TriMet threatens Lincoln students’ commute

Trimet+considers+closing+stop+in+downtown+Portland+including+The+Kings+Hill+station%2C+which+is+frequently+used+by+Lincoln+students+to+get+to+and+from+school.

Photo Courtesy of Jamie Bikales

Trimet considers closing stop in downtown Portland including The Kings Hill station, which is frequently used by Lincoln students to get to and from school.

Every morning students pile out of the Max at the King’s Hill stop and walk to school. In the afternoon, they board again to head home. The ease of this commute is in jeopardy.

In June, Portland’s public transit agency, TriMet, announced that it was considering closing stops along the red and blue Max lines. A post on the TriMet website states it would “cut travel times by 14% between Old Town/ Chinatown and Goose Hollow (about two minutes in each direction).” These potential closures may impact Lincoln students’ commute to school.

The stops Trimet is considering closing are King’s Hill, the Mall, and Skidmore Fountain. At about two blocks from the front patio, King’s Hill is closest to Lincoln and is used by many students to get to and from school every day.

“Every day there has to be over a hundred kids who ride the Max,” says Anthony Faldetta, a daily rider of the Max, “and then there are also kids who do afterschool sports. So I think that closing that specific stop would be a bad idea.”

One of the main reasons TriMet is considering the King’s Hill stop specifically was that the station is “only about 500 feet from another station.” An Oregonian article on the potential stop closure states that it “has the lowest weekday ridership, at 1,357, of any of the stations under consideration. The station is already closed for Timbers and Thorns games and is close to the Providence Park and Goose Hollow stations.”

A main concern of Lincoln Max riders is the convenience of the stop’s location. “I don’t want to get off at the Goose Hollow one or the one by Providence [Park],” comments Krista Lucas, another frequenter of the Max. “I can walk but it’s far.”

Lucas also states that she “only usually [gets] off at the Goose Hollow stop for food in the morning, which isn’t really often.” Faldetta agrees, saying that “almost nobody gets on there and the only people who do are students who go to Starbucks or go to the store.” He also adds “if they had to close a stop or wanted to, [Goose Hollow] would definitely be a stop to close because it already is a waste of time while the King’s Hill one is pretty useful because there’s so many students and people who get on there.”

The Cardinal Times could not contact TriMet for comment, and there are no published statements on alternative stops for closure. If the agency were to go through with these closures, it is estimated that they would occur in September of 2019. Until then, they are taking comments and questions at [email protected] or 503-238-RIDE (7433).