Last night I attended the community meeting on the expansion of Kane Road between Division and Powell. This remaining portion is the only part of Kane that has not been widened to reflect the fact that it is a major north-south arterial through the city.
Since I live at the corner of Kane and 23rd, and the project lies immediately to the south of our neighborhood's border, I felt it was important that I attend this meeting and learn as much as I can about the city's plans.
Jeff Shelley, a civil engineer II with the city's Transportation Division, went over what why Kane needed to be improved, what we know about Kane, how Kane could be improved, and what the city needs from the community.
Why improve Kane?
Kane serves as one of the city's main north-south arterials, connecting I-84 with the city. Also, it is regularly used as the route to Mt. Hood and Central Oregon. Its importance to the area is so heavily recognized that both the city and the state have earmarked funds for its improvement, and Metro has it listed on its transportation plan.
The portion of Kane Road between Division and Powell narrows from five lanes (two north, two south, and a median turn lane) to just two. Much of the area has no sidewalks or bike lanes, which makes pedestrian and bicycle traffic through the area extremely dangerous.
When one resident pointed out that she only sees one bike go through the area a day, numerous residents pointed out that walking or biking through the area could get you killed.
As Kane Road heads south towards 1st Street, it goes around a few curves which have limited sight distance and are sharper than the city's standard. This is not only dangerous for pedestrians and bikes who may not be seen by vehicles coming around the curve, but also increases the likelihood of rear-end accidents from vehicles which come around the curve only to find a large queue of cars.
With much of the area having no shoulders, school bus and TriMet service is difficult in the area. Kids often times have to walk a distance down this dangerous road to get to a bus stop. TriMet buses have to stop in the through lanes, causing traffic to back up.
Storm drainage in the area is almost non-existent. During rain storms, sediment will often run off of people's property, into the road, drainage ditches, and Kelly Creek. Storm drainage in the area needs to be improved, the crossing over Kelly Creek changed, and the Creek itself cleaned up.
"Storm drainage" along Kane Road.
City of Gresham web site
Also, access to the fire station and park need to be improved. The fire station on Kane Road is extremely busy, and access in and out of the station can be difficult, even with the light. Just the other night I was almost rear-ended by a vehicle when I stopped because the fire truck was coming out of the station with lights and sirens blaring. Even though they were going in the opposite direction as I was (and therefore the light stayed green), they still need the room to be able to turn quickly onto Kane from the station.
What do we know about Kane?
A traffic study in 2004 showed the following traffic counts per day:
Kane Road between Division and 1st (approx. 0.5 miles): 11,908
Kane Road between 1st and Powell (approx 0.4 miles): 14,875
Division between Hogan and Kane (approx 0.7 miles): 20,313
Powell from Hwy 26 to Kane (approx 0.4 miles): 11,399
When they looked at the traffic numbers throughout the day at intersections in this area, they found some deficiencies. In order to make Kane Road stay within standards until 2026, the numbers showed that a 5-lane roadway on Kane was needed.
Accident rate in this area for 2003, 2004, 2005:
38% of carshes occurred within 200’ of Division—78 crashes per million (0.78 MEV)
24% at powell valley for 70 per million (0.7 MEV)
16% se 1st for 60 per million (0.6 MEV)
44% are rear-end – could be reduced by adding turn lanes, increasing capacity and improving sight distance
35% are related to turning vehicles – could be reduced by constructing turn lanes and protected left turning at intersections
Total number of crashes: 110 crashes, no fatalities, only one pedestrian/vehicle accident
This area is still within acceptable standards. When MEV rates exceed 1, it is an indication to take a closer look at the intersection.
The good news is that they’re common intersection crashes, which would be reduced by increasing capacity and turn lanes.
How to improve Kane?
In the city of Gresham, arterials are usually 100' in width, which includes a planted median (with breaks for left turns), planter strips between the road and the sidewalk, sidewalks, bike lanes, and two travel lanes in each way.
City staff laid out 100' in width along Kane Road and found that it would create a significant impact to the neighborhood and the creek. As such, they began looking at a way to lessen the impact.
They found that the smallest area they could possibly fit five lanes of traffic into was 83' in width. This slimmed down version would have a narrowed turn lane and no planter strips between the roadway and sidewalk.
The Kane Road right-of-way at its widest point along this section is only 90'. The widths vary along the portion of the road. As such, some right-of-ways along the section may need to be purchased.
The city prefers the 100' widths, as it allows for ample vehicle capacity with a turn lane and allows for a "street scape." Also, it maintains local livibility be separating vehicles from pedestrians.
The 83' width is the minimum the city feels is needed and can accomodate the capacity of the roadway. It limits the impact on local neighborhoods, natural resource areas, and the creek. It provides for adequate vehicle capacity and meets ADA standards and bike lane requirements. The 83' width also improves safety and access for all users.
Will 83' fit? As mentioned earlier, at its widest, the ROW for the road is 90'. This means the city may need to purchase narrow swaths of right-of-way throughout the project to:
- accomodate widening
- placement of retaining structures
- utility placement
If ROW is needed on a resident's property, an independent ROW specialist will be contacting you individually in the coming months.
Some people have expressed concern about "cut and fill" in the area. Shelley said that it would likely have to be used in the curves area to allow for the road to be widened. Both the areas cut into the hill and the areas filled in near the creek would be stabalized with retaining walls in such a way to limit impact to the area.
What the city needs from us
Since this project is still in the planning phase, the city is looking for input from local residents. Specifically, they'd like answers to these questions:
- Do you agree than an 83' width is right for Kane?
- Would Kane residents prefer to see plated medians where their impact to access is limited?
- Would residents like trees or other plantings behnd the walk on Kane after it is improved?
By mid-2008,the city expects to have planning for the project 90% finished, including a cross section of what the road would look like, what right-of-way would be needed, the extent and type of retaining structures, if plantings are used where they would go, limitations due to the natural resource area, and any additional utility needs.
Construction is planned to begin in July 2009, with completion of the project a year later.
Discussion and my thoughts on the project
Once Mr. Shelley finished his presentation, there were several questions from the meeting's attendees.
One question concered 1st Street and its lack of sidewalks and bike lanes. Shelley said that right now, there is only $7.6 million in funding available for the project, but current estimates put the cost at $8.6 million. 1st Street is indeed a priority for the city, and if enough funds are availabl, they would look at improvements to it once Kane was completed. This is especially important with the high level of vehicle, pedestrian, and bike traffic to Winco and Fred Meyer.
Of course the big question was regarding what would happen with traffic during the construction. This is a huge issue to me, since many of the roads that would be used as detours either border or cut through my neighborhood.
Shelley expained there are basically two options. The first would be to limit acces to the road, doing portions of the road at a time. This would take longer, but would decrease the amount of detours to be done. The second option would be to close it completely, which would get the road done faster. However, this would mean the most impact on the surrounding neighborhoods. Plus there's always the question of how to lessen the impact on Fire Station #72, which is just north of the curves on Kane.
How to handle construction and the detours it will cause is something the city is still looking into. With the three most likely detours from Kane onto Hogan being Division, 23rd, and Stark, this affects my neighborhood greatly. Much of the traffic will end up diverted onto Hogan, which is the western border of our neighborhood (Stark is the northern border and Division the southern border). With two parks, an elementary school, a hospital, Mt. Hood Community College, and multiple apartment complexes in the area, pedestrian traffic is high in the area. I am very concerned about traffic cutting down 23rd to avoid congestion that already plagues Stark and Division. With Hall Elementary and Hall Park along 23rd, the impact on pedestrian traffic (especially young children) worries me. This is a topic I'm going to be keeping a close eye on.
Additional Information
The city's web page on the Kane Road Project can be found here.
You can also read various documents on the project, including the powerpoint presentation Shelley used at the meeting, here:
Kane Road Project Background
Kane Road Fact Sheet
FAQ Right-of-Way
Kane Road Widths/ 83 to 100-feet
Design-A-Road Challenge
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