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The City of Sandy is updating its Transit Master Plan and is facing some big choices about how to spend limited resources on transit.

With your help, this Plan will affect what happens with transit service in the next few years, as well as in the more distant future.

Visit the pages on this site using the buttons below or click "Get Started" to move through the information in order.

1
Learn about Sandy Area Metro and the purpose of this process. 
2
Provide feedback on transit choices if no new funding is available. 
3
With additional funding, new service options are possible. 
4
With additional funding, new regional service options are possible. 
5
We can't do everything. Help us prioritize. 
6
Find out what happens next and how to stay involved. 

= Page includes questions or opportunities for comment.

Background

Sandy Area Metro (SAM) is a department of the City of Sandy and provides transit service between Sandy, Gresham, and Estacada. The City of Sandy is writing its transit plan for the next few years and wants your feedback in setting priorities for future investment.

What We've Heard

In Spring 2019, we asked you for input on some big picture choices, and we heard back:

  • When it comes to the design of routes in Sandy, most people are in a hurry and don’t want to wait very long for their bus. They also don’t mind walking a little bit if it means they get a shorter wait and a faster ride.
  • Most people in Sandy care about running efficient transit service that large numbers of people ride. Providing a little bit of service in most parts of town, even in areas where few people ride, is valuable but less of a priority.
  • A slight majority of people think Sandy Transit should add more service to other cities before adding local service within town.

Potential New Services

Now that we know the general priorities for the Transit Plan, we have some specific transit service ideas to share with you.

Most of these transit service ideas would require more funding than Sandy Transit has today. Sandy Transit may not get any more funding in the next few years, but in case that happens we want to know your priorities.

Your input will be used to draft the Transit Master Plan, which will be presented to the public in Fall 2019.

SAM System Map
Existing Local Transit Services: SAM operates bus routes within Sandy and offers connections to Gresham and Estacada.

SAM Regional Map
Existing Regional Transit Services: Connections to Gresham, Estacada and Mt. Hood.

Scenario: No New Funding

If you value transit service, it’s tempting to think that transit should run everywhere, all of the time, and a bus should always be coming soon. In the real world, where the bus goes, hours of service, and frequency all need to be paid for in the same budget. Without new funding, adding a new service would mean cutting something else.

Learn about possible changes below, and give us feedback.


Extend Service to the Vista Apartments

We've heard that it is important to serve the Vista Apartment complex. This is possible without additional funding but only if we reduce the service frequency of the existing Shopper Shuttles.

    Benefits

    • Provides service to Vista Apartments.

    Drawbacks

    • Frequency of the exsiting Shopper Shuttles would be reduced from every 60 minutes to 90 minutes.

    New service to Vista Apartments.


    If no additional funding is available, should we still extend local service to the Vista Apartments even if it means making existing frequencies worse? (Check one.)

    Direct Service to Mt. Hood Community College

    We've heard that people are interested in direct service to Mt. Hood Community College. This is possible without additional funding, but only if the frequency of the Gresham Express is made worse.

      Benefits

      • Provides direct service.
      • Avoids the need to transfer to TriMet ($2.50 one way ticket)
      • Saves an average 2 minutes of travel time (58 minutes versus 60 minutes)

      Drawbacks

      • Frequency would decrease from every 30 minutes to every 60 minutes
      • Estimated travel time savings would be minimal
      • Travel to Gresham, Portland, and most regional destinations would take an average of 15 minutes longer

      Map: Existing service to Gresham.

      Map: New possible direct service to Mt. Hood Community College.


      If no additional funding is available, should we try to provide a direct ride to Mt. Hood Community College even if it increases travel times to other regional destinations? (Check one.)
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      Scenario: Funding for Local Service

      With additional funding, new service options are possible.

      Learn about possible changes below, and give us feedback.


      New Service to the Vista Apartments

      We've heard that it is important to serve the Vista Apartment complex. With additional funding this is possible without worsening the frequency of existing Shopper Shuttles. This new service would cost about $75,000 per year and about $500,000 to purchase a new bus. There are two ways this could work:

        Option A: Shuttles at Various Frequencies

        Map: Shopper Shuttle Loops

        • The two existing Shuttle loops could continue to come every 60 minutes
        • A new Shuttle route on Highway 26 would come every 30 minutes
        • Combined with the Gresham Express route on Highway 26, there would be a bus every 15 minutes between the Sandy Transit Center and 362nd Drive

        Option B: Shuttles Every 45 Minutes

        Map: Shopper Shuttle Loops

        • All three Shuttle loops could come every 45 minutes on weekday afternoons

        If funding for local service is available, which Shopper Shuttle option should we choose? (Check one.)

        New Local Weekend Service

        With about $16,000 per year, the two existing Shopper Shuttles could be operated on Saturdays as well as weekdays.

        If new funding for local service is available, should we add Saturday service for the Shopper Shuttles? (Check one.)

        Electric Buses

        With about $830,000, Sandy Transit could purchase a new electric bus and charging station for local service. An electric bus would save on fuel costs but would involve increased maintenance costs.

        If new local funding is available, should we provide service using an electric bus? (Check one.)
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        Scenario: Funding for Regional Service

        With additional funding, new regional service options are possible.

        Learn about possible changes below, and give us feedback.


        New Regional Weekend Service (Gresham or Estacada Express)

        With about $40,000 per year, Saturday service to Gresham could be made as frequent, and as late, as existing weekday service.

        With about $16,000 per year, the Estacada Express could offer service on Sundays.

        If new regional funding is available, should we add more weekend service to Gresham? (Check one.)
        If new regional funding is available, should we add Sunday service to Estacada? (Check one.)

        New Clackamas Service

        With about $130,000 per year, and about $500,000 to purchase a new bus, Sandy Transit (and other regional funding partners) could start an express route serving Sandy, Boring, Sunnyside and Clackamas Town Center. This route would provide a connection to the Green Line MAX and a single-transfer ride to SE Portland, Milwaukie and Oregon City.

        Map: Possible new south metro service.
        If new regional funding is available, should we add new service to Clackamas? (Check one.)
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        Reality Check

        Everything costs money and unfortunately we can't do everything.

        The cost of the items you like is expected to be about 0 in the first year. (You have not selected any new transit investments on the previous pages.)

        • Service to Vista Apartments 575000
        • Local Saturday service 16000
        • Electric buses 830000
        • More weekend service to Gresham 40000
        • Sunday service to Estacada 16000
        • New Clackamas Service 630000

        At best, the annual Sandy transit budget might only increase by $135,000 ... if at all.


        Now that you know how much new funding might be available, how would you prioritize future transit investments?
        Click and drag the options listed below into this box, then arrange by priority.
        • Service to Vista Apartments ($575,000) Not ranked.
        • Local Saturday service ($16,000) Not ranked.
        • Electric buses ($830,000) Not ranked.
        • More weekend service to Gresham ($40,000) Not ranked.
        • Sunday service to Estacada ($16,000) Not ranked.
        • New Clackamas Service ($630,000) Not ranked.

        86% Complete

        Next Steps

        Thank you for participating! We will be collecting input on these service ideas through August 18. Your input will inform our work as we write the Draft Transit Master Plan, which we will present to the public and the City Council this fall (2019).

        Before you leave, remember to submit your comments below.

        Stay Involved

        • Consider sharing the link to this survey with other people who care about Sandy Transit.
        • If you want to see a copy of the Draft Plan when it is published, be sure to sign up for our email list below.
        • Visit the project website for more information: www.ci.sandy.or.us/tmp-update

        Timeline

        The public’s input is important to us. See the timeline below for the times we’ll be looking for your help in shaping the Sandy Transit Master Plan update:

        Timeline


        Final Questions

        (All questions are optional.)

        Demographic Information (Optional)

        Help us understand who is answering this survey! By answering the optional questions below, you can help us know whether this survey has reached a representative cross-section of the community.

        What is your age? (Check one.)
        What best describes your gender? (Check one.)
        What is your race or ethnicity? (Check one.)
        What is the combined income of all the people in your household? (Check one.)
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