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Milwaukie council backs phased plan to lower speeds on bikeways and local streets
Summary
Staff recommended a phased reduction of posted speeds on bikeways and neighborhood streets to improve safety and encourage active transportation; councilors asked for clearer cost estimates, pre/post speed studies and a phased CIP approach before adopting citywide changes.
Milwaukie officials on Tuesday heard a staff plan to lower posted speed limits on selected local streets and bikeways, with an initial, phased rollout meant to improve safety for pedestrians and cyclists and to allow the city to do much of the work in-house.
"I think there's five really kind of important elements to that," said Jennifer Garberly, the city's engineer, listing benefits including "it enhances road safety" and "it improves pedestrian and cyclist safety." Garberly told council the staff proposal would start with bikeways and then expand to selected collectors and neighborhood streets, using engineering measures beyond signage where needed.
Garberly said staff conducted an EngageMilwaukie survey with 268 respondents; 54.5% were not supportive of reduced speeds. She also noted the city's Transportation System Plan (TSP) includes speed reductions as a policy goal and that the TSP estimated about $400,000 to contract the work citywide.
Council members said they supported the safety goal but asked for clearer cost transparency and measurable evidence of impact. "People need to know what this is gonna cost," one councilor said, urging that cost analyses and the underlying data be made accessible to the public. Another councilor asked that staff perform before-and-after speed studies on streets where changes are installed.
Staff recommended phasing the program over multiple years "so we don't have to hire a contractor," Garberly said, and to pair speed-limit changes with other traffic-calming tools such as speed cushions or diverters. City administrators said a phased approach could better align with other neighborhood projects and reduce implementation costs.
No ordinance or codified speed changes were adopted at the meeting. Council indicated general support for the staff recommendation to include the initiative in the capital improvement plan and to phase implementation, but members asked staff to return with clearer cost estimates, proposed phasing and plans for pre/post speed studies.
Next steps: staff will include the project in the CIP and return to council with more-detailed cost information, proposed sequencing and evaluation plans.
