Killingsworth Street Repaving and Safety Improvements

What's Happening Now

After community engagement during the summer and fall of 2022, PBOT announced safety improvements coming to Killingsworth Street on December 12, 2022. Learn more by reading the information on this page and the project summary below under Community Engagement. 
 

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Spanish language readers can learn more about the project in Spanish. 

Visite la página web de este proyecto en español

Community Engagement

PBOT staff shared the proposed project design and sought feedback through an online survey from August - October 2022. In November 2022, two focus groups were held with Cully residents and commmunity-based organizations. Read the summary below to learn more.

The following presentation was shared with residents on November 3, 2022 as a focus group coordinated in partnership with Living Cully Coalition. 

Project Background

NE Killingsworth Street is an important connector for NE Portland and runs through the heart of the Cully neighborhood. In 2019 Killingsworth Street was identified as a maintenance and safety project to be completed by the Fixing Our Streets Program. The total project is $3.4 million with an additional $750,000 for lighting on the north side of the street. We will be repaving NE Killingsworth Street and we’re taking the opportunity to fix safety issues while we’re working on the street. 

Study Area

Design Concept

Proposed Street Design

Street Cross Section: Current

Street Cross Section: Proposed Design

Project Segments and Timeline

East Segment: 53^rd Avenue to Cully Boulevard

• This segment will receive a micro-surfacing treatment to extend the pavement life. 
• A lane reconfiguration and restriping the street to provide parking-protected bike lanes is planned to improve safety and comfort for people bicycling.
• To maintain safe visibility, roughly half the on-street parking spaces will have to be removed if we implement a parking-protected bike lane. However, a recent parking study indicates that most blocks will still have enough parking capacity to meet current demand.
• To improve pedestrian safety, we plan to rebuild the aging mid-block half-signal between 54th Ave and 55th Ave and add median islands, and improve the existing pedestrian crossing at 64th Ave with additional median islands.
• Segment improvements for 53rd Avenue – Cully Boulevard are funded and construction is expected in 2024.

West Segment: 42^nd Avenue to 53^rd Avenue

• This segment is in good condition and does not yet need to be repaved.
• A lane reconfiguration and restriping the street to provide parking-protected bike lanes is being considered for future implementation, should additional funding be secured.
• Enhancing existing pedestrian crossings to improve safety is being considered for future implementation, should additional funding be secured.
• Segment improvements for 42nd – 53rd Avenue are currently unfunded.

On-street Parking Impacts

According to a parking study conducted in Spring 2022 from 42^nd Ave to Cully Blvd, on-street parking space occupancy is moderate along NE Killingsworth Street, with average demand well below the number of available parking spaces on each block. Even in peak occupancy time periods, only two blocks had all spaces occupied and most blocks had an abundance of available parking spaces. To assess the parking impacts of the proposed redesign of NE Killingsworth with parking-protected bike lanes, we calculated how many spaces would be available post-implementation, then looked at how the current occupancy compares to that revised capacity. We found that in both the average and peak usage scenarios, most blocks will have plenty of available on-street parking spaces. However, in some blocks the demand will outstrip the proposed supply and in that case drivers may have to park on adjacent blocks and walk further to their destinations. The most impacted blocks when looking at average use in the study area are:

• South side from 42^nd Avenue to 47^th Avenue
• South side from 48^th to 49^th Avenue
• South side from 53^rd to 54^th Avenue
• North side from 48^th to 55^th Avenue
• North side from 60^th to 62^nd Avenue

Since PBOT currently only has funding for a roadway redesign from 53^rd Avenue to Cully Blvd in conjunction with the upcoming micro-surfacing project, the actual parking impacts in the near-term will be fairly low, limited to the blocks in the 53^rd to 55^th Avenue area on both sides, and from 60^th to 62^nd Avenue on the north side. In peak times, additional blocks may be impacted and drivers may have to park further away than they are normally accustomed to, but these impacts are lessened by the recent construction of sidewalks on both sides of Killingsworth. All in all, these parking impacts appear to be relatively minor and worth it for the safety benefits that the proposed street redesign offers.

The two images below show current parking demand (Existing Conditions) and future supply after the proposed project is completed (Post implementation). One image focuses on the average use and the other focuses on peak use. These two images illustrate the parking impacts describes above. 

Click the link below to view the complete parking data, which extends from 42nd Ave to Cully Blvd beyond the project area. 

Next Steps: Repaving from Cully Blvd to Lombard St

To allow time for community engagement, paving and safety improvements on Killingsworth St between Cully Blvd and Lombard St will be addressed in a separate planning effort. In the meantime, we are fast-tracking safety improvements including speed reader boards and a mid-block crossing between Cully Blvd and Lombard St.