Boones Ferry / Stephenson Intersection

The Arnold Creek Neighborhood Association’s efforts in advocating for safety improvements to the Boones Ferry/Stephenson intersection have resulted in funding of $1.2 million from the Portland Bureau of Transportation. The neighborhood must use-it-or-lose-it by June 2012. A vote was taken at the May 8, 2012 Arnold Creek Neighborhood Association meeting to move forward with proposed improvements or surrender funding.
 
May 8 vote results: Should Arnold Creek move forward with proposed improvements?
"YES" (92)
"NO" (6)
UNDECIDED (1)
 
Read the Stakeholder Advisory Committee Recommendation
 
Exhibit A: BoonesFerry-Stephenson Design Concept
Exhibit B: SW Stephenson - Boones Ferry SAC Meeting Summaries
 

Current Proposal - Intersection Realignment

Highlights of the proposal:

• Realign intersection further south on SW Boones Ferry to improve sight lines and make it safer for vehicles turning off of Stephenson Street. Right-of-way acquisition would be required for this new alignment and to improve sight lines along Boones Ferry Road. The east end of Stephenson Court would be redesigned to make a new right-angle connection with Stephenson Street. Right-of-way acquisition would be required on the SW corner of Stephenson Court to accommodate large vehicle turning movements onto/off of Stephenson Court as part of this new design.
• A left turn pocket would be added to accommodate vehicles on Boones Ferry turning left onto Stephenson (as well as vehicles turning left onto Boones Ferry from Stephenson). Drivers would use this turn pocket if and when volumes are high and are unable to turn directly into the travel lane.
• Stephenson Street would have stop sign with both left and right turn lanes onto Boones Ferry and space for future bike lane. Striping small segment of bike lane at this intersection may also be possible.
• A Tri-met bus pad on the west side of Boones Ferry south of new intersection. Possibly one on the east side of Boones Ferry also.
• Sidewalks on south side of Stephenson to Boones Ferry on new part and on west side of Boones Ferry to connect to existing sidewalk south of intersection.
• City staff have also identified the need to fix the pavement design on Boones Ferry to improve sight lines and fix the horizontal curve of the road. This will help drivers to see the curvature of the road and help prevent the type of "run off the road" accidents that are occurring today. The proposal provides for the safety of traffic at current speeds.

 
Neighbors voiced their opinions in an online survey before the May 8th meeting.
View survey results.
 

Summary of options considered not acceptable

• Stop Light: Increased possibility of rear-end collisions and low volume of cars entering Boones Ferry from Stephenson.
• Roundabout: Cost ($2.5 million). There is not sufficient community engagement or support for a Local Improvement District (LID) tax on local residents to raise the additional $1.3 million needed.
• Speed Bumps: Boones Ferry is designated a “collector road,” accommodating high-speed emergency vehicles. Speed bumps would slow these vehicles and they are also noisy.
• Cut-Through Road: Adding a road on city-owned property between homes on Stephenson for traffic turning right from Stephenson onto Boones Ferry would not improve safety for cars turning left onto Boones Ferry.
• Rumble Strips: These are not used for speed control and are very noisy.
• Lower Speed Limit: The speed for Boones Ferry is set by the Oregon Department of Transportation and is designed to maximize the flow of traffic. The current accident statistics are not high enough to allow for a local override of these rules, as was the case with Arnold Street.

Background

The Arnold Creek Neighborhood Association advocates for enforcement of building codes and has submitted testimony to object when developers request sidewalk waivers. As a result, developers have been required to contribute money to an intersection improvement fund if they are given a sidewalk waiver. System development charges (SDC’s) collected by the city have also been added to the fund.
 
In 2004, the owner of land at 11850 SW Boones Ferry Road, just south of the intersection initiated the process of subdividing the site and adding a new street entrance to Boones Ferry. The Arnold Creek Neighborhood Association submitted written objection and made a recommendation to the city that the intersection be improved before allowing the development to move forward. Portland City Council denied the appeal of the Arnold Creek Neighborhood Association. The Tryon Creek Estates subdivision calls for 8 lots with a private dead end street just south of the intersection.
 
In 2009, an electronic speed sign was installed at the intersection of SW Boones Ferry Road and SW Stephenson Street at the request of the Arnold Creek Neighborhood Association in hopes of slowing traffic. Additionally, the City of Portland hired a consulting group that submitted three proposals to improve the intersection:

• Traffic Signal Concept 4-way, leaving intersection in current location and including Stephenson Court
• Traffic Signal Concept 4-way, moving intersection south, adding planned Tryon Creek Estates subdivision entrance east of Boones Ferry, removing Stephenson Court
• Roundabout Concept, moving intersection south with entrances from SW Boones Ferry Road, Stephenson Street and planned subdivision, removing SW Stephenson Court

The cost estimate was approximately $1.5 million. At the time, there was only $750,000 in the intersection fund.
 
At the April 2011 ACNA meeting, the Intersection Realignment proposal was presented by Portland Bureau of Transportation, costing $1.2 million, fully funded by the intersection fund. It is the proposal that will be voted on at the May meeting (see above for details).
 
In June 2011, the city presented two new roundabout designs; one at the current location and one moving the intersection south. The roundabout previously proposed was less expensive but did not include required construction costs of water line relocation and fixing vertical alignment (lowering of road 2 vertical feet). A comparison of the realignment design presented at the April meeting to an updated roundabout proposal included the following:

• Both improve sight distance.
• Both reduce run-off and road accidents.
• Both have pedestrian improvements (sidewalks and painted crosswalks, bus pads). Realignment would 
allow for higher speed traffic on Boones Ferry. Round about is problematic for vision impaired.
• Both provide bicycle infrastructure.
• There could be traffic delays on Boones Ferry with a roundabout.
• Total right-of-way land acquisition is approximately the same. Roundabout takes land from 7 parcels; 
realignment takes land from 2 parcels (one major).
• Estimated costs are $1.2 million for realignment and $2.5 million for roundabout.
• The realignment would allow for future stop light installation when traffic volume increases.

A Local Improvement District (LID) was suggested as a way to secure the additional $1.3 million needed for a roundabout; a group of property owners would share the cost. There was not neighborhood support for this option.
 

Stephenson Street Drainage

The Fanno and Tryon Creeks Watershed Management Plan (BES, 2005) identified roadside ditch improvements as an important management tool to help protect southwest streams, improve roadside drainage, and address recurring maintenance problems. Starting in 2001, the City's Bureau of Environmental Services improved roadside ditches to address specific drainage problems. Ditches that are deep and/or have recurring drainage problems are good candidates for drainage improvements. Existing ditches are converted to swales by installing perforated pipe and filling the trench with drain rock. The surface is completed with either soil planted with vegitation or drain rock.
 
The Fanno and Tryon Creeks Watershed Quality and TMDL CIP Pre-design Report (BES, 2008) identified potential roadside ditches for improvements along SW Hamilton, SW Stephenson, Garden Home Road and some other local streets. These ditches were identified in collaboration with the City's Bureau of Transportation and community representatives. Recently, work along SW Garden Home Road has been completed.
 
View the SW Stephenson Drainage and Road Shoulder Improvements plans (2-page PDF)
 
Existing road shoulders will be preserved and enhanced where possible to allow for improved pedestrian use.

Major Benefits

The drainage improvements help filter pollutants and reduce peak flows, helping to protect stream channels. They also improve roadside drainage and may reduce maintenance needs.

Timeline

The city plans to construct the SW Stephenson and SW Hamilton projects through December 2012.

Contact

For more information contact: Jennifer Devlin (503) 823-6182
jennifer.devlin@portlandoregon.gov