Darcella grew up in East Portland. She attended Alder Elementary School, in Reynolds School District. It’s a school with a Portland address, but it sits in what often seems to be a gray area between Portland and Gresham. She remembers a time when farmland quilted the area, a time before there were so many stretches of strip malls, when streets were quieter, less crowded, and TriMet service was less frequent.
Over time, Darcella, grew to depend on TriMet. First the bus, then a combination of bus and light rail, after the MAX Blue Line started making trips to Gresham back in 1986. “I don’t drive,” she said. “The bus is my lifeline. I go grocery shopping with it. There’s no other way to get around. Going to and from work — any kind of activity… It’s just imperative to have TriMet.”
She talked with TriMet at the Rosewood Initiative, a community center she describes as one of the area’s best. It occupies a converted retail space at the Village Square, an early 1960’s era strip mall at SE 162nd Stark. With floor to ceiling windows across the front of the building, winter sunlight streamed into the main room, which is painted in bright, coordinated color blocks. One of TriMet’s newest bus lines, Line 74-162nd Avenue, will soon have a stop steps from the front door.
Darcella doesn’t hide her excitement for the new line. She says it will bring additional time and convenience to her life. To get to and from work now, she first catches Line 20-Burnside/Stark going west toward Portland City Center. “That can take, from out here, anywhere from half an hour at least,” she said. Then she transfers to Line 72-Killingsworth/82nd and begins travelling north. “That’s probably another 20 minutes,” she added. “That includes wait time, so especially during the winter weather and the rain, which we have in Portland, it can be awhile.”
