Yesterday, City of Portland Office of Transportation staffers joined U.S. Congressman Earl Blumenauer, City Commissioner/Mayor-elect Sam Adams, Metro Councilor Robert Liberty, and others to dedicate new street improvements on NE 102nd Ave in the Gateway District.
This is the first phase of the project and it covered NE 102nd from Weidler to Glisan. The next phase will go from Glisan to Washington. More info
Below is the press release about the event and the project sent out by PDOT:
Transforming a suburban arterial into an urban boulevard
(PORTLAND, OR) – U.S. Congressman Earl Blumenauer and City Commissioner/Mayor-Elect Sam Adams were joined today by Metro Councilor Robert Liberty, Portland Development Commission Chair Charles Wilhoite, and other dignitaries in celebrating the completion of street improvements on NE 102nd Avenue in the Gateway District.
This $5.5 sustainable infrastructure project funded improvements on NE 102nd Avenue from Weidler to Glisan Streets – including wider sidewalks, street trees, and street lights. The project also included several stormwater boxes to treat stormwater runoff.
“The redevelopment of NE 102nd Avenue, the spine of the Gateway District, is another step in the City’s efforts to provide sustainable infrastructure that also provides a safer and more aesthetically appealing street for residents, pedestrians and cyclists, and people conducting business here,” said Adams.
The redevelopment of 102nd Avenue into a boulevard was identified by the Gateway community and included as a key transportation infrastructure improvement in the Opportunity Gateway Concept Plan and Redevelopment Plan. The purpose of the project was to provide a high quality, high profile identity to the district, as well as provide a more attractive streetscape and safe environment for pedestrians and bicyclists, without changing the overall function of the street.
“This project transformed a typical suburban arterial street into an urban boulevard, providing a framework for future redevelopment while remaining sensitive to the needs of existing businesses,” said Congressman Blumenauer.
Blumenauer, who helped find funding for the project, noted that the project had helped to create 80 jobs in the Portland Metropolitan Region. He also committed to helping Gateway residents obtain funding for the second phase of the project – for improvements from Glisan to Stark Streets.
Design and Engineering funds for the project came from Metropolitan Transportation Improvement Program funds, allocated by Metro. Construction of this project was paid for largely by federal funding, with the remainder provided by local system development charge revenues.
For more information, contact PDOT project manager Dan Layden at 503-823-2804.
Um, I live here. I bike through often (used to bike NE 102nd every day). As of last Thursday, at least, nothing was finished. Lanes and shoulders continually being blocked off. I don’t see how any of what’s being done is supposed to help, except that I can bike on the extra-wide sidewalk near Fred Meyer if I need to, which has been fairly often because there’s very little shoulder and lots of construction.. Whatever they’re doing with the island pictured above is useless. It’s pure beautification and not something we need to be spending money on.
The only worthwhile thing I see in the description above is the stormwater boxes. NE 102nd does often get flooded,so if these actually work, that would be an improvement.
It’s far, far from being an urban boulevard. No one is going to walk around here.
I second most of Kathleen’s comment. I live 3 blocks off 102nd and Glisan and bike to work far more than I drive. To call this project completed is ridiculous.
I do think it may improve the walkability of the area, and bike-ability will improve once they remove all the debris/traffic cones/machinery from the bike lanes. Or so I hope…
thanks for the feedback.. i’ve changed the headline to “dedicates” instead of “completes”.