Sandy Area Metro to offer route to Clackamas Town Center

Published 7:00 am Saturday, December 9, 2023

January 2024, Sandy Area Metro will launch its new route that runs through Boring and Damascus to Clackamas Town Center, and city officials hope this route will provide more than just a transportation option for those looking to go to the mall.

The projected launch date is Jan. 12, and SAM director Andi Howell has planned a launch party in Centennial Plaza for 2 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 11.

From 2018-2020, SAM updated its transit master plan, and this new route was one result.

“Sandy has had people in Boring reach out to us for a while trying to find options for transit from Boring to Sandy,” Howell explained. So, she plans for this route to fill a need for Boring residents commuting in to work or shop. Same with Damascus neighbors.

Howell also pointed out that though SAM routes are named for their destinations, they run buses to Gresham and Estacada, and soon Clackamas, as a service to the people residing in Sandy. There are several students who go to Estacada High School from Sandy or vice versa and use SAM buses to get to and from; there are also Sandy people who work in Gresham and Estacada or attend Mt. Hood Community College.

While the end destination of the new route is Clackamas Town Center, the route will have multiple stops in Boring and Damascus as well as Happy Valley, including at multiple medical facilities, such as Kaiser. The stops off of Highway 26 in Boring, Howell said, are an attempt to offer more transit for those who work in more remote areas, like at local nurseries and rural businesses.

Howell added that she hopes the business community will reach out as the route launches if a safe stop at or near their location would help their employees with transportation to work.

During the transit master plan process, this route was reportedly well received by the public.

“This was very popular,” Howell said. “A lot of people, especially older people, were excited about access to medical facilities they just can’t access in Sandy.”

Aside from offering reliable transportation for workers and those seeking services, Howell said Sandy Area Metro is also very involved in the local economy.

“Transit is really an economic development tool,” she explained. “I hope this new route opens more job opportunities for Sandy residents.”

That said, some members of the community have expressed certain concerns about connecting Sandy to Clackamas via this new route.

One concern has been because of malls’ reputations as hubs for human trafficking.

To which Howell responds: “In the past, SAM has participated in and plans to participate in the national program that’s called Busing on the Lookout.”

This program helps train drivers on how to recognize and report situations of human trafficking.

Community members have also expressed worries that the new route will “bring problems that are in Portland to our community” and provide means for houseless people to get to Sandy.

This has long been a concern of people around the community, who worry that the houseless population will increase with increased connectivity between Sandy and neighboring communities, but Sandy law enforcement has consistently assured that the people who are experiencing homelessness in town are there because they are from the area and/or they have family there.

This new route, like most programs and projects helmed by the transit department, was grant funded. No Sandy taxes or money from residents have been used to pay for the infrastructure and equipment needed to establish this route.

“Sandy transit has not raised payroll taxes since its inception in 1999,” Howell explained. “We also have no intention to.”

The HB 2017 transportation package included dollars designated for the Statewide Transportation Improvement Fund (STIF), which was created to increase connectivity around the state. As such, SAM received STIF dollars since the new route fits that bill.

All in-town SAM routes on the shopper shuttle or commuter bus are free of charge and out-of-town fare is $1 each way.

For more information about Sandy Area Metro (Sandy Transit), visit ci.sandy.or.us/transit.