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The latest Washington County Transit Development Plan was approved by the county on Tuesday. Projects in the plan will be incorporated into TriMet‘s Public Transportation Improvement Plan on Dec. 14 and by the Oregon Transportation Commission in 2023.

The plan identifies and prioritizes public transportation investments for areas outside of TriMet and SMART transit districts, as well as community connector services within these districts. The regional coordination projects within the TriMet district are funded with Statewide Transportation Improvement Fund (STIF) dollars approved by TriMet’s House Bill 2017 Transit Advisory Committee.

The Transit Development Plan prioritizes STIF investments in the next biennium, fiscal years 2024 and 2025, and potential investments for the next five-plus years. The plan was first adopted by the county in 2021. The plan is updated every two years.

The plan’s priorities were shared with the board of commissioners in October. Priorities include: maintaining WestLink service and increasing its frequency; continuing to provide general public access in expanded service areas and seeking improvements to the trip-planning platform; initiating interregional coordination for subsided trips to the coast and other destinations; offering a rural workforce shuttle for rural employment areas; performing capital and infrastructure improvements; marketing; and pursuing planning and administration goals.

The plan reflects priorities recommended by the Transit Advisory Committee, Senior Transportation Planner Dyami Valentine stated during the meeting Tuesday. The committee met four times this year to review and provide input on needs and opportunities. Updates in the 2022 plan include a needs assessment, equity analysis, current and planned transit networks, community connector shuttle analysis and prioritization, new Ride Connection routes and service expansions, and priorities for fiscal years 2023-2025 for allocation of STIF revenues. The bulk of the work was focused on the community connector shuttle analysis and prioritization.

The county is expected to receive $875,000 in STIF dollars generated outside the TriMet and SMART districts to pay for priorities identified in the plan and approximately $5.8 million from TriMet for community connector services in the next biennium.