Pioneer Square South and Pioneer Square North stations

Pioneer Square South and Pioneer Square North are a pair of light rail stations in Portland, Oregon, United States, that are served by TriMet as part of the MAX Light Rail system. The stations occupy the sidewalks of Yamhill and Morrison streets between Broadway and 6th Avenue in downtown Portland. They are situated directly west of the Portland Transit Mall in Pioneer Courthouse Square.

This article is about the light rail stations in Portland, Oregon. It is not to be confused with Pioneer Square station in Seattle.

Pioneer Square South  Pioneer Square North  
MAX Light Rail stations
The platform of Pioneer Square South station in 2009
LocationPioneer Courthouse Square
Portland, Oregon, U.S.
Coordinates45°31′08″N 122°40′46″W
Owned byTriMet
Line(s) Blue Line
 Red Line
Platforms2 one-way side platforms
Tracks1 per split
Connections MAX Light Rail:
 Green Line
 Orange Line
 Yellow Line
at Pioneer Courthouse/Southwest 6th and Pioneer Place/Southwest 5th
 Portland Transit Mall
Construction
Disabled accessYes
History
OpenedSeptember 5, 1986 (1986-09-05)
Passengers
Fall 20191,796 (Pioneer Square South)
3,327 (Pioneer Square North)
5,123 (total)
weekday boardings[1]
Services
Preceding station   MAX Light Rail   Following station
Pioneer Square North
Blue Line
One-way operation
Red Line
Pioneer Square South
One-way operation
Blue Line
toward Cleveland
Red Line
Former services
Preceding station   MAX Light Rail   Following station
Pioneer Square North
Blue Line
1986–2020
(closed)
One-way operation
Red Line
2004–2009
Terminus
Yellow Line
2004–2009
Pioneer Square South
One-way operation
Blue Line
1986–2020
(closed)
toward Cleveland
Red Line
2001–2020
(closed)
Yellow Line
2004–2009
(closed)
toward Expo Center
Location

The Pioneer Square stations are among the 27 original stations built as part of the Banfield Light Rail Project, Portland's first light rail line. They opened along with the inaugural service of MAX on September 5, 1986. The stations are currently served by the Blue Line, which operates between Hatfield Government Center in Hillsboro and Cleveland Avenue in Gresham, and the Red Line, which operates between Beaverton Transit Center in Beaverton and Portland International Airport. The Yellow Line had served the stations from May 2004 until that line's rerouting to the Portland Transit Mall in August 2009. The Pioneer Square stations, along with the Pioneer Courthouse/Southwest 6th and Pioneer Place/Southwest 5th stations, mark the only transfer point in the MAX system where riders can board any of the five existing lines.

History
See also: Pioneer Courthouse Square

The downtown Portland city block bound by Morrison and Yamhill streets to the north and south and 6th Avenue and Broadway to the east and west had previously been occupied by various structures,[2] including the city's first public school,[3][4] the Portland Hotel,[5] and a two-story parking garage.[2] In 1969, block owner Meier & Frank requested a permit to construct an 800-car parking garage at the site,[6] which the Portland City Council rejected after a series of heated public hearings.[7] The controversial proposal led the city and local businesses to pursue a comprehensive downtown plan that envisioned turning the site into a public space instead.[8][9] After negotiating with Meier & Frank, the city purchased the property and in 1980, announced a national design competition for a plaza that would be called "Pioneer Courthouse Square".[2]

Portland's first light rail line, which planners referred to as the Banfield Light Rail Project, received federal approval for construction in September 1980. Just over a year later, TriMet published a conceptual design report of the project that outlined a 27-station, 15.1-mile (24.3 km) line, including a pair of light rail stations at Pioneer Courthouse Square. The plans called for a pair of platforms along the north and south ends of the square on Morrison and Yamhill streets.[10]:37–38 Construction of the line commenced in April 1983 in Gresham and largely progressed from east to west,[11][12] with the downtown segment among the final sections to be completed.[13] Street and sidewalk reconstruction work finally reached downtown in March the following year.[14] While work continued on the line, the city finished building the square and dedicated it on April 6, 1984.[15][16] By March 1986, major light rail construction work had ceased.[13] Line testing in downtown began with the arrival of the first light rail car two months later.[17][18]

On September 5, 1986, the light rail line, which TriMet officially named the Metropolitan Area Express (MAX), opened to the public.[19] A three-day celebration took place across the route, including at Pioneer Courthouse Square, which hosted an opening ceremony and several concerts.[20] Over 3,000 people gathered at the square to welcome the 11:45 am arrival of the first train from Gresham.[21] Until 1998, MAX only ran between 11th Avenue in downtown Portland and Cleveland Avenue in central Gresham, with a stop at the Pioneer Square stations.[19]

In September 1998, TriMet extended MAX service farther west to Hatfield Government Center in downtown Hillsboro in Washington County with the opening of the Westside MAX extension. Three years later, the Red Line became the second line to serve the Pioneer Square stations following the opening of the Airport MAX extension, which introduced an airport rail link between downtown Portland and Portland International Airport. The original service between Hillsboro and Gresham was subsequently renamed the Blue Line.[22] In September 2003, TriMet extended the Red Line westward to Beaverton Transit Center.[23] From 2004 to 2009, the Yellow Line, which runs to the Expo Center in North Portland, also stopped at these stations until TriMet rerouted it to the light rail tracks on Portland Transit Mall in August 2009.[24]

Station details
Sidewalk
platform		 Westbound ← Blue Line toward Hatfield Government Center (Galleria/Southwest 10th Avenue)
← Red Line toward Beaverton Transit Center (Galleria/Southwest 10th Avenue)
Side platform, doors will open on the left
Pioneer Courthouse Square
Sidewalk
platform		 Side platform, doors will open on the left
Eastbound → Blue Line toward Cleveland Avenue (Yamhill District) →
→ Red Line toward Portland International Airport (Yamhill District) →

The Pioneer Square stations occupy the sidewalks facing Yamhill and Morrison streets between Broadway and 6th Avenue in downtown Portland. Each station comprises one side platform.[10]:37–38 Pioneer Courthouse Square, which is commonly referred to as "Portland's Living Room", is situated between the two platforms.[25]:6–6 Amenities include garbage cans, shelters, and schedule information displays.[26][27] TriMet's ticket office is located inside the visitor information center on the west side of the square between the water features. Fares may be purchased at the ticket office or from ticket vending machines on the platforms.[25]:6–6 Oregon's first Starbucks outlet sits adjacent to the western edge of the westbound platform.[28]

TriMet considers the square a transit hub.[25]:6–6 It is the only location in the MAX system where all five existing light rail services interconnect.[29] The northbound light rail tracks on the Portland Transit Mall run along the immediate east side of the Pioneer Square station platforms on 6th Avenue; this provides a direct transfer to the MAX platform of Pioneer Courthouse/Southwest 6th station across the street,[30] which is served by the Green and Yellow lines.[29] On the opposite end of this adjacent block, which is occupied by the Pioneer Courthouse,[31] is the southbound MAX station, Pioneer Place/Southwest 5th.[32] This station is served by the Green and Orange lines. The Pioneer Square stations also facilitate transfers to buses serving the Portland Transit Mall.[29]

Service

The Pioneer Square stations are served by the MAX Blue Line, which connects them to Beaverton and Hillsboro to the west and Gresham to the east, and the MAX Red Line, which connects them to Beaverton to the west and Portland International Airport to the east.[26][27][33] From the stations, westbound trains take approximately 25 minutes to reach Beaverton Transit Center and 50 minutes to reach Hatfield Government Center station.[34] Eastbound trains take approximately 35 minutes to reach Portland International Airport station and 50 minutes to reach Cleveland Avenue station.[35][36] The stations together recorded an average 5,123 riders on weekdays in fall 2019.[1]

References
  1. "TriMet MAX Light Rail Passenger Census – Fall 2019" (PDF). TriMet. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 10, 2020. Retrieved March 10, 2020.
  2. Vattiat, Drew (October 4, 2013). "The history of Pioneer Courthouse Square in photos". The Oregonian. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
  3. "Central School". Oregon Historical Society. March 17, 2018. Archived from the original on September 30, 2015. Retrieved March 18, 2020.
  4. Killen, John (June 11, 2015). "Throwback Thursday: Portland public schools, started in 1850s, took awhile to catch on". The Oregonian. Archived from the original on March 18, 2020. Retrieved March 18, 2020.
  5. "The Portland Hotel: Once the place to see and be seen". The Oregonian. April 2, 2011. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
  6. "New Parking Structure Proposed". The Oregonian. October 31, 1969. p. 6.
  7. "History: Timeline". Pioneer Courthouse Square Administrative Office. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
  8. Alesko, Michael (February 8, 1978). "Pioneer Square work start predicted in 1979". The Oregonian. p. C4.
  9. Vattiat, Drew (October 4, 2013). "History of Pioneer Courthouse Square: The winning design and four rejected finalists from 1980 (photos)". The Oregonian. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
  10. Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon (November 1, 1981). Banfield Light Rail Project: Conceptual Design Information for the City of Portland (Report). 9. TriMet Collection. Archived from the original on September 28, 2015. Retrieved July 27, 2018.
  11. Federman, Stan (March 11, 1983). "Tri-Met opens bids on first light-rail track work". The Oregonian. p. B1.
  12. Federman, Stan (March 31, 1983). "Light-rail work gets go-ahead". The Oregonian. p. D16.
  13. Federman, Stan (March 4, 1986). "Light rail's jolly trolley progress on track". The Oregonian. p. B5.
  14. "Light-rail work [photo and caption only]". The Oregonian. March 10, 1984. p. C1. Ralph L. Mowatt, a welder for Portland General Electric Co., cuts iron beam in street at Southwest First Avenue and Morrison Street on Friday as construction on the Banfield light-rail project moved downtown this week with utilities beginning to relocate lines.
  15. Ritz, Richard E. (April 3, 1984). "Flow of people will complete square's design". The Oregonian. p. B5.
  16. Gragg, Randy (April 4, 1994). "Pioneer Courthouse Square: Soul of the City" (10th anniversary feature)". The Oregonian. pp. A1, A6.
  17. Murphy, Bill (May 9, 1986). "Downtown debut". The Oregonian. p. 1. The first Tri-Met light-rail car to appear downtown is towed up Southwest Morrison Street Thursday. It will be open for public inspection at downtown locations for the next week.
  18. "Shoppers get first look at Tri-Met light-rail car". The Oregonian. May 9, 1986. p. D8.
  19. Federman, Stan (September 5, 1986). "All aboard! MAX on track; ride free". The Oregonian. p. 1.
  20. "Riding the Rails; Schedule of events: Sept. 5–7". The Oregonian. September 5, 1986. p. T4.
  21. Hayakawa, Alan R. (September 6, 1986). "Whistle-stop tour inaugurates MAX light rail". The Oregonian. p. B6.
  22. Oliver, Gordon (September 11, 2001). "Portland now 'the city that moves', mayor says [opening of MAX Red Line]". The Oregonian. p. 1.
  23. Leeson, Fred (August 27, 2003). "MAX fares increase, direct service from Beaverton to PDX starts". The Oregonian. p. D2.
  24. "New MAX line opens downtown". Portland Tribune. August 28, 2009. Archived from the original on January 3, 2015. Retrieved May 13, 2014.
  25. "Community Building Sourcebook: Land use and transportation initiatives in Portland, Oregon" (PDF). TriMet. December 2007. Retrieved April 18, 2020.
  26. "Stop ID 8334 – Pioneer Square South MAX Station". TriMet. Retrieved March 18, 2020.
  27. "Stop ID 8383 – Pioneer Square North MAX Station". TriMet. Retrieved March 18, 2020.
  28. Hamburg, Ken (August 23, 1989). "Starbucks grabs spot in Portland coffee trade". The Oregonian.
  29. Portland City Center and Transit Mall (PDF) (Map). TriMet. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 10, 2019. Retrieved July 30, 2018.
  30. Google (March 10, 2020). "Pioneer Courthouse/SW 6th Ave MAX Stn" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved March 10, 2020.
  31. Google (March 10, 2020). "Pioneer Courthouse" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved March 10, 2020.
  32. Google (March 10, 2020). "Pioneer Place/SW 5th Ave MAX Station" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved March 10, 2020.
  33. Rail System Map with transfers (PDF) (Map). TriMet. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 10, 2019. Retrieved July 25, 2018.
  34. "MAX Blue Line, Weekday Westbound to Portland City Center and Hillsboro" (PDF). TriMet. Retrieved May 23, 2019.
  35. "MAX Blue Line, Weekday Eastbound to Portland City Center and Gresham" (PDF). TriMet. Retrieved May 23, 2019.
  36. "MAX Red Line, Weekday To Portland City Center and Airport" (PDF). TriMet. Retrieved May 23, 2019.
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