Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Transportation topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
King City Council backs study and RFP to reassess Fisher Road, traffic impacts
Summary
Council directed staff to prepare an RFP and scope to update parts of the Transportation System Plan, including alternatives to the Fisher Road extension to Highway 137; consultants estimated $100,000–$200,000 for a targeted alternatives study and up to $500,000–$1 million for a full TSP rework. The move stops short of committing funding and requires additional council approval.
King City’s council on Nov. 19 authorized staff to prepare a request for proposals to evaluate alternatives in the city’s Transportation System Plan, including whether to proceed with the controversial Fisher Road extension to Oregon 137.
The discussion followed public comments from several residents about cut‑through traffic and safety on streets such as Royalty Parkway, Prince Albert Street and 131st Avenue. Staff told the council that a narrowly scoped study of alternatives could cost roughly $100,000–$200,000, while a full reevaluation of the TSP could approach $500,000 to $1 million because developing a comprehensive TSP originally cost more than $1.3 million.
City staff outlined a draft scope that would include a current‑day traffic analysis, alternative alignments to avoid the Banks/Bankston property and associated conservation easement, feasibility work for connections to Southwest 137, interagency coordination with Metro and Washington County, and a public‑engagement plan that would include one open house and hearings before the planning commission and council. Staff noted that some of the city’s existing TSP data are now out of date and will likely require updated traffic counts and modeling.
Councilors asked several questions about scope and cost. Council President Braverman and others emphasized the need for a study that examines whether the Fisher Road extension would actually reduce traffic on neighborhood cut‑throughs or simply redistribute it to other streets. Staff and the city engineer said the TSP and comp‑plan language currently contemplate connections to 137, and that any official removal of that alignment would require a comprehensive package of technical work and likely a comp‑plan amendment involving the county and Metro.
Staff also told the council that acquiring rights for connections across the Bankston/Bankston Conservation area or a Columbia Land Trust easement could require eminent‑domain action if the respective landowners do not consent — a legal pathway that council members noted would be difficult and politically sensitive.
On financing, staff said there is no existing dedicated budget for the study; options mentioned included using reserves, reallocating nonessential items, or seeking phased, lower‑cost approaches in the RFP (the RFP could request both a full and a reduced scope). The council did not appropriate funding that night; members directed staff to draft an RFP and to seek proposals that include cost‑reduced alternatives for essential work.
The council emphasized that any RFP will come back to them for review before it is released and that the final decision to fund and hire a consultant will require further council action.
What’s next: staff will prepare an RFP and return to the council with draft language and cost estimates; the council will vote on funding and the consultant selection in a future meeting.
