At the February meeting of the Tualatin Aging Task Force, we heard presentations on mobility options from the City of Tualatin, TriMet and Ride Connection. The Task Force is partnering with these three entities to explore more and better transit opportunities for our community that support and add to what we currently have. While the TriMet transit routes and WES serve a definite purpose and portion of our citizens, we feel an expanded day time shuttle service and Ride Connection hours would service even more of our residents.
We are very fortunate to have Ride Connection in Tualatin providing on-call transit services. This has become a huge success story in our community, offering a mobility option that our citizens would not otherwise have. They also coordinate the morning and afternoon commuter workforce with their shuttle service.
We believe that this shuttle service can and should be extended to mid-day service, five days a week, in a circular neighborhood route where the current bus lines don’t service. Examples could be lower Boones Ferry Road up Tualatin Road to 99W or Martinazzi from Sagert south or Borland Road from Meridian Park Hospital to the School House Pantry and Borland Free Clinic, both housed at Rolling Hills Community Church. What if you live near Jurgens Park and need to go to Meridian Park or at the end of Blake Street and need to go to Fred Meyer or on Moratoc and need to go to Fed Ex? You are blocks away from getting to a bus line if there is one near a major cross street. In a nutshell – we are asking for a circular shuttle service which can move about easily within the existing street systems to connect users to shopping, medical, social/cultural activities and local transit centers.
How do we make our wishes known and lobby to have this happen? Ride Connection is listening and is doing community outreach to work with all of us to find the solution. Your first step can be to take the online survey: www.surveymonkey.com/r/RCTualatinLife or www.rideconnection.org. It’s easy and takes less than five minutes to complete. You may or may not use Ride Connection services now but your participation will help identify transportation needs in Tualatin. Be part of the solution.
Questions, comments, concerns please contact susancnoack@hotmail.com.
The Tualatin Aging Task Force meets the second Monday of each month at 3 p.m. at the Juanita Pohl Center. Come join us.
