can only get better.
(Photo © J. Maus/BikePortland)
The Portland Bureau of Transportation (and TriMet) is set to invest $8.2 million into sidewalks, neighborhood greenways and transit-safety related projects in East Portland. The funding comes from a $34 million “Regional Economic Opportunity Fund” created by a Metro committee last year.
In case you forgot, this $34 million is the result of a debate at Metro back in October about how best to spend federal “regional flexible funds.” At the last go-round, advocates (including the Bicycle Transportation Alliance) fought hard to win a 75/25 split for active transportation projects. Advocates hoped to use that same allocation method for an additional $34 million Metro is awarding this time around. However, the Joint Policy Advisory Committee on Transportation (JPACT) voted instead to create a new “Regional Economic Opportunity Fund” (explained further here).
The $8.2 million for East Portland will go directly toward the East Portland In Motion implementation plan. See the specifics of what will be built below (courtesy of PBOT):
Powell Sidewalk and Crossing Improvements – approximately $3 million
Adds Sidewalks and improved crossings on Outer SE Powell Blvd: Focused on the highest priority areas of Powell, that will support economic development, access to transit and improve safety for all users.
Development of “practically designed” future segments: A small portion of the funding (approximately $0.25 million) will fund design of future segments along SE Powell Blvd. This will allow quick response to future opportunities for funding sidewalk and crossing construction. Also, by clearly defining the future design, private developments along Powell Blvd can include construction of their section of these improvements.
Sidewalk Improvements for Access to Transit- approximately $1.5 million
Adding short segments of sidewalk and crossings in East Portland to improve access to transit at key locations identified in the East Portland In Motion strategy and Pedestrian Network Analysis: Strategic investment in segments of missing sidewalks, crossings, and pedestrian connections can dramatically increase connectivity and access to transit.
Neighborhood Greenways Connecting Schools, Parks and Businesses- approximately $2.7 million
Development of the 100s and the 150s Neighborhood Greenways (six miles of new facilities): Adding two major north/south greenways that will provide a direct connection between 10 business districts, 11 schools, and 10 parks. The greenways include improvements on the north-south streets, as well as improved crossings of east-west arterials where they cross the greenway. These streets are now signed as 20 mph and traffic calmed to ensure slow traffic speeds. Thus they can provide high quality, lower stress bicycle and pedestrian north-south through movements in East Portland.. These greenways were intentionally selected to parallel busy streets and allow people walking and biking to minimize the amount of their trip spent in high crash environments. These projects will benefit people walking and biking by creating a low stress facility connecting high use transit stops and improved crossings of busy streets.
Transit Improvements Safety, Comfort and Efficiency – approximately $2 million
Development of new crossing improvements, stops and shelters, and other small capital improvements to enhance service, safety, and operations: One of the biggest concerns raised by Portland residents and businesses during the outreach for the East Portland Action Plan and the East Portland in Motion strategy was the lack of safe crossings to stops, the inadequacy of stops including lack of shelters, and concerns about the overall level of service. Moving forward with these improvements can directly address a significant portion of these concerns.
While $8 million is a significant active transportation investment, the remaining $25.6 million in this funding pot is going (almost entirely) toward three major highway projects that were earmarked (to the chagrin of Mayor Sam Adams at the time) by ODOT: the Sunrise Corridor (total cost $1.5 billion), the Brookwood/Helvetia Interchange project (total cost $45 million), and the Troutdale Interchange project (total cost $30 million). (Another $1 million will go toward widening of NE 238th Ave in Wood Village.)
Strangely, while all parties at the table have agreed to fund these projects, Metro is still obligated by law to continue with the public process which will run through this summer. As reported by Metro News last month, this sort of backroom deal-making to fund major projects didn’t sit well with at least one Metro Councilor:
“Rex Burkholder, a former JPACT chair at his last meeting on the committee as an elected official at the regional government, warned the committee to avoid the style of cash distribution that decided how the $33.8 million would be spent.
The money was essentially earmarked by JPACT and its members in the last four months, bypassing the usual long vetting for Regional Flexible Funds allocations.
“This kind of rushed itself through,” Burkholder said before his vote in favor of the proposal. “How we make these decisions is just as important as the decisions we make.””
This major grant award is just the latest in a recent string of PBOT investment in east Portland. The East Portland In Motion plan won $3.3 million for bikeways and walkways in the last round of Metro flexible funding and Mayor Sam Adams committed PBOT to spending $8 million for sidewalks in east Portland back in 2010.
There’s been a historical neglect of transportation investments in east Portland; but now after a strong and dedicated advocacy movement — coupled with good political dynamics and resulting support from PBOT — that trend seems to have been reversed. (Learn more about the rise of active transportation in east Portland here and here.)
Mayor Adams helped put a focus on east Portland. He held his 2011 Transportation Safety Summit at Marshall High School (on SE 91st) and protected that $8 million in sidewalk investment in the face of historic budget cuts at PBOT.
It’s unclear yet whether new Mayor Charlie Hales will fight for a similar amount of active transportation funding in east Portland (or anywhere for that matter); but he did tell The Willamette Week recently that, “No planner from the city of Portland should be going to national conferences and bragging about how smart we are about urban planning in Portland until we have an actionable plan to make [Southeast] 122nd and Division a great place. And stuff has actually happened.”
$8M to mitigate the dangers of too much car traffic, and $25M to expand those dangers on the other side of town.
The projects sound pretty good to me, but always sad to see funds that are supposed to be spent on biking and walking get gobbled up in defensive we-could-skip-all-this-but-for-the-car measures.
Way to hold it down on KBOO this morning. I laughed out loud at the guy who said walking 5 minutes to the grocery store creates an intolerable society.
Good news on outer East Portland getting some much needed attention.
Reading the cost of 1.5 billion for the Sunrise Corridor made my stomach hurt a little though. Ouch.
Ballpark math shows the money that will go to the Columbia River Crossing freeway expansion could replicate this meager active transit improvement 562 times over. We’ll be lucky to see any money for improvements like this post-CRC.
what are the boundaries of East Portland?
To me it’s a descriptive term and one that has a strong basis in city policy/politics/advocacy… But it’s not exactly defined geographically.
Inner East Side: river to 28th(used to be 21st). East Portland: there to I-205. East County: anything on the other side of 205.
Beyond that: Systems on the outer rim/Hutt Space/Reaver Territory.
I wouldn’t call anything within the Portland city limits “east county”. At least from a policy perspective, your definitions would be shifted quite a bit to the east.
East Portland (aka Outer East Portland, or Far East Portland): From 82nd/I-205 out to Portland city limits (164th/174th). That is the geography this “East Portland In Motion” plan is covering.
Much of this area used to be called East County because it otherwise didn’t have a name. it was unincorporated, not belonging to Portland or Gresham. It wasn’t until the 80s and early 90s that all of the area was finally annexed into the City of Portland boundaries.
I almost included in my post, that my statement about the divisions of Portland largely comes from my childhood. (70’s 80’s)
From a policy standpoint, you’re undoubtedly right Idk much about that. I do know that I bristle nearly every time I read a headline like:
“ happened this afternoon in Northeast Portland” Only to find out that it was somewhere out in The Numbers (I think that’s what the kids are calling it these days) aka Outer East Portland. aka East County.
Nick is right, the designation of “East Portland” is east of either 82nd or 205 depending on how north/south you are. (The northern area uses 205). There was a decent map of this from the city that I”m too lazy to look up.
Everything West of that is either SE or NE
At what point do we recognize that we’re mis-spending money? Do we stop the nonsense, and finally get it right?
Eventually German authorities realized it made more sense to pay coal miners not to dig up coal. Eventually US authorities realized it made more sense to take out inner city freeways and stop building news ones. Eventually US authorities realized it was a mistake to take out all the inner city rail transit, and started putting it back (at enormous expense). Eventually the Japanese realized that they want nothing to do with nuclear power.
When will we realize that the same is true for our auto-oriented cities? Realize that we can’t keep doing this? Can’t keep spending millions and billions to make more room for more cars and faster everything? In some sense what we’re doing now–expanding freeways over here and undoing the problem over there–is even more idiotic, and more expensive, than pretty much any other scenario.
We (ODOT for starters) seem to lack a comprehensive view of where we’re going, what we can afford, what sort of society we’d like to live in. In the absence of that vision, that perspective, we seem to flounder around and misspend most of our tax dollars.
For all these billions we could instead buy everyone who doesn’t already have one a bike and rain gear and racks and panniers a lock and a helmet, and teach them how to use all of that. Without the cars whizzing around us, learning to ride would be a cinch too. Maybe http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dagen_H is a model we should consider? On January 1, 2015 we switch (from passive to active)?
Wow, that is a fascinating note about H Day!
It is always amazing how much more cost effective bike/ped infrastructure is than auto (esp. freeway) facilities.
Only $8M for sidewalk & crossing improvements to Powell, transit facilities, and six miles of greenway facilities.
Compare that with the $45 million given to Hillsboro for a single $65 million dollar intersection project with Intel to the south, and farms to the north.
Interesting to note that Hillsboro will be chipping in a 0.04% match ($2.65 million) from a funding source which is supposed to pay for traffic impacts.
I would think that since Damascus can not get their act together to create a land use plan, and as a consequence are thinking off bailing from the Urban Growth Boundary region, it seems like the Sunrise corridor should be put on hold indefinably unless Clackamas County wants to play ball on urban planning.
If not, the money should be redirected in more useful transportation options that actually fit with our local and state climate action goals.
If I am keeping score correctly, this means that there is funding for :
the Three M’s, 100’s, 130’s, 150’s, improved access to gateway transit center (possible G7 and G8 in “East Portland in Motion”), and the Fremont/115th greenway. This is most of the greenways outlined in “East Portland in Motion” (G5 seems to be missing, but that one has very low auto traffic volumes).
How about the Prescott bike lanes? These seem to me to be very important since there is not a decent crossing between Burnside and Sandy and we need something safe to hook up to the future NE 77th and Alberta Greenway connection (assuming Charlie does not nix the funding for it). Does anyone know if there is a half million or so floating around for Prescott somewhere or did I just miss it?
Prescott, where? A little east of Sandy, only the north half of Prescott is controlled by Portland- the south half is Maywood Park. East of 102nd Portland has the full right of way, as well as west of Sandy, but west of Sandy, Prescott is a different kind of road than east of Sandy.
If Maywood park has control of the street then that could explain why the funding has not been included. The Prescott Bike Lanes from NE 122 westward to at least NE 82nd are included as part of the recommendation of “East Portland in Motion.” Check it out at PBOT’s website. I would site the link but I am on my partner’s laptop and do not have my downloaded documents handy.
What is up with the picture included with the story? Please tell me that is not some new idea for a bikelane, or that it is suggesting bicyclists should use the center turn lane as a travel lane? I think a review of the Oregon Drivers Handbook would state that this kind of lane, as shown marked with double yellow lines, is for turning left or for merging into traffic from a side street or driveway.
What about the Sullivan’s Gulch trail! That’s what I need to get my family on their bikes to get downtown. That single artery would have a huge impact on cycling the east side . . . ever going to happen?
The city has applied for a $1.7 million enhancement grant to build the connection between I 205path and the east end of Hancock to hook up with the Tillamook Bikeway. This can be done as soon as we have money since the land is entirely owned by PBOT and ODOT. The REST of the trail is owned two thirds by the railroad….and we are about $35 million away in funding as well as a railroad that currently says…”Ah, no.”
Only time will tell….the railroad will sometime come back asking for something from the city….