Oregon City hears deep concerns from businesses and residents over Molalla Avenue access‑management plan

City staff presented a technical memorandum recommending access‑management guidance for Molalla Avenue and answered questions at a public hearing before the Oregon City Commission. The memorandum, described by project manager Nancy Krushauer, is intended to guide driveway consolidation, median placement, signal timing and other measures as the city implements capital projects and as properties redevelop.

Krushauer, who introduced the item, said the memorandum is being adopted by resolution "as a guidance document," not by ordinance, and that it is intended to be a remembered inventory for staff and future projects. "This is a guidance document. It's being adopted by resolution, not by ordinance," she said, adding the plan is not a site‑level design but a set of suggestions to reduce conflict points for vehicles, bicycles, pedestrians and transit users.

John Heinrich, a traffic engineer with Kittelson & Associates, who presented the modeling and capacity analysis, told commissioners that converting some four‑lane segments to a three‑lane cross section does not automatically halve corridor capacity. "It's not really half the capacity," Heinrich said, explaining that turning movements, weaving and signal timing determine effective throughput; coordinated signals and reduced access points can offset some capacity losses in places with high turning volumes.

Police Chief Matt Harris told the commission the corridor has a significant crash history: the police department investigated 89 accidents on the Molalla Avenue segment in 2000, and Department of Motor Vehicles/ODOT records show 92 corridor crashes for 2000, 51 of which were listed as occurring on Molalla Avenue (40 of those north of Warner Mill). "Three of the city's 10 worst intersections are on Molalla Avenue," Harris said.

Bob Bailey, representing the Planning Commission, summarized that the Planning Commission unanimously recommended adopting the document by resolution with conditions to ensure design accommodates TriMet stops and emergency access. Bailey said the Planning Commission held multiple public hearings and an informal Q&A session with engineers and emergency responders to narrow public concerns.

Public comment totaled several dozen speakers and letters. Business owners and residents expressed a mix of support for safety improvements and concern about reduced automotive capacity, diversion of traffic onto neighborhood streets, parking and driveway impacts, landscaping maintenance costs and inadequate notice to tenants and property owners. Linda Carter, who said she recused herself from the Planning Commission vote because she owns property on Molalla Avenue, characterized safety as a reason to support the improvements: she described incidents in which vehicles damaged buildings and urged more space for bicycles and pedestrians.

Opponents and skeptical speakers repeatedly asked for a temporary, low‑cost pilot test (restriping and signal‑timing adjustments) before permanent curb, median and sidewalk relocations. Several speakers urged staff to run a short operational test by restriping and adjusting signal timing to gather real‑world data before construction and utility relocations, and business owners asked for advance, property‑owner notification beyond the 300‑foot property owner notices staff said were mailed during the Planning Commission outreach.

Commissioners directed staff to return with rough cost estimates for a restriping test and for temporary signal timing/coordination changes; staff said those estimates would be preliminary and that further discussion would be required. No final vote to adopt the memorandum by resolution was recorded at the meeting.

Why it matters: the technical memorandum would guide where the city consolidates driveways, installs medians and reconfigures road cross‑sections as properties redevelop or as capital projects move forward. Those choices affect traffic flow, safety for vulnerable road users, emergency vehicle access and business access and parking.

Next steps: staff will prepare preliminary cost estimates for a trial restriping and for signal timing changes and will report back to the commission at a future meeting before a final decision is taken.