Four Oregon Cities Spend $50,000 to Map New Transit Routes

Lake Oswego is committing $50,000 to a multi-city study that will take one year to complete. The funding covers the city's share of a collaborative project involving West Linn, Tualatin, and Sherwood. The four municipalities have retained the consulting firm Nelson/Nygaard to conduct the analysis.

The study aims to evaluate current ridership levels, access points, and financial revenues. It will also examine potential areas for improvement and review examples from other communities. This effort follows a period of marked changes in regional transit service during the 2020s. The initial decline in ridership stemmed from the COVID-19 pandemic. More recently, financial pressures on the regional agency forced further service reductions.

TriMet has been the primary provider of these services. Earlier this year, the agency implemented new routes that eliminated the line running on Stafford Road and Salamo Road. It also combined the Lake Grove and Bonnes Ferry Road lines. These changes were part of cost-cutting measures designed to address a $158 million budget gap.

Will Farley, assistant city engineer for Lake Oswego, stated that TriMet will be consulted during the study. However, he clarified that the data collected will remain independent of the transit agency's existing figures. This separation allows the cities to assess their specific needs without relying on current agency metrics.

Jackie Manz, a Lake Oswego City Councilor, described the initiative as a long-overdue step. Speaking at a council meeting on Nov. 3, Manz called the interlocal agreement an honest look at the region's requirements. The cities will use the findings to determine how to improve transit access in their jurisdictions.