Input wanted on East Multnomah County projects

Multnomah County will hold a public meeting on June 6th to garner input on how to spend federal funds on transportation projects. Check out the press release below for more info…

Input sought on East Multnomah County transportation projects

A meeting will be held on June 6 to gather public input on Multnomah County candidate projects for federal transportation funds under Metro’s Regional Flexible Funds program. The meeting is from 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. in the Oregon Trail Room of Gresham City Hall located at 1333 NW Eastman Parkway. The East Multnomah County Transportation Committee (EMCTC) will convene the meeting.

Metro forecasts that $70.7 million in federal Surface Transportation Program and Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program funds will be allocated to the Portland region in fiscal years 2014 and 2015. While some of these funds have already been dedicated to construction of rail transit projects or will fund other transportation programs, $22.5 million is available for local projects. Of that amount 75%, approximately $16.7 million, is designated for Active Transportation and Complete Streets projects, which are projects that add or improve facilities for bicycling and walking and access to transit. The other 25%, approximately $5.6 million, is allocated to Freight and Green Economy projects. Multnomah County will receive approximately $1.6 million of Active Transportation and Complete Streets project funding, and $660,000 for Freight and Green Economy.

Projects must meet the criteria described in Metro’s 2014-15 project nomination process guidelines. These guidelines and further information about the regional allocation process are available at http://web.multco.us/transportation-planning/regional-flexible-funds

Staff from Multnomah County and the cities of Fairview, Gresham, Troutdale and Wood Village have identified potential projects on urban roads in Multnomah County outside the City of Portland. The Multnomah County Bicycle and Pedestrian Citizen Advisory Committee has been consulted on Active Transportation Projects.

At the June 6th meeting, staff and the elected members of EMCTC will present the projects to the public for consideration and comment. Members of the public will also have the opportunity to suggest alternative projects. By June 17, EMCTC will provide summaries of its top candidate projects to Metro for review. EMCTC will nominate its final list of projects at its meeting on July 11, 2011. A public comment period follows for candidate projects throughout the region. Local lead agencies will be able to receive comments and refine projects prior to Metro’s final allocation decision process in December.

Potential candidate projects by category:

Active Transportation and Complete Streets

· Arata Road – 223rd Avenue to 238th Avenue: complete sidewalks and bike lanes, storm water management
· NE Sandy Blvd. – 185th Avenue to 209th Avenue: new multi-use trail and bike lanes, and transit stop enhancements
· NE Sandy Blvd. and Halsey Street: transit stop enhancements, road crossings at mid-block stops
· Stark Street (Gresham/Troutdale city limits to Troutdale Road): construct north sidewalks
· Wood Village Blvd.- Halsey Street to Arata Road: construct multi-modal path and storm water management
· NE 223rd Ave. – NE Sandy Blvd. to Chinook Landing Marine Park: complete bike lanes and sidewalk gaps
· NE 223rd Ave. – NE Halsey Street to railroad undercrossing (at NE Sandy Blvd.) : construct bike lanes and sidewalks

Green Economy and Freight Initiatives

· NE Sandy Blvd. – 185th Avenue to Gresham/Fairview City Limits: increase capacity of travel lanes by widening on north side an additional 20′; add rain gardens and new street trees
· NE Sandy Blvd. – NE 223rd Avenue to NE 238th Drive: project development to design improvements to Sandy Blvd. providing access to Columbia-Cascade River District
· NE Sandy Blvd. – NE 230th Avenue (entrance to Townsend Business Park) to NE 238th Drive (Walmart development): improve pavement to handle freight, add bike lanes and sidewalks, improve drainage
Multnomah County maintains 300 miles of roads and bridges. For transportation planning information, visit http://web.multco.us/transportation-planning.