By Brian Hoop
Trimet responded to a letter the Linnton Neighborhood Association submitted last fall advocating for continued bus service along St. Helens Road. The neighborhood letter was in response to Trimet’s Forward Together report last fall. The project was an attempt to assess how they should adjust public transit service in response to COVID pandemic disruptions in work/travel patterns and shift to where ridership is used most as well as ensure more equitable service for lower-income communities.
Trimet was blunt about changing patterns of usage in Linnton. “Ridership north of the St. Johns Bridge is extremely low outside of Sauvie Island, only one stop sees an average of 1 boarding per day. All others average 0.”
Their analysis of the few riders is primarily focused on Lincoln High School students with occasional trips to other destinations. Based on that, their draft concept is to shift St. Helens Rd. service to the #15 bus through the NW business district along NW 21st then to Goose Hollow by Lincoln on to Downtown. This is roughly the path of the old line #17.
The good news/bad news, depending on what your needs are, is they might cut back service to peak-hour trips only and stay on NW St. Helens Rd, potentially eliminating the diversion into St. Johns.
At this time, no changes are planned through July 2024. However, Trimet may be further studying potential changes and would seek input from Linnton residents. So use it or lose it. If we’re to save bus service, more people need to get out of their cars and use the bus,
or bike.
Here is the URL for the Trimet letter dated January 20, 2023, https://tinyurl.com/2p89f8yy