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Fairview Council weighs restriping now or multimillion-dollar rebuild for Halsey Street
Summary
City staff presented two implementation options for Halsey Street in Fairview—near‑term repaving and restriping versus a long‑term $27 million reconstruction—and council directed staff to draft a restriping layout and check with Multnomah County about reimbursement.
City staff presented competing approaches Feb. 19 to improve Halsey Street across Fairview, asking the City Council whether to pursue a near-term repaving and restriping project or to aim for a larger, fully reconstructed cross‑section.
The discussion centered on tradeoffs between a lower-cost, faster restriping-and-repave project and a full capital reconstruction that would widen pedestrian and bicycle zones, add on‑street parking in commercial segments and move bike lanes next to sidewalks. Staff described the engineering and funding steps needed to move either option toward construction. Irene Farrell of Multnomah County attended to address county funding questions.
City staff said the plan currently includes a near‑term repaving and restriping estimate of roughly $1.88 million for the portions inside Fairview shown in the project plan, and that the Fairview urban renewal agency has about $1.1 million identified for Halsey in the current biennium. Staff also presented a planning‑level, long‑term construction estimate of about $27 million to build the full cross‑section through the Fairview city limits; reconstructing a smaller priority stretch (for example, roughly from Village Street to 220 Third) would be on the order of $4 million–$6 million, staff said. A county maintenance estimate for paving only (as currently scoped) was cited at about $356,000 for a segment roughly between Village and the 223 block; a standalone enhanced mid‑block crosswalk was presented with a planning cost of about $220,000.
Staff described two near‑term implementation approaches: 1) pursue a repave + restripe project as a quicker, lower‑cost way to add on‑street parking in commercial segments, widen bike buffers, add intersection striping and ADA ramp upgrades; or 2) use urban renewal funds to advance a 30% design for a larger capital reconstruction and then seek federal and county grants for full construction. County staff said the earliest the county could fund a paving maintenance project would likely be 2027, and that funding at that level is not guaranteed; the county could complete an intergovernmental agreement and the detailed design work by 2025 if partners prioritized it, and a paving season window could be targeted for summer 2026 if funding aligned.
Staff reported outreach findings from the Economic Development Advisory Committee and direct business contacts: the prevailing local business preference was for more on‑street parking and traffic calming, rather than keeping an uninterrupted center turn lane. Staff cautioned that the plan is at a 10% planning level, and that final lane widths, parking patterns and right‑of‑way impacts will be determined by later survey and 30% design work.
Council members raised concerns about delivery truck access, the effect of added on‑street parking on turning movements and queueing at nearby traffic signals, the potential for overflow parking from adjacent businesses, and whether the county would later reimburse the city if Fairview used its urban renewal funds to repave sooner than the county’s maintenance schedule. Council direction at the end of the discussion was to move forward with developing a detailed layout for restriping and to pursue follow‑up with Multnomah County about possible reimbursement or future coordination. No legislative action was taken; staff will return with a refined design and schedule for public hearing and Planning Commission recommendation before any ordinance adoption.
Next steps described by staff include a detailed restriping paint plan produced by a hired engineering firm, an intergovernmental agreement with Multnomah County if the city proceeds with repaving coordination, survey and right‑of‑way analysis, and refined cost estimates produced at 30% design. Staff estimated that design and an IGA could be completed in 2025 and, if funded, paving and restriping could be scheduled for summer 2026; otherwise, county‑led maintenance remains earliest feasible in 2027 under current county budgeting.
