By Brian Hoop
At the May 1 Linnton neighborhood meeting, we will have a discussion about which route through NW Portland you would prefer for Trimet bus service to and from Linnton. If you currently use the #17 bus, please join us to share your opinion.
Last year, Trimet proposed eliminating bus service to Linnton north of the St. Johns Bridge except for a limited number of runs to serve Lincoln High School students as part of a metro wide service realignment. The reason given was very low ridership numbers.
While a decision on service to Linnton was postponed for a year, in part due to our organized opposition, we should not assume we are off the hook. Trimet simply said they would reevaluate ridership numbers to see if they improve by next year before making a decision.
The question for our community is whether the current #16 route through industrial NW along Naito / Front Ave. to downtown has best served our community since the last route change.
For many years prior, Linnton was served by a route through the NW business district along NW 21st then downtown. This route connected people to the hospital, more schools, groceries and other shopping needs.
The Neighborhood Association voted to oppose the proposed bus service cuts at our November 2023 meeting and recommended we’d be better served by the proposed extension of the #15 bus through Linnton to Sauvie Island. We asked that Trimet provide a trial run, at least for Monday through Friday, to see if more people would return to riding the bus before cutting the service.
Since we have this reprieve, this gives us a chance to revisit our position and get additional community input to best inform future advocacy efforts.
There are still low-income residents without vehicles who need access to transit during the day for doctors’ appointments, groceries, and other tasks. Clients of the Linnton Community Center utilize the bus to drop off children at the preschool and food bank.