Speeding Up MAX Through Downtown
Skidmore Fountain MAX Station closing August 2025.
As TriMet works to continuously improve our service and make MAX light rail more efficient, we plan to close the Skidmore Fountain MAX Station.
The station was among four proposed for closure to speed up MAX service through Downtown Portland. TriMet closed the Kings Hill/SW Salmon, Mall/SW 4th Ave, and Mall/SW 5th Ave in 202. As a result, it’s faster to ride MAX through Downtown Portland. Closing the Skidmore Fountain MAX Station will save more time.
Map showing a ¼-mile radius around Skidmore Fountain MAX Station.
Skidmore Fountain MAX Station
The Skidmore Fountain MAX Station is located under the west end of the Burnside Bridge. Like the previously closed stations, the station sits very close to two other stations along the MAX Blue and Red lines: Old Town/Chinatown, about two blocks (500 feet) north, and Oak/SW 1st Ave, about four blocks south. With these nearby stations also serving MAX Blue and Red line riders, closing the Skidmore Fountain MAX Station would help speed up trips and make the ride better. We currently see fewer people getting on or off MAX at Skidmore Fountain than at nearly any other Blue and Red line station in Downtown Portland.
After discussions with the community in 2018 and 2019, TriMet proposed closure of the station to the TriMet Board of Directors. Since then, we’ve kept close track of ridership at the station, as well as plans for additional investment and/or development nearby. With no improvement, in April 2024, TriMet Board approved closing the station in August 2025.
