The TMP Update continues at a rapid pace.  The Choices Report is complete and available on the Sandy Transit webpage.  Michelle Poyourow, from our consulting team, introduced the choices report to the City Council and the Planning Commission in March.  The public survey is also available on the Transit webpage.  The survey will be given to riders and Sandy citizens.  Consulting team members will provide Sandy residents with the opportunity to take the survey in April at various in-town locations.

Staff were successful during the Special Transportation Funds (STF) funding process, however, 40% of those funds may be cut during this legislative session.  These cuts would translate to a loss of approximately 4,800 rides on the STAR dial-a-ride program in the coming biennium.  Andi Howell, the Transit Director, is working with the Oregon Transit Association (OTA) as a board member on ways to advocate to return this funding in full to the Governor’s Budget.

A project manager, Steve Kragrud,  was hired to manage the 2 construction projects currently underway in the Transit Department.  Two new bus barns and the repair and upgrade of the bus wash facility are in beginning phases.  Both construction projects are at the Sandy Operations Center.  Steve is from the CBRE firm out of Lake Oswego.  He has many years of construction project management experience, including the recent upgrades to the Cedar Ridge property (formerly Sandy High School).

SAM services provided 10,875 rides in total, an overall decrease of 3.7% compared to March 2018. SAM Gresham provided 8,394 of those rides, a drop of 5.4%. SAM Estacada experienced a small, 2.5% decrease.  STAR experienced a 10.6% decrease.  ED a 32% decrease.  The Shopper Shuttle experienced a 67% increase with 600 rides in March.