In late April, cement masons began construction on new Sidewalks and street paving along SE Clinton Street, fulfilling longstanding community requests expressed during a public engagement process that began in 2016. This project will add new sidewalks on SE Clinton Street from SE 84th to 87th Avenues, with roadcrews converting the existing gravel road to a modern street surface from SE 84th Place to 87th Avenue. Crews will also create sidewalks from SE Division Street to SE Powell Boulevard along SE 85th Avenue, with roadway repaving between SE Clinton and Brooklyn Streets.
In late March, crews working with the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) began preparing sections of the Jade District for the Jade and Montavilla Multimodal Improvements Project, which will improve access along SE 85th Avenue and SE Clinton Street for all road users in the area and give people traveling outside a car the calmer parallel path to 82nd Avenue that residents have requested for years. In November 2019, the City of Portland’s Bureau of Planning and Sustainability released the Building Healthy Connected Communities Along Division Transit report that the City Council adopted in December 2019. Most sidewalks in the project area will receive updated Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant curb ramps, letting all pedestrian users navigate the area mostly separated from car traffic.
This project will also add new sidewalks to the Jade District west of 82nd Avenue on SE Tibbetts Street. That work will provide sidewalk infill where some blocks lack consistent pedestrian pavement down to SE 78th Avenue. Road crews will also repave SE Tibbetts Street from SE 78th to 80th Avenues. North of the Jade District, PBOT plans to create bike lanes on SE Thorburn Street and remove a travel lane in each direction. That work will also create a bike lane on SE Washington Street 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.
Almost a decade ago, the City identified the importance of better pedestrian and cyclist infrastructure in Montavilla and the Jade District. This multimodal improvement project demonstrates the impact of community participation in city infrastructure planning efforts and highlights the time it takes to develop actionable plans with adequate funding. Together, the collection of enhancements costs $9,094,000 but should not impact general fund shortfalls 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 paid by developers. This work should significantly improve access within two critical commercial centers and add to general safety for those traveling outside a car. Look for construction in Jade and Montavilla Multimodal Improvements Project zones to continue through 2025.
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