Portland transportation officials say they have the cash in hand to create dedicated bus lanes, separated bikeways and safer pedestrian crossings in the central city.
Now they want your feedback on where to start with the estimated $9 million in projects during the next five years.
Portland Bureau of Transportation posted an interactive map Monday as part of its long-awaited Central City in Motion plan, an effort officials say focuses on speeding up buses on both sides of the Willamette River, creating new "low-stress bikeways" and making pedestrian crossings safer.
The traffic plan is part of the city's ongoing Central City 2035 planning effort, which has been in the offing for years and plots growth into the next two decades.
It's no accident the plan doesn't focus on making travel easier for automobiles. By 2035, the urban core is projected to see a tripling in population and 40 percent increase in jobs. It's not feasible to add or expand roads, nor is it in the city's interest.
"This is the most highly populated area of the entire state," Dylan Rivera, a city transportation spokesman, said of the area that includes the South Waterfront, Downtown, Goose Hollow, the Pearl District, the Central Eastside, and inner North and Northeast Portland. "It's the economic engine of Oregon, and we don't have room to build new roads, so we have to make the most of our existing transportation system."
For years, TriMet has expressed concern that its buses are getting clogged up in traffic. There are clear ways to address that, and the city is considering some of them, like more dedicated bus lanes - potentially on Burnside Street, Northwest Everett Street in the approach to the Steel Bridge, and on Grand Avenue throughout the Central Eastside and other key corridors.
Those stretches of road are obvious areas of congestion that could benefit from either bus only lanes, signal changes or other tweaks to speed up bus travel.
The interactive map shows streets that could be ripe for change, included proposed "low-stress bikeways" throughout the central city. Those bike areas could mean physically separated bike highways or other improvements to make cycling safer.
Gabe Graff, the transportation bureau's project capital projects manager, said making cohesive bike networks is one of the toughest challenges.
"The better the bike facility, the more cyclists we can attract," he said Monday.
Graff said Portland has an additional $20 million in fees charged to developers that may also be used as part of future central city transit improvements.
This project is different because the city already has dedicated funding from Metro and a $2.7 million chunk from the voter-approved gas tax to pay for both planning and construction.
"Part of what we're doing now is asking the public, what should the projects be?" Graff said, "Where should we focus?"
The city will be gathering feedback through its online map through the summer, Graff said.
The goal is to return to City Council in September with a five-year project list.
-- Andrew Theen
atheen@oregonian.com
503-294-4026
@andrewtheen