Gresham woman advocates for TriMet safety after more than 20 years

GRESHAM, Ore. (KPTV) — Darla Sturdy has been fighting for increased safety measures at TriMet stations since 2003 after her son, Aaron, was killed. For the first time in 2019, Sturdy spoke at Wednesday’s TriMet Board of Directors meeting.

“…It’s been a while since I’ve been here for the board, but I’ve done safety with TriMet primarily for the last 21 years,” Sturdy said during the meeting.

Sturdy said there is still work to be done to make TriMet train stations even safer.

“If safety is number one, it should be a priority,” she said.

Sturdy’s son Aaron was in high school, just 16, when he was hit by a TriMet train while using the crosswalk at the Gresham train station in 2003.

“He was coming home from a church job he had organized on his dad’s bike,” Sturdy said.

Now Sturdy is holding a white bicycle chained to a feline near the train station in Gresham where Aaron was killed. Sturdy said it’s all part of being proactive and reminding the community of the work that still needs to be done. She said her advocacy work to make TriMet train stations safer helped her carry on after her son’s death.

SEE ALSO:

A Portland Girl Scout earns her badge by helping other students with mental health.

“If you lose a child, if you can do something to make it better and you have the opportunity to make it better for other people, then that’s going to guide you,” Sturdy said.

Sturdy worked in Sales to turn his safety ideas into legislation. In 2007, her lobbying efforts helped pass a bill requiring TriMet to study all of its crosswalks. While she’s had some success, Study said she’s still frustrated and knows there’s more work to be done.

“Believe me, over the course of 20 years, I swear I’ve met 100 people and it’s either their family died or someone they knew was hit,” Sturdy said.

In an email, TriMet said: “Safety is a core value at TriMet. We investigate all serious incidents that occur in our system and examine what we can do differently to produce better results. We also cooperate closely with law enforcement and regulatory agencies and do everything we can to operate safely. While any collision can have an impact, those involving serious injury and death are devastating and our hearts go out to all involved and their loved ones. We are committed to continuous improvement and prioritizing safety in our service improvement projects, planning and training. But we must all understand that safety is a shared responsibility, and TriMet alone cannot prevent fatalities.”