The bike lane on Williams between Ramsay and Weidler be moved all the way to the right side of the street. The new proposed design would keep the existing I-5 southbound on-ramp at Ramsay (instead of from Weidler, like in the “before” image above left). This seems like it would also make for perilous conditions for people walking back onto surface streets after large events at the nearby Moda Center and Memorial Coliseum venues. It’s worth noting that N Williams is one of the busiest cycling corridors in the city and riders will now have to cross over two freeway ramps back-to-back. This new off-ramp would add to an already dangerous intersection that includes the southbound I-5 on-ramp from NE Wheeler Ave and Ramsay Way. ODOT plan drawings show the southbound I-5 off-ramp making a u-turn and exiting directly onto N Williams Ave (above right). Ramps and surface streets are black.) Source: ODOT Initial proposal on the left, the “Hybrid 3” proposal on the right. No More Freeways co-founder Joe Cortright tells BikePortland the EA gives us our first look at several changes that, “make things worse for bikes and pedestrians in many ways.” The new “Hybrid 3” concept gave ODOT an opportunity to refine their plans for how the freeway elements of the project connect to the surface streets. This was in large part due to the addition of a major project element - the highway cover - that was added to the plans through a major compromise brokered by Oregon Governor Kate Brown. To refresh your memory, the Federal Highway Administration rescinded their “finding of no significant impact” for the project back in January.
This new EA is part of the project’s National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process that the Oregon Department of Transportation must go through in order to get federal approval. And based on an early look from activists with No More Freeways - who received a copy of the plans through a public records request - the project’s surface street design proposals are likely to raise many eyebrows. A revised environmental assessment (EA) for the I-5 Rose Quarter project is due to be released next week.
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