Milwaukie Planning Commission members spent a work session reviewing and revising the draft Transportation System Plan (TSP) project prioritization, asking staff and consultants to update project descriptions, cost estimates and tiers before the plan goes to the City Council.

The TSP team told the commission the city used Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) guidance to produce a financially constrained list based on a 20-year revenue forecast. “There’s a forecast of $22,000,000 available for capital projects,” consultant Amy Griffith said during the presentation, and the constrained list was sized to about 125% of that figure (roughly $27.5 million). Staff then used scoring criteria and public input to sort roughly 200 candidate projects into tiers.

Why it matters: the prioritized list guides which sidewalk, bicycle, transit and roadway projects the city will pursue or seek funding for over the next two decades. Commissioners emphasized multimodal connectivity to existing destinations, corridor safety, and leveraging outside funds where projects cross jurisdictions.

What the commission discussed and recommended

- Public engagement and criteria: Staff summarized summer outreach (a June public workshop, market and targeted focus-group meetings) and explained the numeric scoring used to rank projects. Laura (city planning staff) told commissioners the scoring emphasized safety, mobility and equity and noted that project descriptions are intentionally flexible so design can follow standards like NACTO and ODOT facility guidance.

- Financial framing: Commissioners and consultants repeatedly noted the constrained list is not a fixed construction schedule. Matt Hugart and consulting staff explained projects can be implemented out of strict rank order to take advantage of other work (for example, pairing a TSP project with a planned grind-and-pave or utility repair).

- Key project moves the commission supported: Commissioner Sherman proposed a package of moves that the commission generally agreed to. The group asked staff to elevate several multimodal projects that tie into regional connections and recent investments:
- Add or elevate the Railroad Avenue multiuse path linkage toward the aquatic center (to improve regional trail continuity).
- Elevate the Central Milwaukie bikeway projects (the set of projects tying Lewelling/Monroe/30th/30‑4th corridors) so the city completes the east–west spine that will connect to the Monroe Street greenway.
- Promote the multiuse-path/connection to the aquatic center and the crosswalk/access improvements near the aquatic center so the projects are treated together in funding discussions.

- Safety-focused items retained or revised: Commissioners asked the TSP team to keep a Harrison corridor safety assessment (study) in the financially constrained set while recognizing full corridor construction may require external grants. The commission agreed to keep a crossing and intersection-improvement package near downtown (the set of ODOT crossings at 99E/Monroe and adjacent approaches) as a high-priority group to pursue with ODOT.

- Items moved down or re-scoped: The commission recommended moving the Stanley Avenue sidewalk project from the constrained tier to an unconstrained tier (or re-scoping it to a single-side sidewalk or a smaller segment) after discussion about classification, school-area connectivity and cost. Commissioners also suggested reducing the scope of some Harrison sidewalk segments (from full 6-foot replacement to more limited or targeted work) to free funds for higher-priority corridor or regional connections.

- Jurisdictional and grant dependencies: Commissioners and staff noted several projects cross jurisdictions (TriMet transit coordination, county or Portland-owned trail gaps, or ODOT-owned 99E). For those, commissioners favored keeping the projects in Tier 1 as priorities but recognized implementation requires partner commitments or grants. As consultants noted, transit projects were generally not included in the constrained list because local match and TriMet coordination altered cost estimates and feasibility.

Quotes from the meeting

“we are fast and furiously trying to get them fixed,” Laura, planning staff, said when describing website and packet updates for the public.

“There’s a forecast of $22,000,000 available for capital projects,” Amy Griffith, consultant, said explaining the TSP financial baseline.

“I think we need to see those over the finish line,” Commissioner Sherman said of the Central Milwaukie bikeway projects and the east–west connectivity the commission prioritized.

Next steps and staff direction

Commissioners asked staff to: (1) revise a handful of project descriptions so they better reflect intended outcomes (for example, adjust language for River Road / 20th‑River intersections so the description matches regional plans rather than a single lane‑widening prescription); (2) re-check and refine cost estimates for several promoted projects (staff and consultants flagged a few numbers that need revision); (3) clearly separate studies/assessments (kept in constrained tiers) from full construction (often unconstrained until funding is secured); and (4) present the revised project list and supporting materials to the City Council at the Sept. 16 meeting so council can consider the commission’s recommendations.

No formal vote on individual projects was taken at the work session; the commission reached consensus on the package of recommended changes and gave staff direction to update the draft TSP accordingly.

Administrative notes

The meeting also included a brief personnel update: Planning Commissioner Julie Garvey has resigned after moving from Milwaukie; the city expects to appoint an alternate (Mr. Steer) at the Sept. 16 council meeting. The session ended with a unanimous voice vote to adjourn.