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Staff recommends 40 Eighth Street as Springfield MPO priority; council emphasizes safety and preservation
Summary
City transportation staff updated a scoring matrix for MPO funding, increased safety and preservation weights, and recommended 40 Eighth Street as the MPO priority; councilors asked for clarification about phasing, costs, traffic impacts and communications to the public.
Springfield transportation staff presented a revised scoring matrix for Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) funding and recommended prioritizing the 40 Eighth Street connection for upcoming MPO negotiations, while councilors stressed safety, preservation and clear public messaging.
Planner Stan (transportation staff) summarized changes to the scoring system, including adding "access to key destinations," separating active-transportation and green-infrastructure priorities, and increasing the weight for safety to 1.5 and preservation to 1.5. He said staff used crash-data layers (the ODOT SPIS layer), police records, service‑request logs and public feedback to identify safety priorities.
Stan explained how scores will be computed: project ratings of 1–3 in each category will be multiplied by the category weight (for example a safety score of 3 becomes 4.5 when weighted). He said the MPO negotiation timeline requires the council to select a preferred project at this meeting.
Staff recommended two leading candidates: a Franklin North–South connection (a larger, phased project intended to add sidewalks, separated bike lanes and roundabouts and to enable nearby development) and the 40 Eighth Street project, a new north–south connection with a separated 12‑foot bike path, potential wetland mitigation credits and housing-development potential. Stan said the Franklin project has an early, rough staff estimate of about $5 million for an initial phase but the total cost is uncertain until the consultant's preliminary design produces detailed estimates.
Councilors raised trade-offs: local preservation needs remain high but are not eligible for MPO funds in the near term, because those funds require projects that add capacity. Councilor Stout praised the stronger emphasis on safety; Councilor Bradley asked whether the unselected green candidate would be next in line and whether Franklin should be phased to reach a critical roundabout first. Councilor Blackwell and others raised traffic-speed and neighborhood impacts for a new collector route and asked staff to consider design features to limit speeds.
On a direction from multiple councilors, staff said they would pursue 40 Eighth Street as the MPO priority while continuing to refine messaging and cost estimates for Franklin and Mohawk & Q (a separate intersection project Stan described as requiring an interim "band‑aid" before a larger sewer-line and intersection solution). Stan also said staff plans to use fiber‑reinforced asphalt for some preservation work; he told the council the additive has performed well on prior local installations.
Staff and councilors agreed to return with clearer public communications on project sequencing, funding match constraints (availability of SDC improvement funds and potential CEDAR reimbursements) and study steps required for large projects.
