January 06, 2023

Your Feedback on TriMet Changes Needed by Feb. 10

Please take a moment to voice your opinion on the most recent proposal for bus service from Lewis & Clark to downtown.

Last October, TriMet drafted a new service concept that included the elimination of bus routes closest to campus.

In the latest proposal from TriMet, Line 35 would pass by campus on Terwilliger approximately once per hour, providing a direct connection to downtown, but requiring a walk from the CAS and graduate school campuses.

TriMet is also proposing to modify and reduce service on Line 39, to provide rush-hour-only service to the Arnold Creek neighborhood instead of serving Palatine Hill and Lewis & Clark.

Esme Miller, Assistant Director of Research and Assessment and member of Lewis & Clark’s Transportation and Parking Advisory Committee, offers the following evaluation of the impact to the Lewis & Clark community, drawn from her experience as a daily transit and bike commuter, and her background in sustainable transportation and affordable housing advocacy:

Expected negative impacts

  • Service on the L&C branch of the 35 requires a walk from the CAS campus, and an even longer walk from the Graduate School.
  • Overall frequency of service on L&C branch of the 35 will probably be hourly for the time being, which is less frequent than current 39 service.
  • Impact on existing transit constituencies in SW: What had been direct service from Hillsdale will now require a transfer at Taylor’s Ferry & Terwilliger (from the revised 43 or 39 to the once-hourly service on the 35).
  • Impact on existing transit constituencies in SW: What had been a one-transfer trip from Beaverton-Hillsdale Hwy and points west would now require two transfers, which is less convenient given frequencies.

Expected positive impacts

  • One-seat ride to downtown and addition of mid-day, evening and weekend service on the L&C branch of the 35.
  • Direct service from Lake Oswego (which is a large population center for employees), and points south.
  • Much easier service from most of SE Portland with a single transfer to the 35 at the foot of the Tillikum.
  • A longish but one-seat ride from much of N Portland.
  • Opportunity for redesign of the Pio Express given that Trimet is proposing downtown service equivalent to the current Pio route. E.g. a redesigned Pio offering frequent access to all three schools from nearby neighborhoods and transit lines could offset many of the negative impacts in the current TriMet proposal.

Additional Outcomes

  • Fairly good rush hour service for the law school at Boones Ferry and Terwilliger – with the revised rush-hour-only 39, and the 38 emerging unscathed, in addition to the L&C branch of the 35.
  • Existing transit constituencies along Barbur out to Tigard maintain roughly equivalent one-transfer service, with the revised 43 running half-hourly to South Burlingame.

View the TriMet proposals and provide input here by February 10, 2023:

https://trimet.org/betterbus/servicechanges-fy24.htm

You may also send feedback to comments@trimet.org, or call 503-238-7433 (RIDE).