Road News February 2023
- Thompson Road surveying work
- Huntington Ave. sidewalk open house
- Traffic easing programs encounter high barriers in Washington County
Thompson Road surveying work
Neighbors noticed surveyors along Thompson Road between Saltzman and South Road. LUT said it was the beginning of the Thompson Road improvement project.
Survey work is the first step in Project Design which will stretch through 2023, with Right-of-Way acquisition (purchasing roadside land from property owners) from December 2023-June 2024. Construction is expected to start in summer 2024, with construction expected to finish in fall 2025.
The project will add bike lanes, sidewalks and a center turn lane to Thompson Road between Saltzman Road and Marcotte Road. Neighbors hope that the project will lower the rate of accidents happening when drivers fail to negotiate the turns around the proposed Biggi development.
Huntington Ave. sidewalk open house
Tuesday, February 7, 5-7 pm, Beaverton Resource Center, 13565 SW Walker Road.
Washington County plans to build new sidewalk on both sides of Huntington Avenue between Cedar Hills Boulevard and Glenhaven Street. The sidewalks will connect to Cedar Hills Park and William Walker Elementary School.
The project cost is estimated at $1.67 million. It is funded by the Urban Road Maintenance District. Learn more on the project page.
Traffic easing programs encounter high barriers in Washington County
Bethany resident Brandon Philips has been working to get Washington County to revise requirements for speed bumps and other traffic-calming measures. He recently gave a presentation to the Urban Roads Maintenance District Advisory Committee and provided a chart of various Oregon jurisdictions and the criteria they use to implement projects.
His main points to the Committee were:
- Many municipalities like Beaverton and Oregon City have provisions for non-owning renters/residents to participate.
- Of the municipalities that use a ballot/survey/petition the vast majority I could find require a 51% turnout. No other municipality requires a 67% turnout of homeowners. Oregon City and Troutdale require a 67% turnout but include both homeowners and residents.
- Oregon recently had the highest turnout in the Country in the midterm election: 61.5%. I think that it needs to be considered that even midterm elections can’t reach a 67% turnout.
He will be discussing his findings with our County Commissioner Pam Treece. We’ll keep you posted. Learn about the county Neighborhood Streets Program here.
