I see that Tri-Met is going to move the 17 bus from Northeast 24th to Northeast 33rd. Instead of running along the eastern border of the Irvington neighborhood, and snaking around through the upper reaches of Alameda, the new route will slice through Alameda on 33rd on a beeline for Grant Park. I guess there will be Grant High School students on board during the school year. Those students already have a bus on 33rd, the 70; this will be another option. After the change, the nearest north-south route to the west will be the Crazy 8, on 15th. That’s about a 20-block gap.
The reason given for the change is low ridership on the current route of the 17. I have no doubt that’s true. There’s not much reason for many people from that area to go downtown any more. And if they do go downtown, those folks have access to personal cars and rideshares, both of which are much more civilized than sitting in fentanyl residue and constantly casting a wary eye all around, whch is the new normal on Tri-Met.
I’d been riding the 17, which used to be the 9, on and off for more than 40 years. But I gave up Tri-Met a few years ago, and I’m not going back. We all pay taxes galore for that system, but it’s no longer an asset to Portland. It’s much more of a liability. So the 17 can go wherever they want to run it. It’s dead to me.