Clackamas County releases draft Walk Bike Plan after broad public outreach

Clackamas County transportation staff on a planning commission work session presented a draft update to the county's pedestrian and bicycle master plan, highlighting extensive public outreach, a prioritized project list and a new "shared streets" pilot concept aimed at slowing neighborhood traffic.

Scott Holster, a transportation planner for Clackamas County, told the commission the draft "Walk Bike" plan is a 30-year update to the county's 1996 pedestrian-bicycle master plan and is intended as a roadmap for future investments rather than a funded capital improvement program. "This is kind of a line on the map type of project," Holster said, adding the plan does not provide construction funding or detailed design for projects.

The draft identifies 236 projects across five planning areas that together cover the county's urban and rural geographies. Those projects are grouped as linear improvements (sidewalks, multiuse trails, bike lanes) and point improvements (crosswalks, bike signals, bike boxes). Staff said the plan includes a scoring process that assigns projects into three priority tiers (high, medium, low) within each planning area, but that the plan is not fiscally constrained.

The commission was briefed on the public-engagement program staff used to shape goals and priorities. Holster said the county began outreach before the project team was hired: staff solicited input at the Clackamas County Fair using a "dot game" exercise and later…