Central Milwaukie Bikeway Connection Project

Consultation has concluded

Welcome to the Central Milwaukie Bikeway Connection Community Project Page!


PROJECT BACKGROUND


The Central Milwaukie Land Use and Transportation Plan, adopted in 2015, identified a neighborhood greenway route (that is, a route calm and safe enough for pedestrians and bicyclists of all abilities) connecting the 29th Avenue Neighborhood Greenway to the north with the Monroe Street Greenway to the south. The concept involved three opportunity sites in the central Milwaukie area: the Murphy site, McFarland site, and Clackamas County Housing Authority’s Hillside Manor.


In late 2019, the City applied and received funding through the Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development (DLCD) Transportation and Growth Management (TGM) Quick Response program to develop a revised concept plan for the bikeway connection. Alta Planning + Design was selected to work on the project, which officially kicked off in August 2020.


The goal is to identify route options and develop planning-level estimates on how much it will cost to build each option. The approach includes discussions with key stakeholders as well as engagement with the public in this community open house to review and discuss the conceptual designs. The final product will be a report that presents a preferred design, to be reviewed by the Planning Commission and adopted by the City Council as an ancillary document to the city’s Transportation System Plan (TSP).

POTENTIAL ROUTE OPTIONS


The three potential bicycle route options illustrated in the following maps travel through Central Milwaukie between the 29th Avenue greenway to the north and the Monroe Street greenway to the south. The survey will include Individual route maps with specific details and design considerations.


*Note that all three route options run through the Hillside development. The future bicycle route will align with the future street design of the Hillside development when it redevelops.*



Welcome to the Central Milwaukie Bikeway Connection Community Project Page!


PROJECT BACKGROUND


The Central Milwaukie Land Use and Transportation Plan, adopted in 2015, identified a neighborhood greenway route (that is, a route calm and safe enough for pedestrians and bicyclists of all abilities) connecting the 29th Avenue Neighborhood Greenway to the north with the Monroe Street Greenway to the south. The concept involved three opportunity sites in the central Milwaukie area: the Murphy site, McFarland site, and Clackamas County Housing Authority’s Hillside Manor.


In late 2019, the City applied and received funding through the Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development (DLCD) Transportation and Growth Management (TGM) Quick Response program to develop a revised concept plan for the bikeway connection. Alta Planning + Design was selected to work on the project, which officially kicked off in August 2020.


The goal is to identify route options and develop planning-level estimates on how much it will cost to build each option. The approach includes discussions with key stakeholders as well as engagement with the public in this community open house to review and discuss the conceptual designs. The final product will be a report that presents a preferred design, to be reviewed by the Planning Commission and adopted by the City Council as an ancillary document to the city’s Transportation System Plan (TSP).

POTENTIAL ROUTE OPTIONS


The three potential bicycle route options illustrated in the following maps travel through Central Milwaukie between the 29th Avenue greenway to the north and the Monroe Street greenway to the south. The survey will include Individual route maps with specific details and design considerations.


*Note that all three route options run through the Hillside development. The future bicycle route will align with the future street design of the Hillside development when it redevelops.*



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  • Proposed Route Discussion

    about 3 years ago
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    BRIEF BACKGROUND

    The purpose of the CMBC project is to identify a safe and comfortable bicycle connection through Central Milwaukie that is both feasible in the near-term and cost-effective. The bikeway will link the 29th Ave Neighborhood Greenway at the north end of the area with the planned Monroe St Neighborhood Greenway to the south and east. 

    There is a strong need for a safe bicycle connection through Central Milwaukie. The project area serves as a commercial hub and is a crossroads for several neighborhoods. Furthermore, Central Milwaukie is the gateway between surrounding neighborhoods and the transit hubs located Downtown, including the Milwaukie Transit Center and the Milwaukie/Main St MAX Station, as well as other regional connections such as the future North Clackamas Greenway.

    WHAT WE HEARD

    Stakeholders

    Throughout the project, city staff and the project consultants have been holding meetings with identified stakeholders. Those stakeholders include property owners/business owners in the project area, Bike Milwaukie (a bicycle advocacy group), and Providence Hospital. 

    Major priorities of the stakeholders:

    • Designing a route that aligns with the development plans and timelines of adjacent properties.
    • Does not interrupt traffic circulation and business practices at and around the intersection of 32nd Ave and Harrison St.
    • Provides a safe, comfortable, and practical route for cyclists.

    The majority of stakeholders indicated a preference for Route Option 2. Reasons for this preference included:

    • Route Option 2 aligns well with adjacent development plans
    • Minimizes traffic circulation impacts and modal conflict
    • Provides ease of access to destinations in the project area 
    • Likelihood of it having the lowest overall cost, and that it can be implemented in the near-term without being subject to the development schedules of the Murphy development site.

    Community Survey

    In the beginning of January 2021 the project team issued an online open house, survey, and a virtual open house to discuss the three proposed bicycle route options through Central Milwaukie. Those three routes are on the map below. 

    The survey asked the Milwaukie community what their preferences were between the three routes, what they like best, what they liked least, and why. Below is a brief summary of those survey results: 

    • Base Option* - most preferred route from survey participants
    • Route Option 2 - 2nd most preferred route
    • Route Option 1 - least preferred route

    Survey comments are generalized and summarized on the likes and dislikes of each route below:

    * Base Option is the original bicycle path idea that is currently in the Transportation System Plan (TSP)

    A full summary report of the survey results can be found HERE. 

    TECHNICAL ANALYSIS 

    Alta Planning + Design, the technical consultants for this project, completed a technical analysis on the three routes. Part of their technical analysis included a rating system (see below), an alternative analysis, and cost estimates. 

    The full technical report by the project consultants can be found HERE. 

    PREFERRED OPTION

    The project consultants have recommended a preferred option based on their technical analysis, stakeholder interviews, and the survey responses. Their recommendation is Route Option 2. See a map of the preferred route below. 

    DISCUSSION AND NEXT STEPS

    Please put your thoughts and comments below about the recommended preferred route. If you have questions, put those in below as well. City staff will respond to any questions below. We want to hear your feedback on this! Feel free to respond to any comments below and start discussions with your Milwaukie neighbors! The discussion board will be open until Sunday, March 14th!You will need to be signed in or register to provide feedback. Why do you need to register? Click HERE for details.  

    Want to read the whole technical report? Click HERE to read the report and continue to use the discussion board below with questions and comments! 

    Next Steps

    The recommended preferred route will go before Planning Commission and City Council:

    • Planning Commission on March 23rd and City Council on April 6th 
    • TENTATIVE public hearing and adoption at City Council on May 4th 

    We will be providing updates on when the City Council public hearings for possible adoption will take place and how you can submit testimony. In the meantime, contact the Project Manager, Brett Kelver, for questions on the upcoming meetings at Planning Commission and City Council meetings or any general project questions at KelverB@milwaukieoregon.gov or 503-786-7657.