GUEST BLOG: How Are Portland Street's Selected for Repaving?
Guest Author
How Are Portland Street's Selected for Repaving?
By Bureau of Maintenance, Portland Office of Transportation
August 26, 2005
Give us your feedback on this policy for selecting which Portland street is to be repaved.
1. How are the Project Lists generated?
- Engineering Technicians visually rate over 33,000 street segments. Their observations are entered into the PMS database and generate a “score”.
- These scores are set in relationship to each other, and a computer program produces a report of maintenance needed by each particular segment.
- Additional filters are applied, and the segments are organized into Slurry Seal Projects (only local streets),Preservation Overlay ( local and arterial streets) and Structural Overlay (only arterial streets), Rehabilitation and Reconstruction (local and arterial streets)
- Arterial streets are the connectors and feeders for the majority of the traffic flow around the City.
- Local streets provide the access within areas adjacent to the arterial connectors and feeders.
- The Projects Lists are given to the person who is making up the Slurry and Proposed Paving Lists.
2. How is the Proposed Paving List made?
- Using the street segments identified on the Projects List, arterials are selected and organized into the longest, continuous projects. This is done for each of the districts ( North, Northeast, Northwest, Southwest, Southeast, SW Core and NW Core ). A visual review of these streets is performed. This forms the core of the Paving List, like the trunk and major branches of a tree. Arterials compromise 80 – 85% of the mileage on a Paving List.
- Local segments from any Projects List are considered for the Paving List. If the ratings are older ( 3-4 years old ), conditions may have changed considerably, and the suggested maintenance is no longer appropriate. The computer program does not take curb exposure into consideration, so, an overlay may be suggested for a local street that has no curb exposure. In this case, break-out, followed by crack seal and slurry is very cost effective. More field reviews are conducted, and local streets are added as they can be combined with arterial projects. This makes it possible for the paving crew to meet its daily production standards. Locals get added to the Slurry List during this process.
- BOM budgets and plans for 50 miles of paving and 50 miles of slurry seal, in most years.
- It is important to make the Proposed Paving List that is
distributed for review sufficiently long. In October 2004 the Paving
List that was sent out had just over 80 miles ( 28’eq ). After the
review by all the stakeholders, there were only 50 miles available to
pave in 2005. This necessitated sending out an Additional Proposed
List to get more “cleared” mileage for this season. 80 miles was not
enough to propose.
3. The Proposed Paving List is sent to Stake Holders for Review
- E-copies, and hard copy, which includes a map, are sent to the various agencies that might have projects in the right of way that will impact paving projects.
- These agencies include PDOT, ODOT, BES, The Bureau of Water Works, BGS, NW Natural Gas, PGE, PPL, independent Water Companies, the Port of Portland, AT&T, Qwest, and various telecom companies.
- It is requested that the list be distributed to persons in the organization who would know of active or planned projects that conflict with a paving project.
- These conflicts do not just include plans to cut pavement. There can also be a conflict on a street designated as a detour for a CIP Project. The replacement of the Bybee Bridge delayed the resurfacing of Holgate Blvd.
- Large “Permit Projects”( housing developments ) delay proposed paving projects. The new utilities will cut the pavement. (Corbett Crescent)
- It is critical that BOM gets the information on all projects that will cut the pavement.
- Conflicts can be resolved by coordination and thoughtful timing.
4. After the Review Process
- A time is set for the return of conflicts and comments to BOM.
- The stake holders return their Conflicts Lists in a timely manner.
- The conflicts are entered into the Proposed Paving spread sheet. It now becomes the “Conflicts List”.
5. BOM and the Conflicts Lists
- The process begins to resolve conflicts by either coordinating project schedules, or delaying BOM paving.
- The Bureau of Water Works is proactive in so far as they organize their conflicting projects to be done prior to BOM paving.
- This effort is not as effective when the conflict is a large main replacement that needs to go to contract. The process of bringing a project from conception to construction is lengthy. Paving is delayed for years, in some instances.
- BES has been subject to fund uncertainties due to the CSO projects. They are unable to complete projects that have delayed BOM paving projects for years. (West Burnside)
- BOM has no control over when any other agency completes a project.
- The 5 year Moratorium does not prevent cutting of pavement by other projects. It adds costs due to increased pavement restoration requirements.
- When an agency chooses to pay the costs of cutting new pavement, it appears to other agencies, and the taxpayers, that BOM makes little or no effort to coordinate Paving Projects. We get the phone calls.
- When BOM delays the paving of a street that is obviously in need of resurfacing, we appear to be derelict in our responsibilities to maintain the infrastructure. We also get those phone calls.
- BOM prefers to wait until we are as certain as we can be that there is no imminent project.
- This requires a continuous, open and amicable exchange of information with any stakeholder in the right of way.
6. What Problems do we all share? How do we work together?
- Effective, working relationships with most of the stakeholders have been developed over years of consistent effort, on all parts. These relationships are nurtured with accurate and timely information.
- The goal is to cultivate an atmosphere of trust and open communication of needs.
- Each stakeholder’s individual projects are their primary concern. No agencies work is more important than any others. All agencies are subject to political pressures, public opinion, and economic realities.
- Even if these three concerns are not issues, the logistical challenges of some projects can seem insurmountable.
- Coordination of projects can resolve logistical challenges, and, often save money.
- The street surface is the part of the infrastructure that most people only ever see. Under the pavement are the sewers, water mains, gas mains, electrical conduits, phone and fiber optics.
- Portland is growing, so there is a lot of work going on in the right of way.
- Paving needs to be postponed until major, known projects are completed. This only makes sense, and saves everyone money.
- BOM is the most flexible of all the players in so far as we can pave streets all over Portland. Other projects are in fixed places.
- BOM needs to propose sufficient mileage for a given year to allow
for the percentage of cuts that happened this year – 80, down to 50
miles. There are streets that we can pave while waiting for other
projects to be completed. Heighten the awareness of all of those who
work in the public right of way to the fact that we share the same
problems and are not mutual antagonists. Each valuing the work of the
others is critical. It will maximize the public investment, and make
Portland the place we all want it to be.
Posted by Guest Author on August 31, 2005
(11) Comments | Permalink | TrackBack (8)
Filed Under Front Page, Livability & Environment, Office of Transportation, Transportation
Comments by site visitors
It's funny, the old streetcar rails along 23rd and 12th are now showing through in NW Portland and the Pearl.
Down in Tucson, they uncovered those old rails and run a weekend tourist old restored trolleys on them.
Posted by: Justin | Sep 6, 2005 3:47:33 PM
Why not pave SW Arnold between 45th & 47th? I can't believe there are still unpaved streets within the city limits.
Posted by: MDF | Sep 6, 2005 4:10:03 PM
Oh, by the way, why don't we adequately strip the streets of Portland. Reflectors would be nice, too. Many of our streets, even in the central core, are so badly lit and so badly striped that, in the dark and in the rain, you CANNOT see the lanes. Look at East Broadway as you approach the Rose Arena.
This may contribute to biking fatalities, too.
Posted by: Scott | Sep 6, 2005 6:11:28 PM
I live on an unimproved local street that connects my neighborhood to arterial streets and it cannot handle the auto and pedestrian traffic and has become a haven for drugs, prostitution and reckless driving. The city considers it 'unimproved' and will not do anything about it. At the very least it would be nice for someone to come out and re-evaluate the status of this street, it is literally a ticking timebomb......
Posted by: M.S. | Sep 7, 2005 3:27:02 PM
I think my street gets paved too often. I'm not complaining, it just seems unnecessary. Our street is designated as a Neighborhood Collector, which means it gets paved more often than regular neighborhood streets. But it gets less traffic than most Neighborhood Collector streets, so it always looks great.
We tried to get the City to lower its designation, but they won't. So they spend lots of money paving and striping. And the street sweeper comes down our street often too.
It's really kind of amazing what City services one can get whether one needs them or not!
Posted by: Cate | Sep 7, 2005 6:37:52 PM
Neighborhood Associations and District/Coalition Boards should be included in the list of Stakeholders given the opportunity to review the draft list. That way citizens would have the opportunity to say one street in their neighborhood doesn't need repaving while another does. In the current process as outlined here, there doesn't seem to be any neighborhood input at all.
Posted by: Amanda Fritz | Sep 11, 2005 8:38:40 AM
Sam,
Can you comment on the story in today's Oregonian that SE 39th between Powell and Holgate may be narrowed to 2 lanes by request of the Creston/Kenilworth neighborhood?
There simply aren't many N/S arterials on the East side--besides 99E, we have ... 39th ... 52nd? (not past 84), then all the way to 82nd. The left turns from 39th to Powell already require more than one light cycle from 7:30 am - 9 am. Narrowing to one lane will worsen this situation.
There is a *lot* of traffic heading into Trader Joes at Holgate and 39th; turning east on Holgate to get to the newly revived (by a WalMart, Sam) Eastgate plaza; turning west on Holgate to get over the train tracks to 99E.
Can we really afford to stack up traffic between Steele and Powell on 39th? This is a *major* arterial, and not just for commuters--Cleveland, Hosford, Holy Family, and other school families use this as well.
So. How will this decision be made?
Posted by: paul | Sep 16, 2005 9:07:29 PM
I appreciate the thoroughness that goes into coordinating with other stakeholders. However, I agree strongly with Amanda Fritz that the neighborhood system ought to be part of that process. Our neighborhood has worked actively with BES on innovative stormwater management projects. My street was just paved (thank you), but it frequently floods in the winter, has problems with speeding, and is fairly wide. It would have been a good candidate for some combined traffic calming/stormwater management approach. To us the street seemed in okay shape and could have waited for resurfacing. We had no easy way to let folks know that we'd like to tackle these other issues as part of the repaving discussion. I was told neighborhoods receive no notice until the notices are hung on people's doors and the no parking signs go up.
Posted by: Linda Nettekoven | Sep 21, 2005 2:58:55 PM
Why has our street not been paved? 84th off of Division is not a thru street but it does lead to a very popular Little League Field and a middle school around the corner. We have lived here for just under 5 years and the street has gotten worse each year due to the rain and the ball field traffic. We were connected to sewer several years ago, so I do say thank you for that, however, when the city did the sewer work they made the street level higher then many home owners driveways. Many parts of the street are at least an inch higher then my drive way! Also before the city took over ownership of our street, the street would be grated and covered with gravel every other year. In the five years we have lived on this street we have never seen the city. It just amazes everyone that a street within the city limits could have a puddle / pothole big enough to hold a Dodge Durango plus! With a Little League Ball Field and a middle school around the corner you would think that a little street maintance would not be to much to ask for, the street is already a 1/4 of the way paved. Why did they stop? We have seen 42nd and Prescott paved multiple times in the last 5 years, why do some streets receive attention multiple times and others never. We have brought this to the attention for other City officals and when we told them where we lived we were hung up on! I am curious to find out why the street was not improved when the sewers were added. It seems silly to leave a City road unpaved after adding sewer lines. You are already there fix it right!!! Children can not even ride a bike down the street in fear of falling in a puddle!!!
Posted by: Wendy | Mar 4, 2006 9:44:50 AM
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What about getting all the blacktop peeled off and having a great looking cobblestone street?
Posted by: Mikey | Sep 2, 2005 6:31:05 PM