Recently, crews and cement masons completed construction on new sidewalks and street paving along SE Clinton Street, converting the existing gravel road to a modern street surface from SE 84th Place to 87th Avenue. This project adds wide sidewalks on SE Clinton Street from SE 84th to 87th Avenues, completing a pedestrian connection from the commercial resources on SE 82nd Avenue to the residential streets east. The updated street design features a planting strip with space for small street trees or other greenery.
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. This work includes improving connector routes like SE Clinton Street from the safer parallel infrastructure to the commercial district. In November 2019, the City of Portland’s Bureau of Planning and Sustainability released the Building Healthy Connected Communities Along Division Transit report, which the City Council adopted in December 2019. Most sidewalks in the project area will receive updated Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant curb ramps, allowing all pedestrians to 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. 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 the City’s general fund. 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 of a car. Look for construction in Jade and Montavilla Multimodal Improvements Project zones to continue through 2025.
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