Route 10 from Medford to Ashland would continue; other routes and Saturday service to be discontinued

By Meg Wade for Ashland.news

Expect steep declines in bus service in the Rogue Valley come Sept. 2. That’s what the city of Ashland’s Transportation Advisory Committee (TAC) was told at its regularly scheduled monthly meeting Thursday, July 17, where they received updates from Rogue Valley Transportation District Associate Planner Edem Gomez about the funding situation at RVTD and what it will mean for changes to bus routes in Ashland and the Rogue Valley.

Federal funding freezes have delayed annual grants used for regular operations and the transit agency is looking a steep cuts beginning on Sept. 2, 2025 unless funds are released.

As reported by OPB, RVTD is only one of many rural transit agencies in Oregon looking to make cuts because of the dispute between the state and the Federal Transit Administration.

Bus routes in Ashland have already been impacted, with suspension of the Route 1X commuter bus between Ashland and Medford for the summer.

If no funding solution is found, RVTD is proposing to eliminate the following bus routes on Sept. 2:

• Route 1X – Medford Ashland Express
• Route 2 – West Medford
• Route 17 – Ashland Crosstown
• Route 25 – Southwest Medford
• Route 26 – East Medford
• Route 27 – Medford Crosstown
• Route 30 – Jacksonville
• Route 41 – Central Point Crosstown
• Route 61 – RCC Table Rock
• Route 63 – Eagle Point

Route 10 from Ashland to Medford would continue but service times and frequency would be reduced, including elimination of Saturday service.

Suspension of Route 17 would come only weeks after the agency increased service hours and frequency on the line.

RVTD posted an announcement to their site on Thursday about the service cuts and opportunity for public comment at upcoming virtual town halls (from 10 to 11 a.m. and 6 to 7 p.m. Monday, July 21) and at their monthly board meeting starting at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 23 (for more details, click here).

A virtual participation option will be available for Wednesday’s board meeting, with a Zoom link to be provided in the agenda posted on RVTD’s public meetings page.

Comments may also be submitted at the RVTD online survey form: surveymonkey.com/r/passengercomments.

Consultants for Transit System Plan announced

In recent meetings the TAC has been preparing for the upcoming Transportation System Plan (TSP) update. TSP updates are typically conducted every 5-7 years, but the most recent update in Ashland has been delayed in part to allow for completion of the state-mandated Climate Friendly Areas. The City Council voted on the second reading of the ordinances to implement the Climate Friendly Area overly at their June 3 meeting.

Contracts for consultants assisting with the upcoming TSP update have been in progress and the Oregon Department of Transportation gave the green light to share the selected agencies at Thursday’s meeting, said Public Works Department Director Scott Fleury.

The primary consultant will be Alta Planning, who will bring in Fehr & Peers as a sub-consultant to aid in planning for emergency transportation and evacuation routes. However, given recent layoffs at ODOT after failure of the state legislature to pass a transportation funding bill, Director Fleury reported that finalization of the contract and beginning of the TSP process may be delayed from late summer to early fall.

Information on the different components and stages of a TSP are available on ODOT’s website at oregon.gov/odot/Planning/TSP-Guidelines/Pages/default.aspx.

Working on improving response to safety concerns and SeeClickFix requests

During public forum, multiple neighbors and users of Pinecrest Terrace shared safety concerns about the street resulting from signage changes after it was paved in 2023. Residents including Mark Williams, Jessica Wong, and David Lennett spoke to the number of pedestrian users and expressed concern about the new 25 mph sign on a section with blind curves and a steep dropoff, where children, pets, and wildlife are often present.

The committee later used Pinecrest Terrace as an example of how they might approach concerns being sent in through the new SeeClickFix reporting system that launched in October 2024 and an increased volume of reports about speeding and other safety issues. Reports through SeeClickFix are routed to different city staff based on topic and users have reported varied wait times for responses as well as differing information from city staff depending on how a request is routed.

Many of the SeeClickFix submissions are being shared with the TAC but a process for reviewing these had not yet been adopted. Members of the committee expressed concern about delays in responding to safety issues and brainstormed multiple methods for integrating reviews into the committee’s workflow which they will test out in the coming months.

TAC members later passed a motion directing Public Works to change the current signage on Pinecrest Terrace to yellow “Share the Road” signs.

The committee also voted to postpone consideration of a proposed additional crosswalk on A Street and to allow this to be taken up as part of the Transportation System Plan update.

Opportunities for public engagement

TAC meetings are regularly held over Zoom and members of the public are invited to attend and give comment during public forum. However, their August meeting will be held in person from 6 to 8 p.m. Aug. 21 in the council chamber at 1175 E. Main. St.

Ashland resident and freelance journalist Meg Wade’s byline has appeared in Mother Earth News and other publications. Email Ashland.news at [email protected].