OREGON DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

LOCAL AGENCY DESIGN EXCEPTION REQUEST

Section: NE Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. – NE 14th Avenue County: Multnomah

Highway: NE Couch Street Key No: 14404

PROJECT DATA

Functional Classification: Major City Design Standard: AASHTO

Traffic Street
Current ADT (Year): Design ADT (Year): 39,500(2028) for
NE Couch Street: 2,800 E. Burnside Street and NE Couch Street
E. Burnside Street: 28,500 (2004) combined.
% Trucks: 2 % Posted Speed: none (now) Design Speed: 25 mph
20 mph (after project)
Current Estimate: Total project cost which includes work on E. Burnside Street is
$23,107,208
Additional Cost to Meet Standard: The additional cost to meet standard is estimated to
be approximately $10,000,000. The costs are largely due to the need to purchase or
modify up to eight buildings that are built up to the back of sidewalk. These building
include businesses, apartments and a motel. The cost to purchase these properties
and to relocate the occupants would make the project cost prohibitive. It should also be
noted that one of the buildings that would be impacted by the widening has been
recommended as a NRHP Eligible Resource, and it would require right-of-way purchase
from three other NRHP Eligible Resources. Impacts associated with the street widening
would need to be assessed on four other properties as well.

Design Exception Requested:

The curb to curb width of NE Couch Street from Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard to NE 14th
Avenue is 36 feet which does not meet AASHTO guidelines. The minimum AASHTO
recommended cross section for a Minor Arterial (which is similar to the City’s designation of
Major City Traffic Street) is 8-11-11-8, which equals 38 feet. The existing curb-to-curb
cross section is 36 feet with a centerline stripe at 18 feet serving two-way traffic with
undelineated parking on both sides of the roadway. A design exception for two – 7 foot
parking lanes rather than 8 foot parking lanes is requested. The proposed curb to curb
cross section would remain as it exists today with two - 11 foot travel lanes and two – 7 foot
parking lanes, however, rather than serving two-way traffic NE Couch Street will become
part of a one-way couplet serving westbound traffic with E. Burnside Street serving
eastbound traffic.

Location of Design Feature:

The design features location is on NE Couch Street from Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard
to NE. 14th Avenue, Portland. NE Couch Street in this area will be converted from a two-
 way traffic street to the westbound portion of a one-way couplet with E. Burnside Street
serving eastbound traffic. Below are several pictures of the project areas.

9th Ave

Couch

NE Couch Street at 9th Avenue, looking North

10th Ave

Couch

NE Couch Street at 10th Avenue, looking South

Couch

11th Ave

NE Couch Street and NE 11th Avenue looking west

NE Couch Street looking west near NE 10th Avenue

Accident History & Potential (Specifically as it applies to requested exception)

With the conversion of NE Couch Street to a one-way couplet with E. Burnside Street, it is
anticipated that the overall total number of crashes along E. Burnside Street and NE Couch
Street (from Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard to NE 14th Avenue) will decrease with the
couplet project when compared to the same streets under their current two-way
configuration. The expected decrease in the number of crashes can be attributed to the
fact that there will be fewer vehicle/vehicle and vehicle/pedestrian conflict points at each
intersection along the couplet when compared to the two-way operation. For example,
opposing left turns on NE Couch Street and E. Burnside Street will be eliminated. In
addition, E. Burnside Street will no longer have westbound traffic and NE Couch Street will
no longer have eastbound traffic that will conflict with side streets.

Of 282 accidents that occurred along E. Burnside Street and NE Couch Street from
January 1, 2000 to December 31, 2005 a total of 18 crashes (6 percent) involved left
turning vehicles crossing opposing lanes of traffic. These crash types will no longer be
present along the two facilities with one-way operation, because there will no longer be
opposing traffic to conflict with the left turning vehicles. Additionally, 118 (42 percent) of
the crashes were angle type crashes of vehicles from side streets colliding at an angle with
vehicles on E. Burnside Street and NE Couch Street or vice versa. These types of
accidents also have the potential of decreasing with the conversion to a one-way couplet
since motorists from side streets will only conflict with traffic traveling from one direction on
either E. Burnside Street or NE Couch Street and all intersections will be signalized, further
reducing the potential for angle type crashes.

The other 52 percent of crash types that occurred along the facility included turning
vehicles, head-on, fixed object, side-swipes, backing, parking, rear-ends, and ped/bikes.
These types of crashes are not anticipated to decrease based solely on the one-way
couplet conversion.
Reasons For Not Attaining Standard: (Such as Benefit/Cost, Accident History,
Environmental, Etc.)
This project is intended to create a place that feels comfortable and inviting to walk, work
and live by enhancing the pedestrian environment and vehicle access along the corridor.
Reducing the sidewalk width below the minimum outlined in adopted City Policy will
adversely affect this emerging business area. The new businesses and residential
development along NE Couch Street will greatly increase the land use density over the
next 10 year and this will require adequate sidewalk width to facilitate pedestrian access. In
addition to the pedestrian access to businesses and residential development the adequate
sidewalk width will be needed for transit use both bus and future streetcar. The pedestrian
environment is very important to the success of this close-in emerging neighborhood.
Other pedestrian enhancements include curb extensions to shorten pedestrian crossing
distance on NE Couch Street and E. Burnside Street. The project will improve vehicular
flow and circulation by converting the street from two-way to one-way and installing signals
at every intersection along the corridor.

The entire existing street cross section is constrained which limits the ability to meet
AASHTO guidelines. The existing sidewalk and planting strip width is 12 feet, which is the
minimum width recommended by the City for this street classification of City Walkway and
Major Transit Priority. If the sidewalk width is reduced to less than 12 feet it would be in
conflict with the City policy and designation of the roadway in the Pedestrian Master Plan
and the Transportation System Plan. Both of these designations emphasize the importance
of the pedestrian facilities.

Widening the street to accommodated 8 foot wide parking rather than 7 foot parking is cost
prohibitive and would have adverse affects on several historic resources. Most of these
buildings are located at the back of the sidewalk or very near to it. There are eight
buildings or structures along NE Couch Street that are recommended NRHP-Eligible
resources. Widening the street on the south side by 2 feet would require the removal of
one building that has been recommended as a NRHP Eligible Resource. It would also
require right-of-way purchases from three other NRHP Eligible Resources. Widening the
right-of-way by 2 feet would add approximately $10,000,000 to the cost of the project.

In addition, portions of the corridor are lined with street trees between the curb and
sidewalk. Where possible the project will preserve these street trees. For these reasons,
further reduction or shifting of the sidewalk width is not feasible.

There are other Major City Traffic Streets within the City of Portland that currently have 7
foot wide parking areas. The 7 foot wide parking areas have not presented a safety
concern or impeded traffic movement. The City feels that this is a fair tradeoff for
preserving the 12 foot wide sidewalk area.

Background
The purpose of the project is to provide safe access for all modes of travel. Since 1999, six
reports have been prepared that seek to understand and identify solutions for the project
area. They have looked in depth at the area and alternatives to balance the needs of all
modes of traffic in the area. Building on extensive public involvement that began in 1999,
and after extensive traffic analysis, and further public involvement, NE Couch Street was
proposed as the west bound portion of a one-way couplet from 3rd Avenue to 14th Avenue
with E. Burnside Street serving eastbound traffic. The existing cross section of NE Couch
Street was recommended to remain. This is documented in the 2005 Burnside/Couch
Transportation Urban Design Technical Refinements report.

Effects on Other Standards:

The effect of not attaining the lane width standards on other standards, guidelines and
policies were examined as part of the alternative selection process.

NE Couch Street has several designations in the City’s Transportation System Plan
including Major City Traffic Street, Major Transit Priority Street, City Bikeway, City
Walkway, Freight District, and Regional Main Street. The City’s policy requires that all the
classifications of the street must be considered in designing street improvements. The
proposed cross section is a result of balancing these designations through extensive
technical and public input.

The project complies with the street’s designation as a Regional Main Street by creating a
one-way couplet, with low to moderate traffic speeds, curb extensions to enhance
pedestrian crossings, on-street parking, benches, special lighting, street trees and other
elements that create a pedestrian buffer. The 12 foot sidewalk width meets guidelines
established by the City’s Pedestrian Policy and the designation as a Major Transit Priority
Street. Bicycles are accommodated using the bicycle boulevards on the adjacent streets
of Ankeny and Davis.

Area businesses and the committees that have been involved in the various plan
development agreed that removing on-street parking to make room for other travel modes
would damage the economic vitality of the street.

Compatibility with Adjacent Sections:

At the west end of the project, at Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, the project cross section
transitions to wider lanes on a reversing curve that meets AASHTO standards and
ultimately transitions traffic onto the Burnside Bridge.

At the East end of the project, traffic is coming onto NE Couch Street from NE Sandy
Boulevard. Travel lanes on Sandy Boulevard are 11 feet wide, with varying widths in park
where it is available.

Probable Time before Reconstruction of Section:

The section is being reconstructed with this project.

Mitigation for Exception Included in Design:

Due to the limited right-of-way, the number of ways to achieve a better balance across all
modes of travel that use NE Couch Street is limited. The proposed improvements will
mitigate the effect of the exception by converting the street from a two-way to and one-way.
Prepared by: Date:
Bruce Haunreiter, Harper Houf Peterson
Righellis Inc.
Recommended
by: Date:
Mark Foster, Local Agency Liaison
Recommended
by: Date:
David Kim, Area Manager
Recommended
by: Date:
Marty Andersen, Local Agency Standards
Engineer

Approved by: Date:

Steve Lindland, State Roadway Engineer

Approved By: _________________________________ Date: ________________

(FHWA on nonexempt NHS projects)

ENGINEER OF RECORD STATE ROADWAY ENGINEER

PROFESSIONAL ENGINEER PROFESSIONAL ENGINEER
STAMP STAMP