Road crews recently formed the base layer of Portland’s newest roadway as part of a Gateway District street improvement project, adding one block of NE Couch Street between NE 97th and NE 99th Avenues. Contractors recently opened two blocks of NE Davis Street between NE 97th and NE 100th Avenues, built during the first phase of this Local Improvement District (LID) construction that has created an urban-scale street grid, sidewalks, and other roadway amenities. The LID makes way for expected redevelopment in this area at an urban scale. The new segment of NE Davis Street is now fully open to through traffic and pedestrians, but concrete blocks prevent curbside parking along the road fronted by mostly underdeveloped lots.
Workers have already completed the reconstruction of NE 97th Avenue from East Burnside Street to the new NE Davis Street segment, which has changed the appearance and function of the formerly curbless road. Portland engineers have long planned to vacate stub sections of NE Couch and Davis Streets west of NE 97th Avenue, which were rendered useless due to Interstate-205’s construction blocking meaningful street-grid connections on that side of the street. The west side of the street features curb ramps for crossing to sidewalk corners at the new eastward NE Couch and Davis Streets.
Demolition crews removed a steel building that was part of the International Collision Repair property at 9817 E Burnside Street to create this new segment of NE Couch Street. The Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) bought a portion of the land under the building for this improvement project. Contractors working with PBOT will continue to install new sidewalk corners featuring Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliant curb ramps and street lighting in the LID area, while including space for street trees, making for a safer and more useful area for all Portlanders.
Although these new roads add to the viability of future density in the Gateway District, those redevelopment projects are years away from breaking ground. Substantial private development in this area has not materialized like City planners expected when they dramatically upzoned lots to support downtown-scale buildings in this District. Additionally, the recent announcements that the owners of Gateway Shopping Center listed the 24-acre retail complex for sale, and Fred Meyer’s decision to close its anchor grocery store at that location, are adding to community concerns that positive change in the Gateway District is a decade away.
The streets in the District are already frequented by houseless people camping adjacent to empty lots or near the sparse single-family houses in the LID. The concrete blocks preventing curbside parking dissuade some people from settling in the area. Still, the relatively inactive streets naturally attract people without shelter looking for a temporary place to sleep. The new streets should help people driving and biking navigate the area. However, redevelopment within these new blocks will likely need to wait for the right investor to see promise in the Gateway District.
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