Every day, millions of people move throughout the greater Portland area to go to school or work, run errands or play.
No matter how they move – by bus, car, bike or foot – Oregonians want safe and reliable choices for different kinds of trips.
Our lives and needs for getting around are also evolving as greater Portland changes. We spoke with six Oregonians to learn about how they engage with the transportation system at different stages of life.
They shared their hopes, concerns and needs for now and the future as they shared their journeys with us.
Tana Barnett
Tana Barnett travels all over the region for school, work and volunteer activities. Barnett is a student at Mount Hood Community College in Gresham, works at Burgerville in Northeast Portland, and sits on the Multnomah Youth Commission, which meets in downtown Portland.
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Adam Merecias
Adam Merecias is no stranger to public transit systems. In Oaxaca, Mexico, where he was born, he’d take buses everywhere. As a college student at Portland State University, Merecias relied on the bus and MAX to get to school and his job in Tigard from his apartment in Beaverton. But driving plays a bigger role in his life these days.
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Francisca Flores
We’ve all been there. Late to school. Late to work. Or late to pick up a child at school. A long-time bus commuter, Francisca Flores didn’t want to be late anymore. So she changed her primary mode of transportation – to a bike.
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Katie Allen
Katie Allen lives in the Mount Scott neighborhood of Happy Valley, where she enjoys more space than Portland offered. But with limited access to transit and no sidewalks on the area’s steep streets, she and her family have to drive everywhere. And as her kids get older, she's nervous about them driving, too.
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Annadiana Johnson
Annadiana Johnson grew up in Portland and worked as a computer systems engineer. She now lives in Forest Grove. Getting around used to be easy for her, but a health scare changed her transportation needs forever.
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Duane Damiano
If you want to retire somewhere in the United States where it doesn't get too hot or too cold, then you move to the Pacific Northwest, said Duane Damiano. He retired in Oregon about 10 years ago from Baltimore, Maryland, and he loves it here. The region's transit system is another winning quality. Damiano settled in Washington County, near the Sunset Transit Center, making MAX convenient for getting to his regular volunteer jobs.
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