Metro Councilors voted unanimously Thursday to approve changes to the region's transportation plan, setting the stage for road, trail and bike projects from Troutdale to Tualatin to Hillsboro.
The changes to the Regional Transportation Plan were part of out-of-cycle requests made by governments around the region, mainly because of availability of funding or a change in on-the-ground realities.
Projects included improvements to 238th Avenue in Fairview, a widening of Cornelius Pass Road and Brookwood Parkway in Hillsboro, the Williams Avenue Traffic Operations Safety Project in Portland and extension of exit-only lanes, formally called auxiliary lanes, on interstates 5 and 205.
The Joint Policy Advisory Committee on Transportation unanimously approved the amendments earlier this month.
The Hillsboro projects and the freeway projects initially attracted some opposition from Metro Councilor Bob Stacey, who wondered whether the plans strayed from the region's vision for how wide roads should be.
But Hillsboro staff "did a thorough job addressing the RTP's criteria for exceeding the five-lane arterial standard in the regional transportation plan," Stacey said.
As for the auxiliary lanes on the freeways, one of which would be two miles long, Stacey said the next Regional Transportation Plan review cycle, set for next year, is the right time to address when an auxiliary lane becomes a through lane through repeated extensions.
As for the other projects, Multnomah County Commissioner Diane McKeel came to testify in favor of the 238th Avenue project, part of the East Metro Connections Plan that was approved in 2012.
"Your action today will be a great milestone to have regional policy reflect the community's decision," McKeel said. "We've been working on this question for more than 20 years, and now the East County can move forward in pursuit of the economic development opportunities, as well as freight, safety and mobility improvements on Northeast 238th."