Currently, Burnside has uncomfortably narrow (and therefore uninviting) sidewalks in many sections.When I became the commissioner-in-charge of Transportation about 14 months ago, I inherited a host of different projects. Some were run-of-the-mill, while others were less straight-forward. The Burside improvements fell into this latter category.
While a previous council had okayed the plan, I was not familiar with the project. So, because some concerns had been raised about the Burnside-Couch plan, and also because of personal reservations I had about the cost-benefit ratio of such a big-ticket project, I decided that even though council had already approved it, I was not going to move it forward until I had personally and thoroughly reviewed it.
Right off the bat, I want to give credit to the hard work that the Stakeholder Advisory Committee (SAC) put into the decision-making process. That said, the SAC was only able to look at things within certain parameters, and I wanted to put everything on the table.
[0]Downtown Neighborhoods had visions for Burnside that were taken into accountSo I did. I went into this evaluation process agnostic, without any particular leanings. The only things I insisted upon were increased pedestrian safety, since Burnside contains 4 of the city's 10 most deadly intersections, and an objective, comprehensive analysis. I hired an outside consluting firm who worked directly with my office to answer the questions I had, as well as those that had been raised others.
After an exhaustive analysis that took into account transportation operations, urban form, and economic development potential, I have come to a preferred alternative that I am now going to bring to council. I will be asking for funding the preliminary engineering. This will allow us to get a higher-confidence cost estimate and put together a preliminary funding package, at which point Council can decide whether or not to actually move forward with the project.Map of Sam's Proposal (from the Oregonian)
I am recommending the following:
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Just like the rest of downtown is a one-way grid system, Burnside and Couch should be part of the grid system and be two one-way streets (when possible)
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Between 2nd and 19th, make Burnside and Couch one-way streets; all westbound traffic will go on Couch, all eastbound on Burnside
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Between 19th and 24th keep 4 traffic lanes (2 east, 2west) and implement pedestrian amenities and other improvements wherever possible
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Include a new streetcar line that goes from NW 24th to E 12th. It will follow the same path as the new Burnside-Couch grid extension
This plan differs from the one that council previously approved in two important ways. First, the old Burnside Couch Project extended the grid only up to 15th, and then reverted to a two-way Burnside. I am recommending that the couplet go all the way to 19th before Burnside reverts to a two-way street. Doing so improves both traffic operations and the urban form of Burnside. While some properties near 19th might object to extending the couplet to 19th, I believe that it is in the common, greater good to extend the couplet to 19th.
The second way it differs is that it includes a streetcar. Our analysis found that this would stimulate more development and provide an important east-west transit connection.
Out of the set of over 10 alternatives we reviewed, this plan was the best for several reasons: In regards to transportation operations, it was the only option that will reduce travel times for motorists (13%, when compared to no-action). It will also increase automobile traffic efficacy by allowing for left turns off of Burnside, and it will provide 240 new on-street parking spaces, as well.
This will also save lives by reducing the number of vehicle crashes- both crashes with another vehicle, and the most deadly - those crashes invovling a car hitting a pedestrian. By reducing the number of conflict points, providing improved signalization and more crosswalks, as well as making the crossing distance shorter, this plan will save lives on what is statistically the most deadly street in the city.
[1]Portland once had an extensive streetcar system, which included a line over the Burnside BridgeAlso important to me, however, is how this plan will feel from an urban design perspective; the key to a commerically successful district is providing an inviting public environment where people will want to congregate. This project will activate a part of downtown that has been languishing for quite a while and make Burnside and Couch a transit-rich, vibrant, commercial, mixed-use pedestrian-oriented district.
We asked the Portland Development Commission to do an economic analysis of the development that would be stimulated by this project of a couplet with a streetcar. Their conservative estimate for the westside is that there will be a $1.4 billion increase in property values via new development. They estimate that the new property tax revenues collected by the city (which will reach $28 million annually in 20 years) will pay for the entire project in 15 years.
This last part (paying for itself) is very important to me, since big projects like this are hard for me to move forward when there's a backlog of maintenance and other pressing transportation needs that need to be addressed. I believe that the increase in safety, the decrease in the loss of life, and the ability for this project to pay for itself, however, are all strong reasons to move forward with this project.
[1]Streetcar Crossing Burnside Bridge in 1932Recently, my office received a phonecall (and then a letter) from Harold Schnitzer, who was briefed on the project and wanted to relay his enthusastic support for it. The largest property owner on W Burnside, he committed to us that when this project moves forward, he will embark upon $200 million in development on his 3 properties. You can read the letter he sent to me and the rest of council below.
Also available below are the power point that I have presented to the SAC and other groups, and all of the research that has been done investigating this project. And boy, has there been a lot of research. You can read all of that research which we've conducted online here [2].
I strongly believe that this vision for the Burnside corridor will make it a more vibrant, safe, and pedestrian friendly street while also improving driving times, adding parking, and catalyzing economic development and commercial success.
After you review the proposal and the research, I believe you will, too.
All of the reports and research for this projects available here. [3]
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| Burnside PowerPoint.pdf [4] | 646.4 KB |
| Schnitzer-Harsch letter.PDF [5] | 117.09 KB |