Project rendering.
(Fat Pencil Studio for PBOT)

Changes are finally coming to North Williams Avenue.

After a long and arduous public process that began in January 2011, we can finally look forward to a host of much-needed traffic safety improvements on this busy bikeway corridor.

Yesterday in Salem the Oregon Transportation Commission approved a list of eleven projects that will improve biking and walking conditions across the state and among them is $1.47 million for the North Williams Avenue Traffic Operations and Safety project.

"This is great news," said PBOT spokesman Dan Anderson this morning. "The Transportation Bureau began working to modernize North Williams with a dedicated advisory committee two years ago. Their insight and commitment made it a better project than the one envisioned at the beginning. With ODOT’s generous grant, the city can begin designing Williams this summer and start construction in spring or summer 2014."

The grant for this project came from funds doled out by ODOT via a highly competitive process. There was just $8.6 million up for grabs in their new Transportation Alternatives program (formerly known as Transportation Enhancements). ODOT received 155 applications and narrowed those down through an internal review process and based on public comment.

The Williams project started from humble beginnings, with just a meager budget and expectations focused solely around creating a high-quality bikeway. Bike traffic on Williams has skyrocketed in recent years and the standard-width, door-zone bike lane that exists today has not kept up with demand.

Making bike-specific changes to a major street with a lot of traffic has its own challenges; but when this project became embroiled in a debate about the issues of racism and gentrification — and how bicycling contributes to them — the City faced an almost impossible task of balancing their transportation goals with a history marked by institutional racism in a neighborhood that has seen dramatic demographic shifts in recent years. Just five months into the public process PBOT decided to pause and hit the restart button after some members of the community expressed dismay about how the process was moving forward.

(Fat Pencil Studio for PBOT)

It took longer than anyone expected and everyone involved in this project was forced to come face-to-face with the deep social scars that began decades ago yet still exist in the Vancouver-Williams corridor. To PBOT's credit, they embraced the concerns and played host to an open and inclusive committee process that ultimately led to agreement on a wide-ranging list of traffic safety improvements.

The project will significantly alter Williams Avenue from Weidler to Killingsworth. The main elements of the plan include: a 10-foot wide buffered bike lane that will run on the left side of the street; 11 curb extensions at eight different intersections; a new signal at N. Cook St; and a public art installation that will, "honor N Williams Avenue's importance in local African-American history." The project will also include funding to install speed bumps and other safety measures on NE Rodney (a parallel, neighborhood street preferred by many people who don't like the crowds on Williams).

Funding for the Williams project will be available July 1st of this year. PBOT expects to complete all the design and engineering in early 2014 and they'll break ground by this time next year. Stay tuned.

We have covered every twist and turn in this project. For more background, browse the 40+ stories in the archives.

CORRECTION: The initial version of this story stated that these funds originated from a federal grant. That is not correct. The funds are coming from the state's "bicycle bill" set-aside funding. This is important because state money intended for local bike projects is more flexible than federal funding. However, state money also comes with its own constraints. Stay tuned for more reporting on this project.

Will we finally see changes on Williams?
(Photo © J. Maus/BikePortland)

Two important Portland projects are vying for funding through a grant process being led by the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) and the deadline to offer your feedback is this Thursday, January 31st.

Of the seven projects in the running from Portland and Washington County, I think two deserve a closer look.

PBOT has requested $1.47 million to fund their North Williams Traffic Safety and Operations Project. This is the infamous Williams project that had humble beginnings over two years ago, but then took many unexpected twists and turns. What started out as a straightforward bikeway project with a budget to do only pavement markings and signage has morphed turned into a full-blown capital project that will include new traffic signals, curb extensions, and even the creation of a neighborhood greenway on nearby NE Rodney.
(more...)

PBOT is still looking for funding to
improve bike access on N. Williams.

What do bike boulevards in Grants Pass, a new trail from Hagg Lake to McMinnville, and the North Williams project have in common? They're just a few of the 53 projects from all over the state being considered for $8.5 million in grant funding from the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT).

This year, ODOT's Active Transportation Section is combining two funding programs — the federal Transportation Alternatives Program (formerly Transportation Enhancements, TE) and the ODOT-run bicycling and walking program administered by the Oregon Bicycle & Pedestrian Advisory Committee — into one application process. (more...)

City Traffic Engineer Rob Burchfield had
some explaining to do.
(Photo © J. Maus/BikePortland)

It's finally over. Seriously. I mean it this time.

After 17 months of meetings and open houses, the stakeholder advisory committee (SAC) for the N Williams Traffic Operations Safety Project finished their work yesterday with the adoption of plans that will transform Williams Ave. from Weidler to Killingsworth.

The majority of the design has already been agreed on; but unfinished business remained on one section — from Fargo to Fremont — that turned unexpectedly contentious at an open house last month. (more...)

PBOT traffic engineer Rob Burchfield
answers questions at the open house.
(Photos © J. Maus/BikePortland)

After 16 months and countless meetings, PBOT has revealed how they plan to improve bicycle access and traffic safety on N Williams Avenue. And much to the surprise of Stakeholder Advisory Committee (SAC) members, part of those plans include maintaining two full lanes for auto traffic in the busiest portion of the road.

At the "final" open house for their North Williams Traffic Operations Safety Project, held Saturday at a church on Williams, PBOT rolled out new posterboards explaining the project, a 3-D simulation of the proposed changes, and they had project staff, SAC members, and traffic engineers on hand to answer questions. (more...)

Most of N. Williams Ave will be converted
into this cross-section.
(Graphics: Fat Pencil Studios)

Finally.

This Saturday (5/19), PBOT will host the final open house for their North Williams Ave Traffic Operations Safety Project.

As we shared back in March, after 13 months of public process, a citizen committee finally made a decision last month about how to make the street safer. The open house will be the public's first opportunity to see detailed maps and drawings of what we can expect to see once PBOT implements the changes.
(more...)

The new configuration will put bike traffic on the left side.
(Photo © J. Maus/BikePortland)

The Stakeholder Advisory Committee for the N. Williams Traffic Operations Safety Project met today and came to a decision about how to reconfigure the street to improve bike access. I'm in Washington D.C. attending the National Bike Summit, but thanks to Twitter and to phone conversations with people at the meeting, I can share some info about what was decided on.

According to committee member Steve Bozzone, they went with option "4B: Left-Side Buffered Bike Lane with One Motor Vehicle Travel Lane and Turn Lanes (Segments 2 to 5) and Shared Left-Turn Lane/Bikeway in Segment 4" (see below).
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Committee Chair Debora Hutchins.
(Photo © J. Maus/BikePortland)

The citizen-led committee tasked with how to improve bike access and traffic safety on N. Williams Avenue met for the 14th time yesterday. And as the clock winds down on making an official recommendation to PBOT on how to move forward, they appear no closer to reaching consensus.

Committee member Steve Bozzone, summed up his thoughts about the meeting on Twitter last night: "Overall there remains broad agreement about safety outcomes on Williams Ave, but process to decide on options is muddled, confusing." In addition, it appeared that the specter of mistrust of PBOT and concerns that community feedback was not being heard, have reappeared. (more...)

This drawing shows how the left-side cycle track idea would look just north of Broadway. (Note the left-side cycle track with a bike passing lane in the upper left.)
(Image: PBOT/Alta Planning)

(more...)

Screengrab of Mercury article.

PBOT's North Williams Traffic Operations Safety Project is heating up again — both the public process and the public spotlight.

The project found its way onto the cover of this week's edition of The Portland Mercury. Reporter Sarah Mirk took a historical look at the Albina neighborhood and, given its history of racism and development, she arrived at the conclusion that the project is "Not about the bikes."

Here's a key quote in Mirk's story that I think sums up feelings of some people in the community. It comes from Midge Purcell, policy director of the Urban League of Portland (a non-profit that advocates for African Americans): (more...)