Multnomah County starts safety upgrades on 250th Avenue; council and residents raise freight and maintenance concerns

Multnomah County officials told the Troutdale City Council on March 11 that construction on the 250th Avenue SE corridor safety improvements begins this week and will continue through late 2025, with some signal and lighting elements becoming operational later.

The county presentation, led by public information officer Sarah Hurwitz and project manager Steven McWilliams, described a roughly $8,000,000 design-and-construction program that covers the corridor from Sturgis Drive to Stark Street. Planned work includes pedestrian safety upgrades (two pedestrian hybrid/HAWK crossings), new bike boxes and bike infrastructure, ADA upgrades to bus stops, electrical/lighting replacement with new aluminum poles, pavement rehabilitation (slurry seal and grind/overlay), and intersection/signal improvements. County staff emphasized the corridor carries about 18,000 vehicles per day and that keeping traffic moving through the multimodal route guided phasing and traffic-control decisions.

Why it matters

250th Avenue is a primary north–south arterial through Troutdale and carries a high share of trucks and buses; county staff said about 40% of traffic is heavy vehicles. The project is intended to reduce collisions and improve walking and biking access, but councilors and many residents questioned whether narrowing vehicle lanes to provide protected bike buffers is appropriate on a freight route, and they asked how…