CLACKAMAS COUNTY, Ore. — In a matter of days, TriMet riders will have more options for traveling around Clackamas County.
Among the updates the agency is making, some trips on a frequent service bus line will be extended, along with extending a second bus line. A new weekday bus line between Lake Oswego and West Linn will also be added.
Community leaders and TriMet officials met outside the Oregon City Transit Center Friday morning to highlight the updates.
"All of these improvements will go a very long way to improve transit for everyone in Clackamas County, but it goes beyond transit," said Oregon City Mayor Denyse McGriff. "It is an opportunity for us to continue to move the transit initiatives forward (in) Clackamas County and in Oregon City, so it benefits everyone."
West Linn Mayor Rory Bialostosky shared the impact of the improvements.
"The top of the hill in West Linn has not ever had TriMet service in the past, so this is increasing access to a whole new section of West Linn and several of our neighborhoods," Bialostosky said. "Any time we can increase connections, increase access for folks to transit, that's awesome."
Lake Oswego Mayor Joe Buck also talked about the importance of public transit.
"We know the challenges. We're not the densest of urban environments," Buck said. "These are real challenges that we have, but residents in our communities, people that work in our communities, people that visit our communities, really rely on this service."
Below is a closer look at the changes TriMet is implementing.
Line 76-Hall/Greenburg extension
Hourly trips on Line 76 will be extended to connect West Linn and Oregon City with Washington County. Bus Line 76 runs between Beaverton, Tigard and Tualatin. Certain trips will be extended starting Sunday, Aug. 25.
Line 76 will run about once every hour for most of the day between the Oregon City and Beaverton transit centers. Northbound buses on the new extended route will leave from the Oregon City Transit Center, with stops in West Linn, Tualatin, Tigard and Beaverton before ending at the Beaverton Transit Center. Buses traveling southbound on the extended route will continue on from Tualatin to West Linn and Oregon City.
Extending Line 34-Linwood/River Road
Line 34 runs between Clackamas Town Center, Milwaukie and Oregon City during the week. It will be expanded to serve the Clackamas Heights area of Oregon City, TriMet said.
The extensions of both Line 76 and Line 34 will replace service on Line 154-Willamette/Clackamas Heights, which will be discontinued due to "low ridership and overlap with this new service," TriMet said.
Adding a new bus line between Lake Oswego and West Linn
Line 153-Stafford/Salamo will be a brand-new line running between downtown West Linn and the Lake Oswego Transit Center. It will start service on Monday, Aug. 26. The line will provide hourly service on weekdays. Riders can catch Line 153 in Lake Oswego, and then hop on Line 76 in West Linn to connect to cities like Tigard and Tualatin.
The updates in Clackamas County are among other recent TriMet improvements including the "A Better Red" project, which extends the MAX Red Line west by adding 10 new stations between Beaverton and Hillsboro. Some trains will run on Sunday, but the extension officially starts on Wednesday, Aug. 28.
