By REBECCA HANSEN-WHITE/KLCC News
The city of Newport is hoping to revitalize its city center over the next several years.
“Newport’s city center needs help,” says a consultant’s report about the project on the city’s website. “Many storefronts are vacant, and buildings are aging or in poor condition. Plus, summer traffic on U.S. 101 and U.S. 20 makes it challenging for locals and visitors alike to enjoy the area to its fullest potential. There is also an increasing need to add more affordable housing in the area.”
One idea on the table involves a complete overhaul of U.S. Highway 101, which currently splits the city as a four-lane thoroughfare making it hazardous for pedestrians, unfriendly to cyclists and pushing people through town instead of stopping at businesses.
City leaders say they want a more walkable core, more housing and to revitalize the Highway 101 business district, which has vacant storefronts.
A potential solution, suggested by a group of consultants the city hired to study the issue, is to turn Highway 101 into a couplet. That proposal would move northbound traffic to the parallel Southwest Ninth Street, while keeping southbound traffic on its current alignment.
Planning director Derrick Tokos told the city council last month that Newport has urban renewal funds set aside, but getting essential state support, planning, and then construction could take six to 10 years.
“The expectation here is not only would we be re-working the streetscape, and in terms of sidewalks and bike lanes, we would be redoing the entire roadway surface,” Tokos said. “We would be looking at our underlying water and wastewater lines and upgrading those along the way. It’s a big project.”
Splitting traffic into two roads would allow the city to add more bike infrastructure, street trees and other pedestrian-centric improvements.
If the city council decides it doesn’t want to split Highway 101 into a couplet, it could make more modest improvements to improve safety and allow more housing to be built.
The city is also looking at the area around U.S. Highway 20 for possible reinvestment in hopes of transforming it into a “ocean view gateway” corridor into the community.
Improvements to either highway would also be accompanied with other efforts to revitalize the city’s core, including zoning updates to encourage housing development and improvements to public spaces.
Newport has a committee studying the issue, and is taking public feedback for the next several months, with the next public event likely scheduled for February.
I think Highways 101 and 20 should be left alone. The neighboring area is tired of the traffic being rerouted through their areas. Traffic seems to fly down the back streets to avoid the main intersections.
The closing of the street behind city hall and the recreation center is a perfect example. The city moved all the traffic onto 10th street. Now this area is not safe for pedestrians.
What happen to routing the traffic from Highway 20 to Northeast Harney (going north) and connecting to agate beach area and bypassing Newport altogether?
And they messed with the timing of the light at the intersection of HIghways 101 and 20. During peak traffic times it becomes backed up past the library going east and the westbound traffic has way more time on Olive Street. It should be equal times for the left turn lane, then the same for thru traffic crossing the intersection.
This problem is more complex than creating bike routes and alternate roadways can solve. 101 Is after all an important north south corridor that will not take kindly to major “improvements” if those improvements interfere with traffic flow. The main problem with the 101 section from Alder to Angle, is the deteriorated state of the many of the buildings on either side with a few exceptions. Maybe some grants can be found to remodel at least the worst store fronts, fund local artists to paint window size murals, something like that. Some improvements are happening in this section, a section that needs major focus.
That part of town has struggled for years, it was doing ok during the late 80’s, downhill from there on. Unless alot more lights are added (to slow traffic, & make 101 easier to cross where pedestrians want to cross) it will remain just a way to get through town.
20 goes through downtown Corvallis, there are lights on almost every block, w/pedestrian signals, and people drive more slowly. I think the police actually ticket people for speeding from time to time. If you’re just trying to get through town, it may be annoying, but it makes the downtown feel safer & a more pleasant place to be for pedestrians. People do sometimes speed on Harrison (going west) but again, there are more traffic lights NW Harrison (& Van Buren) then there are on 101 and a much greater effort to make that part of town walkable & cyclable, the sidewalk network is much more extensive & better maintained, and more trees, landscaping.
I don’t see that more traffic lights are planned, so people will continue to speed. I’ve seen people using the current parking lots behind City Hall & between the Rec & Sr. centers as a ‘short cut’ to reach rather then taking 10th. The landscaping shown on map is unlikely to happen.
The area that will be redone is already kind of a mess in terms of driving or walking , I don’t see the “couplet” as improving it, either for pedestrians, drivers of PMV or people taking the bus–right now, the bus transit center is in front of City Hall, it seems as though the couplet might bus traffic/movement more difficult–but perhaps that’s not a concern for the city’s planners.
Years ago, there was talk (by the then city planner) of a north Newport bypass whose north end would be at or near NE 73rd. I believe it would’ve bypassed Newport altogether & terminated at 20 That’s the point of a bypass after all, to bypass densely built (particularly residential) areas. The current “bypass” takes drivers past or near 3 schools, the middle school, Sam Case & the highschool, plus going through a residential area (NW Eads) for several blocks. It does allow people to bypass part of 101, but a real bypass would run east of the middle school, Newport Heights, etc. A new light on 20 would be neeeded to enable safe & easy access to 20.
Ask some of the residents of Philomath how they feel about their couplet, and particularly how many drivers are substantially exceeding the speed limit going east as they drive through Philomath.
The city should focus on at least fixing the big creek bridge before doing any nonsense like this
Great. Divide Highway 101 in two so that more housing people and traffic can be installed? A better plan would be a new bridge upriver a bit heading to the airport with a northbound bypass as well. The time to deal with the bridge project is now, not after …
I feel one of the biggest challenges to revitalizing the store fronts on Highway 101 is twofold. Parking on 101 is a problem on both sides of the street to make shopping a challenge. Perhaps changing this to no parking will widen the lanes as well offer bike lanes. Placing strategic parking garages on side streets every few blocks allows for accessible parking. Then there is the revamping the old store fronts. Offerings low interest loans as well as lower taxes to incentive new businesses will help. Also covered awning the full length of the block so shoppers can stay dry between shops.
Would it be cheaper to build some pedestrian overpasses at a few key intersections? And leave the traffic pattern the way it is….. With upgrades to the buildings and neighborhood. I realize that is a highway, don’t know what kind of overpass would work for all the cars and trucks.
I fail to see how splitting 101 into a couplet would slow down traffic or make the area more attractive to tourists and other pedestrians. Plus putting half of 101 along 9th would likely kill the three or four restaurants there. And surround the Saturday farmers market with heavy traffic on both sides.
I do have a suggestion for a new tourist slogan for Newport’s US 101 corridor, namely, Not Quite as Ugly as Lincoln City!
Just remove parking in the “mirror removing” zone.