The Portland Bureau of Transportation’s (PBOT) design for bike lanes on SE Thorburn and Washington Streets will remove a lane of travel in each direction to add bike lanes while retaining much of the existing street parking on both sides of SE Washington Street for a critical two-block segment. The road striping plan will replace removed curbside parking on SE Washington with bike-lane-adjacent parking from SE 76th to 80th Avenues to create a protected buffer for the five-foot-wide curbside cyclist route. Driving lane reductions on SE Thorburn Street and parts of SE Gilham Avenue will create space for a painted bike lane on the northwest traveling side of the road and a raised concrete traffic separator-protected bike lane on the southeast traveling side with space for an on-pavement pedestrian track where missing sidewalks have previously challenged pedestrian access.
On February 28th, PBOT updated the Jade and Montavilla Multimodal Improvements Project‘s website page to reflect the current designs that reduce the extent of previously indicated south-side street parking removal. The project will add over 20 marked parking spaces on SE Washington Street, replacing the southernmost travel lane. The recreated parking capacity offers slightly fewer spaces than the parking spaces removed. Still, it is a significant benefit for area businesses and residents living in housing on that street that do not have onsite parking options. Its design also offers cyclists a physical buffer between fast-moving downhill traffic. The project will likewise reconfigure SE Stark Street west of SE 76th Avenue. The existing bike lane will transition to replace curbside parking, making room for a short opposing direction bike lane that will take riders from SE 75th Avenue east to SE 76th Avenue, where a new traffic signal will help those cyclists turn south. At the new signal, the southernmost lane of SE Stark Street will transition into a left-turn-only lane, and the one remaining through lane will direct drivers onto SE Thorburn Street. Crews working with PBOT will reconstruct the southwest corner at the intersection to create a curb extension that will close the northbound pedestrian crossing. Instead, people will cross SE 76th Avenue to the east and SE Stark Street from the southeast corner.
SE Washington Street Bike lanes east of SE 80th Avenue will use a mix of concrete traffic separator-protected bike lane cycling infrastructure and shared bus-bike lanes up to SE 92nd Avenue. Striping plans show TriMet bus drivers will have a consistent bus lane from SE 80th Avenue past SE 90th Avenue, with motorists having right-turn-only access to that bus lane at intersections. PBOT will enhance the crossings of SE Washington and Stark Streets at SE 84th Avenue for north-south traveling pedestrians. The Stark crossing will receive a mid-road crossing refuge island similar in design to the island two blocks to the east at SE 86th Avenue. On SE Washington Street, new corners will offer Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliant curb ramps, curb extensions on the north side will shorten the crossing distance, and high visitability crosswalks will signal drivers to yield for pedestrians.
The Jade and Montavilla Multimodal Improvements Project also addresses underdeveloped infrastructure between SE Division Street and SE Powell Boulevard near SE 82nd Avenue. Together, the collection of enhancements costs $9,094,000 but should not impact general fund shortfalls expected in Portland’s budget for the next fiscal year, which starts in July. Money for these improvements comes from $3,200,000 in Federal funds, with an additional $4,900,000 from the 2021 American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) allocations. PBOT will source the remaining $994,000 from System Development Charges (SDCs) paid by developers. This work should significantly improve biking and pedestrian access through the center of Montavilla while better connecting the surrounding neighborhoods. PBOT expects construction to break ground in spring 2025.
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