all the trains underground in already congested downtown. I feel like people would be so pissed off if for the next few years there was a constant construction throughout the city.
I feel like people would be so pissed off if for the next few years there was a constant construction throughout the city.
People aren't pissed off a car shuts down the entirety of the MAX line and impacts traffic...every single week?
This is a quotidian issue (and it's costing us money to respond to it everytime). At least with investment in a tunnel, we get something out of it. We're just throwing money at emergency response.
They are, so imagine if it was worse, I mean don't get me wrong i'm all for investing into it all, it would be so worth it IMO, but what i'm saying is that I feel a lot of people wouldn't think it is.
I feel like people would be so pissed off if for the next few years there was a constant construction throughout the city.
People will be pissed off about literally any construction project. Just have to deal with it and get over it. In the long run, these things happen for the greater good.
Totally agree.
There aren't near enough issues with the max to justify putting it underground. As far as public transportation goes, the MAX has little/no catastrophic failures on its record. Further, a lot of the issues we hear about in regards to the MAX are the result of other people being stupid.
Except that one time they decided to drive the MAX through flood waters a few months ago. There was that.
Further, a lot of the issues we hear about in regards to the MAX are the result of other people being stupid
Which will not change if we wish so. Even with people being stupid, navigation of the MAX and streetcars downtown is confusing for first time Portland drivers. For one, you can drive in the rails for streetcar but cannot for MAX.
Hoping people drive better is not a policy of design decision we should hang our hat on.
You will literally find it impossible to convince people who live and work in portland that the rail system or streetcars are to blame for stupid drivers. You'll find it even harder to justify inconveniencing the entirety of portland that they should deal with 20 years of construction to take an already fully functional and convenient transportation system and throw it in the soil. You'll find it EVEN HARDER to justify doing that because some dip from out of town gets a little booboo from what might just be a lack of signage.
It should be underground especially downtown but without major federal funding this is all we will get.
We got federal funding for all of these transit underperforming streetcar lines. We got FF for a transit only bridge.
Is the max that litte train thing that goes around on the streets?
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According to the other thread, the people in the car apologized loudly and claimed they weren't from here, so it is very possible...
According to some other people the car had a California license plate.
The best part is that the driver left her intercom on and screamed, "fuck! No! No! No! Shit! Bus 72 I just hit a vehicle".
I was concerned we were about to run over a person when she screamed...
She was probably worried about that too.
Just because the MAX has the right of way and it isn't the driver's fault doesn't mean they would feel ok after hitting someone.
I logged onto the trimet website and (attempted) to give the driver a commendation for the way she handled it because I feel like they usually get treated like shit if they're ever involved in an accident.
Props. Good looking out
I'd be more concerned that the max driver thought she was driving a bus...
Dispatch refers to the trains as buses? TIL
She said that immediately after the accident, I believe that's what she said. It sounds strange to me too