Reporting from Gresham
Leaders and advocates from east Multnomah County finally agreed on a transportation improvement package on Wednesday, but still have details to hammer out on what to do with unused right of way.
The steering committee for the East Metro Connections Plan unanimously approved the package, designed to improve transportation in Multnomah County east of the Portland city limits. But committee members, particularly those representing the four east Multnomah County cities of Troutdale, Gresham, Fairview and Wood Village, haven't quite figured out what to do with publicly-owned land near the Edgefield resort.
The land, owned by Multnomah County, was preserved for a possible express route connecting U.S. 26 and Interstate 84. That option, and several downgraded versions of it, were rejected by the committee after extensive negotiations between Gresham, Wood Village and Metro.
The Reynolds School District and McMenamins Inc. have been eyeing the corridor, which cuts through the Edgefield golf course. Gresham Mayor Shane Bemis said he was comfortable giving it up as a potential highway – once the compromise solution of upgrading 238th Avenue is complete.
"The last thing I want to happen is to have the right of way go away, then for this to get hung up or waylaid, and then we have lost what I think is a significant piece in that right of way," he said.
On the other side of that, Troutdale Mayor Jim Kight and Wood Village Mayor Patricia Smith argued that the land should be sold off first, before construction begins on the 238th upgrade.
"I do not want one without the other," Smith said. "Unless we get the right of way (sold), it's a no-go on the road (238th). I want a guarantee."
The 238th proposal, which was estimated to cost between $5 million and $9 million, would widen that road up a steep hill between Halsey and Glisan streets to three lanes, all of which would be wide enough for truck traffic. It would also include 10 foot wide bicycle/pedestrian paths on either side of the road.
Given the alternative – a $40 million, 5-lane road through McMenamin's that included a quarter-mile-long viaduct – committee members seemed ready to take on the bite-sized answer. The cities agreed to continue discussing the ultimate fate of the right of way, with Metro Council President Tom Hughes suggesting the parties enter into a legal agreement on the land.
But Troutdale Mayor Jim Kight didn't want to wait. "Putting a McMenamins project on freeze for the next five to 10 years, while we wait to get funding (for 238th), is absolutely nuts," he said. "We want to get this property back on the tax rolls in Troutdale."
The upgrades to 238th are only part of the East Metro Connections Plan. The approved slate of projects includes upgrades to 181st, 182nd, 223rd, 242nd and 257th avenues, plus trails and business development projects designed to keep jobs in the area and reduce the volume of commuters traveling long distances.
Discussions on improving traffic and transportation in the area have lagged for decades, and it wasn't until recently that the cities and stakeholders were able to let go of a vision of a freeway connecting Interstate 84 and U.S. 26, and focus on smaller projects that, they hope, will solve the area's traffic problems.
"This has been an emotional issue for a long time in east Multnomah County," Bemis said. "I think we were able to… get to a solution that will work – with two caveats."
The second was his condition on the right of way. The first?
"All of the mayors have to agree to a bicycle race down the hill."