TriMet Open Houses Scheduled For November; Agency Seeks Community Feedback On Future Proposals

PORTLAND, OR — TriMet, throughout November, will host several open houses at locations across the Portland metro region to share with riders and residents information about how the company plans to alter and improve TriMet's services — and they want each community's feedback.

TriMet has proposed many things as part of its 10-year expansion of transit services, including a low-income fare program and soon-to-come-online electric buses. Additionally, new and/or improved service lines are being proposed for Clackamas, Oregon City, Gresham, Tualatin, Forest Grove, and near Portland International Airport.

"TriMet is continuously looking for ways to make transit better and accommodate demand," TriMet spokesman Tommy Moore told Patch in an email. "We want to hear directly from riders and the public: Where do you need to go, where do you want to go and how can we improve our service. Go to trimet.org/plan and see some of the improvements we're proposing, then join us at an open house to talk one-on-one with our staff."

Each open house will run roughly two hours, with TriMet officials currently planning to discuss proposals for 2018 and 2019.

Those proposals include:

New bus lines

"To better serve the needs of our riders, we want to add a new bus line running between Clackamas Town Center and Oregon City Transit Center," Moore said in a statement. "We also want to introduce a brand new bus line to Portland International Airport that will compliment MAX Red Line service."

Splitting Line 4-Division/Fessenden into two routes

"Line 4-Division/Fressenden is one of our longest and busiest routes," Moore said. "Splitting it into two routes will help keep buses on time and accommodate rider demand. One route would run between Gresham Transit Center and Downtown Portland. The other would run between Downtown Portland and St. Johns. Both routes would serve stops on the Transit Mall along Fifth and Sixth avenues in downtown Portland to allow for easy transfers."

24-hour service for Lines 20 and 57

"It's been more than 30 years since TriMet last provided our riders with all-night service," Moore said. "We're considering running buses 24 hours a day on Line 20-Burnside/Stark, Line 57-TV Hwy/Forest Grove and the proposed new line to Portland International Airport."

Extending Line 24-Fremont to Downtown Portland

"The community spoke up and we listened. We are proposing changes to Line 24, which runs from North Vancouver and Stanton to Gateway Transit Center," Moore said. "This includes a new section along 18th and 19th avenues between Northwest Thurman and Southwest Jefferson streets, increasing frequency during the week and adding weekend service."

The open houses, which begin in Oregon City on Nov. 1, will be scheduled as follows:

• Wednesday, Nov. 1, in Oregon City
  • From 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Pioneer Community Center, 615 Fifth St.
• Thursday, Nov. 2, in North Portland
  • From 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. at Portland Community College Cascade Student Union, 705 N. Killingsworth St.
• Monday, Nov. 6, in Gresham
  • From 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Gresham City Hall, 1333 N.W. Eastman Pkwy.
• Wednesday, Nov. 8, in Tigard
  • From 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Tigard Ballroom, 8900 S.W. Commercial St.
• Thursday, Nov. 9, in Milwaukie
  • From 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Milwaukie High School, 2301 S.E. Willard St.
• Tuesday, Nov. 14, in Hillsboro
  • From 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Centro de Prosperidad, 400 E. Main St., Suite 110
• Wednesday, Nov. 15, in downtown Portland
  • From 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the University of Oregon White Stag Building, 70 N.W. Couch St.

Folks who are unable to attend the open houses can still provide feedback either online, at trimet.org/plan, by emailing comments@trimet.org, or by calling 503-238-RIDE (7433).

According to Moore, additional projects for 2018-2019 include:

• Introducing a low-income fare;
• Testing some all-electric buses and electrifying a bus route;
• Renovating some of our oldest MAX stations and enhancing treatments at rail crossings; and
• Moving forward on the Division Transit Project, the $175 million project beginning late 2018 that is expected to "improve travel between downtown Portland, Southeast and East Portland and Gresham with easier, faster and more reliable bus service" along a 14-mile route.

The volunteer Community Advisory Committee overseeing the Division Transit Project will meet from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 19, at Portland Community College Southeast – Community Hall Annex, 2305 S.E. 82nd Ave. in Portland. Open houses for the project are scheduled as follows:

• In Gresham on Nov. 6 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Gresham City Hall, 1333 N.W. Eastman Pkwy.
• In Portland on Nov. 8 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at St. Philip Neri Church, 2408 S.E. 16th Ave.
• And in Southeast Portland on Nov. 9 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Portland Community College's Southeast Campus, Community Annex Hall, 2305 S.E. 82nd Ave.

Patch has reached out to TriMet and will update this post when it responds.

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Photo Courtesy: TriMet