Metro has opened up the public comment period for a project funding process that could result in some very exciting new additions to the region’s bicycling network — including finally striping a bike lane on Northeast Prescott Street to help it connect to the I-205 path. But if you want these projects to become a reality, you’ve got to comment!
There’s $42 million in federal funding up for grabs through Metro’s regional flexible funding “Step 2” allocation. The process identifies a list of projects to be built over a three-year period and covers federal fiscal years 2028 through 2030. Agencies across the Portland region have submitted 24 applications for projects worth a total of $140 million. With less than one-third of that amount available, and with local budgets very tight, there’s steep competition for the funding.
The City of Portland has submitted six project applications and seeks $36 million to pay for them. The projects include:
- a host of traffic signal upgrades on outer NE Halsey (from 82nd Ave to 148th) and SE Foster (82nd to SE Jenne Rd);
- new signalized crossings and lighting to NE Martin Luther King Jr Blvd between NE Hancock and Lombard;
- a road diet, new bike lanes, safer crossings and signal upgrades on NE Glisan from NE 82nd to 102nd Ave;
- a new crossing of W Burnside and Park, along with a shared bike/bus lane on W Burnside from Park Ave to 3rd to connect to the Burnside Bridge (and bike lane on 3rd);
- new bike lanes, crossings and other safety updates to NE Prescott St. between 72nd and the I-205 path; and
- a new segment of the Red Electric Trail running parallel to SW Beaverton-Hillsdale Hwy, from SW Shattuck Rd (east of Alpenrose Dairy parcel) to SW Fairvale Ct.
PBOT Project Manager Zef Wagner presented the projects at a meeting of the Portland Freight Committee today.
Wagner said the $8.4 million NE Glisan project is part of PBOT’s strategy to improve bikeways parallel to 82nd Avenue, since a major investment in that major street will not include bike facilities. PBOT’s plan is to reduce the space for car users on Glisan St. by 37% because Wagner said their analysis shows the design offers more capacity than what’s being used. PBOT wants to redesign the 50-foot cross-section from five general travel lanes to three general travel lanes and two, nine-foot wide “separated” bike lanes (unclear if they’ll be protected with concrete, plastic wands, just paint, or what). The project will also improve crossings at 84th, 87th, 90th, and 92nd — including signals upgrades at I-205 to make it easier to cross the freeway.
By reducing the number of driving lanes on Glisan, PBOT hopes to address what they call a crash hot spot. “There have been very high speeds and road departure crashes,” Wagner said at the meeting, “and people have even crashed into the playground at Montavilla Park so there’s been a lot of concerns.”
The Glisan project earned a top ranking in a Metro project scoring process, “So I think it’s looking pretty good [to win funding],” Wagner said.
Another notable project on the list that scored well is one that would invest $8.6 million into NE Prescott Street to add bike lanes and other updates. I’m very excited about this one because I ride Prescott often to reach the I-205 path en route to Gateway Green (and elsewhere). PBOT wants to swap two, eight-food wide on-street parking lanes for buffered bike lanes. Wagner said this is a very important project for connectivity in the area. “There’s really no east-west connection across I-205 for biking and walking and it’s hard for people to get to the I-205 path,” he told freight committee members.
You can read the full project descriptions here.
The public comment period runs through April 30th. You can take a survey, learn more and leave a comment on Metro’s website. The final list of projects will be adopted by Metro Council in July. If you want to testify on any of the projects in person, you can sign up for a spot at the April 17th meeting of Metro’s Joint Policy Advisory Committee on Transportation (JPACT).
Thanks for reading.
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That Prescott bike lane is such a good call
The number of good connections across I-205 in NE is exactly 0. I know, because I live here and am very familiar with the struggle of trying to safely get between Madison South/Montavilla and Hazelwood/Maywood Park/Parkrose Heights. Improving Prescott (and Halsey, and Glisan) is an absolute must.
They should extend the Prescott Bike lanes all the way to NE 7th, then extend the Skidmore bike lanes from N Michigan to NE 7th. That would give us a nice, long easy to navigate E/W connector. PBOT is constantly building bike infrastructure in short chunks
There are bike lanes across I-205 on Burnside, so that is technically NE, right? (Granted it is the furthest south possible.)
Even when I lived in East Portland (2008-15) and had to commute on East Burnside to and from downtown, I would hesitate to call it a “good connection”, as it had a car repair blocking the street right where the 205 northbound path comes onto the south bridge sidewalk, lots of glass in the bike lane, no direct ramp from the southbound path onto Burnside, and lots of litter on its narrow 4-foot bike lane through Montevilla, and fast drivers all the way to 181st. My preferred route, even though it was way out of the way (I lived only a few blocks south of Burnside), was to use SE Lincoln/Harrison/4M. Tillamook/Halsey was horrifying, especially the steep bridge sidewalk on the north side, but it was scenic and a good way to stop by WINCO on the way home. (I would never even think of using Glisan – I didn’t particularly want to die just yet.)
The road diet on Glisan from 82nd to 205 is long overdue. It’s a 4-lane highway through there for no good reason, as Glisan narrows to the west of 82nd. And yes, a westbound landscaping pickup and trailer skid off the road and ran into the slide on the playground. ♂️
Are they going to find some money for the 205 overcrossing project on Halsey? Or just do some signal upgrade at 92nd to make it easier to get to the horrible sidewalk over 205?
That overcrossing project got cancelled, unfortunately.
I don’t know about “canceled,” exactly, but it’s indefinitely on ice with no plans or concepts to revive. Very disappointing, but maybe the Halsey improvement project will at least improve the crossing experience to uncomfortable from downright miserable and harrowing.
The grant that funded it got cancelled, I suppose is the better way to put it.
As someone who has lived near Glisan for 20 years, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve witnessed speeding, reckless driving, and crashes on this stretch of road, causing damage to both people and property. The two lanes of traffic in either direction are an open invitation for drivers to race each other down the stroad in either direction. It’s frightening to bike on this street, fearing these racers will hit me. So many trees and front yards have been taken out from crashes; so many parked cars have been demolished, both those in driveways and those which are allowed to park on the street in off peak times. These four lanes of traffic are almost never all utilized. A diet is desperately needed. Please support this!
It took me a minute but I found where to submit a comment for the Glisan project. Here’s a direct link: https://arcg.is/14aL0T
Agreed on the Prescott improvements. I ride it a couple times a month, even though it’s around 6 miles from my home.
Please yes to the Red Electric Trail project. Riding on Beaverton-Hillsdale in the area is a harrowing endeavor; the vegetation encroaching into the protected bike lane makes it pretty much unrideable for all but the most confident cyclists. Eventually having a complete parallel route would be a game-changer for E/W connectivity in the area, finally providing a low-stress route between Raleigh Hills and Hillsdale.
Isn’t NE Going one block to the north already a greenway?
Yes. What about it?
I hope you’re not suggesting that a bike lane on NE Prescott isn’t needed because NE Going is there. If you are, I strongly disagree! I love NE Prescott because it’s more direct and I can get places much faster by using it. Just like a freeway and a n’hood collector serve a different type of car user, Going and Prescott serve different types of bike users. I don’t like the mindset that bike riders can’t have redundant routes when car users can go on every f’ing street in the city!
In actuality, no. Click my handle for the map: From 72nd east to the 205 path the neighborhood Greenway alignment is 3 blocks north of and downhill from Prescott. Starting at 76th, that is. There is no current Greenway connection between 72nd and 76th (sigh).
Add to that an inconvenient (if not downright dangerous) crossing of 82nd at Alberta and the additional uphill slog from the Greenway alignment (Alberta) to Prescott to reach the connection to the i-205 path… it’s like comparing a foggy night with a sunny day.
Going St greenway only goes to 72nd Ave, and this Prescott project starts at 72nd Ave.
Try getting out of your inner-Portland bubble. It sounds like you have never attempted to ride east of 82nd in this city.