As Oregon evaluates funding for its transportation systems, the story of MAX shows how planning and public involvement can shape the future
Forty years ago, on Sept. 5, 1986, as tens of thousands gathered in Downtown Portland, the inaugural passenger trip on TriMet’s MAX system stopped at the Pioneer Courthouse Square MAX Station.
To the throngs who traveled into the city’s core to celebrate, it was a moment of optimism.
They came to applaud an achievement that the state — and, more importantly, the Portland region — had spent more than a decade discussing, designing and eventually building. MAX light rail was finally real! For those in attendance, they would have their first opportunity to ride one of the gleaming white trains, accented by their signature orange, red and burgundy stripes.
It was the culmination of years of planning and advocacy. In the 40 years since opening day, MAX has expanded to five lines and provided more than 950 million rides.
Now, as we mark the ruby anniversary of MAX, it’s worth looking back on its origins to consider what lessons we can learn as the region and Oregon chart a new path forward. The region’s leaders and people like you helped make a consequential choice that would drive the region forward. But understanding how that choice was made starts with a different transportation project altogether.
MAX follows ‘highway revolt’
The path to MAX stretches back to the early 1970s, following anything but a straight line. It was born of the region’s dismissal of the Mount Hood Freeway, a landmark decision that freed up federal highway dollars for other transportation projects. Eventually, it would come to symbolize a rejection of the practices associated with urban planners like New York City’s influential Robert Moses, whose emphasis on automobile travel over public transportation had a long-lasting impact.
Moses’ influence reached Portland in 1943, when he and his firm were hired to develop a public works blueprint to modernize the city, planting the seeds for the Mount Hood Freeway. The $75 million plan was extensive, calling for wider roads and new highways. But it did not mention public transportation. By 1950, the last of the city’s electric streetcars stopped operating. This was followed in 1958 by the final interurban rail trip between Portland and Oregon City.
Plans for the Mount Hood Freeway began in earnest in the late 1950s. The freeway would have roughly paralleled Southeast Division Street between Downtown Portland and Interstate 205, before eventually reaching Gresham.
But by the early 1970s, attitudes had shifted dramatically — reflected in what were becoming known as “highway revolts.” The urban renewal efforts of the past 30 years were up for debate. In 1974, the Pulitzer Prize-winning book “The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York” was published, offering a sweeping reassessment of Moses’ legacy.
And it was in that same year that the Mount Hood Freeway faltered. Spurred by opposition to the project, Portland City Council withdrew its support and sought to redirect federal funding to alternative transportation, helping clear the path for what would eventually become the MAX system.
From planning to possibility
When TriMet’s first Manager of Rail Operations Planning Bill Lieberman started in September 1975, the reality of light rail in Portland was still far from certain. In fact, light rail was dropped from the list of preferred “alternative transportation projects” for a time, before it was eventually shown to be the most efficient means of moving people.
Once the project was rolling, it was a thrilling time, Lieberman said. It was an opportunity to help develop what would become one of the United States’ first light rail systems.
“I remember the excitement of talking to my counterparts at other rail operations, which mostly used streetcars at that time, and collecting their rulebooks to get ideas for ours,” recalled Lieberman, now a transportation planning consultant. “It felt good to have them accept me as a new colleague in their field.”
In 1983, he took on the assignment of writing the agency’s first light rail operators’ manual. At the time, the Ruby Junction Rail Operations Facility was “big and empty.” The first light rail vehicles were still being built in Vermont by Bombardier Transportation, and the Ruby Junction staff consisted of just three people. Much of the facility sat unused. He spent time studying rulebooks from other U.S. rail systems and training alongside TriMet colleagues in Calgary, Alberta, one of the few cities at the time operating modern light rail in North America.
The arrival of the first light rail vehicles in 1983/84 transformed the atmosphere. “It was like the moment we had been waiting for after years of planning and engineering work,” he remembered. “Now it was no longer theoretical… it was real!”
Ultimately, building Portland’s first MAX line required far more than engineering. It meant winning political support and addressing community concerns. In the end, most people supported its construction, with many being drawn to advocacy.
Grassroots efforts, such as Citizens for Better Transit and the Oregon Association of Railway Passengers, rallied around the project. Some of these citizen advocates served on the Banfield Citizens Advisory Committee. They played an important role in demonstrating a groundswell of citizen support, which would translate into further political support.
Grassroots advocacy made a huge difference in moving the project forward.
For Lieberman, the greatest reward is knowing that the work of those early teams continues to make life easier for people throughout the Portland region. “It’s wonderful to know that all those efforts 40 and 50 years ago paid off.”
Help build a better transportation future
Much like the 1970s and 80s, 2026 is a critical year for public transportation.
Oregon’s Rebuilding Our Transportation Vision Workgroup, tasked with developing comprehensive plans for the state’s transportation system, is weighing needs and trade-offs. The two central questions are: What are the state’s transportation priorities? And what investments will get us there? The workgroup will continue meeting through November, with its recommendations helping to inform transportation discussions during the 2027 legislative session.
Public input will play a key role, just as it did 50 years ago. Oregonians have an opportunity to weigh in today.
The workgroup is asking people to share their transportation priorities through an online public survey. Riders can make their voices heard by taking the survey at cognitoforms.com/ODOT2/ROTVSurvey before 6 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 10, and telling Oregon to prioritize public transit.
Your support matters
When you’re gliding along the MAX system today, it’s easy to take for granted just how revolutionary it was 40 years ago. By looking to the past and the possibilities of rail transportation, the MAX system changed how people travel.
Since its inception four decades ago, TriMet’s light rail system has expanded significantly, stretching across 60 miles. It has helped the region grow in ways that support its livability and economic viability. Along the way, it has supported TriMet’s broader system of buses, bringing even more people jobs, school, entertainment and other opportunities.
To stay informed, you can sign up for TriMet’s Riders’ Club at trimet.org/club.
Remember, to have your voice heard, complete the Rebuilding Our Transportation Vision Workgroup’s public survey by 6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 10. To provide your feedback, visit this link.