News Release: At a new location, next to I-5, the annual Portland Aerial Tram evacuation exercise is set for Sunday, Oct. 6, from 9 a.m. to noon

Press Release

No traffic impacts expected

Highly visible location this year, next to I-5, for routine annual training

Portland firefighters monitor a tram operator who is lowered from a tram car from about 100 feet above ground in the annual evacuation drill in 2022. The Portland Aerial Tram is owned by the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) and operated by OHSU. The exercise has been conducted annually since the tram opened in 2007. Photo by PBOT.

(Oct. 4, 2024) The Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) advises the traveling public to be aware that an annual evacuation exercise for the Portland Aerial Tram will be more visible than ever before, as it is conducted along Interstate 5 south of downtown this Sunday.

Members of the Portland Fire & Rescue Technical Rescue Team lead the exercise, where tram employees will appear to be rescued, with ropes, pullies and the skills of firefighters. They have conducted the exercise each year since the tram was opened in 2007. The drill has normally been held on Marquam Hill, above a parking garage for the Casey Eye Institute.

To make it more challenging, Fire & Rescue will conduct the exercise at the tram tower located next to Interstate 5. Instead of evacuating people from 100 feet above a parking garage, they will be 170 feet above a pedestrian bridge, next to six lanes of highway traffic.

"Drills like this are important to our emergency preparedness," said Captain Chad McEvoy of the PF&R Technical Rescue Team. "It is a valuable training for the tram operators and employees. In an actual emergency, the operator will act in a critical role to help set up the rope system from the tram. This annual training exercise ensures that Portland Fire & Rescue and tram operators will be able to safely rescue all occupants from the tram if it were ever to malfunction in an elevated position."

The Portland Aerial Tram's tower rises 170 feet above Interstate 5, south of downtown. Firefighters plan to conduct a safety drill at this highly visible location on Sunday morning. Photo by PBOT.

There is no cause for alarm. But thousands of people driving on I-5 south of downtown Portland may see the exercise, where tram employees will appear to be rescued from the tram.

PBOT does not plan any road closures, or closures of travel lanes on any city streets or highways as part of the exercise. U.S. Congresswoman Darlene Hooley Pedestrian Bridge at Gibbs Street over I-5 will remain open to people biking and walking, as normal.

The training allows crews to practice an aerial rescue in the event the tram is stopped for an extended period of time with passengers on board. If members of the public contact the news media with questions about the training, please inform them that this is a scheduled training exercise and not a real emergency.

Firefighters will be assisted by representatives from both PBOT, which owns the tram, and Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU), which operates the tram in conjunction with Doppelmayr USA.

Using ropes and harnesses, the team will lower four Doppelmayr employees playing the role of passengers 170 feet to the base of the Portland Aerial Tram's tower. All tram operational staff are required to participate in the drill as part of their training.

More than 5,000 daily commuters and tourists ride the Portland Aerial Tram, one of only two aerial gondolas used for urban public transit in the United States.

Event Details: Annual Portland Aerial Tram evacuation exercise

When: 9 a.m., Sunday, Oct. 6. The exercise should be completed by noon.

Location and news media instructions:

The training will take place at the Portland Arial Tram's tower located between S Macadam and S Moody Avenues. At that location, a small number of exercise participants will be evacuated from the tram and lowered via ropes and harnesses down to the base of the tower. Local news crews are welcome to film the evacuation from sidewalks immediatelyadjacent to the main thoroughfares, e.g., SMoody Avenue and the Darlene Hooley Pedestrian Bridge at Gibbs. To reach an OHSU media relations specialist Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., please email [email protected]. If you need assistance over the weekend, please call 503-494-8311 and ask the operator to page the after-hours communications specialist.

Fire & Rescue will have a public information officer at the drill, available for news media interviews. For information, email [email protected]

PBOT will have a public information officer available to answer news media questions, as needed. For information, email [email protected]…

Spectators:

The Portland Aerial Tram is closed on Sundays. As a result, the training exercise will not interfere with regular operations. For those interested in observing, please do so from nearby locations and refrain from entering the any fenced off areas.

Be aware that The Portland Marathonwill be held on Sunday, from 7 a.m. to 1:45 p.m. Learn more about traffic impacts and view a map of the routes for the marathon and half marathon at the race event website. It will also impact many downtown bridges, with times for each bridge listed at the Multnomah County Bridges website.

Portland firefighters use ropes and harnesses to conduct the annual Portland Aerial Tram evacuation drill in 2022. Firefighters lowered tram operators to the top of a parking garage each year since 2007. This year, the drill will be held next to Interstate 5. Photo by PBOT.

ABOUT THE PORTLAND AERIAL TRAM

The Portland Aerial Tram is owned by the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) and operated by OHSU.  It opened to the public on Jan. 27, 2007. The cabins, named Walt and Jean, travel 3,300 linear feet between the South Waterfront terminal adjacent to the OHSU Center for Health & Healing and the upper terminal at the Kohler Pavilion on OHSU's main campus. Traveling at 22 miles per hour, the tram cabins rise 500 feet for the three-minute trip over I-5, the Lair Hill neighborhood and the Southwest Terwilliger Parkway. Visit GoByTram.comor find the tram on Twitterand Facebookand Instagram.

###

The Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) is the steward of the city's transportation system, and a community partner in shaping a livable city. We plan, build, manage and maintain an effective and safe transportation system that provides access and mobility. Learn more at Portland.gov/transportation