Chapter 3. Existing Environment, Anticipated Impacts, and Mitigation Chapter 3. Existing Environment, Anticipated Impacts, and Mitigation This chapter describes the affected environment Wildlife (Section 3.18) in the proposed project area and the anticipated environmental consequences for the No Build Noise (Section 3.19) Alternative and Build alternatives—Alternatives Energy (Section 3.20) A, B, C, D, E, and D Refined (the preferred alternative). This section also includes ways to Air Quality (Section 3.21) mitigate for potential impacts to the social and Hazardous Materials (Section 3.22) natural environments. (Appendix G provides a summary of proposed and committed mitigation For more information about each of these and environmental measures.) resources and the impacts to them, please see the technical reports, which are listed in The impacts are analyzed for the following social Appendix D of this Final Environmental Impact and natural environmental resource topics: Statement (FEIS). These technical reports are Transportation (Section 3.1) available upon request. This chapter summarizes these technical reports, which are incorporated Bicyclists and Pedestrians (Section 3.2) by reference into this chapter. In addition, this Right-of-way and Relocation (Section 3.3) chapter includes information about the relationship of short-term uses of the Utilities (Section 3.4) environment and long-term productivity (Section 3.23), the irreversible and irretrievable Land Use (Section 3.5) commitment of resources (Section 3.24), and Economic (Section 3.6) cumulative impacts (Section 3.25). Social Elements (Section 3.7) 3.1 Transportation Environmental Justice (Section 3.8) The transportation analysis considers roadways, transit, navigation of the Willamette River, and Parks and Recreation (Section 3.9) railroad/trolley tracks in the project area. Archaeological and Historic Resources Because of the large commitment to bicyclists (Section 3.10) and pedestrians made within the design of the project, bicyclist and pedestrian facilities are Visual Resources (Section 3.11) covered extensively in Section 3.2, Bicyclists and Pedestrians. They are mentioned briefly within Geology (Section 3.12) this section only with respect to operations of Water Quality (Section 3.13) interchange designs. Hydraulics (Section 3.14) 3.1.1 Affected Environment Aquatic Resources (Section 3.15) The transportation study area (Figure 3.1-1) includes the Sellwood Bridge; SE Tacoma Street Vegetation (Section 3.16) between the Sellwood Bridge and Oregon 99E (OR 99E; SE McLoughlin Boulevard); OR 99E Wetlands (Section 3.17) between SE Nehalem Street and SE Umatilla Sellwood Bridge Project F i na l Environmental Impact Statement 3-1 Transportation Chapter 3. Existing Environment, Anticipated Impacts, and Mitigation Street; and Oregon 43 (OR 43) between Study Area Roadways SW Nevada Street and SW Riverdale Road Sellwood Bridge (south of the Sellwood Bridge). A portion of The current configuration of the Sellwood Bridge SW Taylors Ferry Road is also in the study area is a cross-section of 31 feet in width, including (approximately a 0.3-mile section of the roadway two 12-foot-wide travel lanes and one 4-foot- just south of the intersection with OR 43 to 3-inch-wide sidewalk on the north side for approximately the access point to River View bicyclist and pedestrian travel. The remaining Cemetery). It also encompasses key intersecting cross-section is devoted to bridge railings. roadways, including: The Sellwood Bridge and SE Tacoma Street are • OR 43 at SW Nevada Street designated as “Major Transit Streets” in the City of Portland’s Transportation System Plan (2004, • OR 43 at SW Taylors Ferry Road–SW Miles updated in 2007). However, transit service has Street been discontinued across the bridge because of • OR 43 at River View Cemetery access road structural deficiencies. Before the weight restriction was imposed in June 2004, bus usage • SE Tacoma Street at SE 6th Avenue across the bridge was substantial. Currently, no • SE Tacoma Street at SE 13th Avenue vehicles weighing more than 10 tons, including trucks, are permitted to use the Sellwood Bridge. • SE Tacoma Street at SE 17th Avenue Portland’s Freight Master Plan (2006) designates Each of these intersections with these roadways, the bridge as a Truck Access Street in except SE Tacoma Street/SE 6th Avenue, is recognition of its service as an access and currently signalized. circulation route for the delivery of goods and services to neighborhood-serving commercial and employment land uses. This includes truck trips between Sellwood, Westmoreland, and FIGURE 3.1-1 Study Area Roadways 3-2 Sellwood Bridge Project Final Environmental Impact Statement Transportation C ha p t e r 3 . Existing Environment, Anticipated Impacts, and Mitigation geometry of the west-side interchange, large trucks must avoid the bridge, thereby substantially impeding freight movement between these areas. The bridge has no shoulders to provide access for emergency vehicles, accommodate vehicular breakdowns, or facilitate maintenance. In addition, the bridge’s vertical curves limit motorist sight distance. The interchange of the bridge and OR 43 (west-side interchange) also has many substandard features, including horizontal and vertical curves that limit motorist sight distance and reduce the ability of trucks to safely turn. Several ramp connections also provide insufficient vertical clearances, narrow or nonexistent shoulders, and excessive grades. OR 43 OR 43 (also referred to as SW Macadam Avenue in the city of Portland) runs north-south between Portland and Oregon City, traveling through Lake Oswego and West Linn. The facility has two Vehicles weighing more than 10 tons, including vehicle travel lanes in each direction. Figure 3.1-2 trucks and buses, are prohibited from using the shows the existing interchange of OR 43 with the Sellwood Bridge. Sellwood Bridge. Vehicles traveling northbound on OR 43 toward downtown Portland must use a Milwaukie on the east side of the Willamette one-lane bypass ramp. The southbound-loop River and the southwest Portland area on the ramp from the Sellwood Bridge to OR 43 is a west side (via OR 43). However, because of single-lane one-way ramp that enables westbound current load restrictions and the physical Vertical Curve The vertical curve is the curvature of a road with respect to the vertical plane (flat vs. mountainous). Shorter-crest curves can create sight problems if drivers cannot see a sufficient distance ahead of their vehicles Horizontal Curve The horizontal curve is the curvature of a road with respect to the horizontal plane (straight vs. curved). Substandard horizontal curves affect safe vehicle operating speeds, sight distance, and capacity. Sellwood Bridge Project F i na l Environmental Impact Statement 3-3 Transportation Chapter 3. Existing Environment, Anticipated Impacts, and Mitigation bridge vehicles to enter southbound OR 43. The Two traffic signals are located on SE Tacoma ramp splits off to the right from OR 43, loops Street—at SE 13th Avenue and SE 17th Avenue. under the Sellwood Bridge structure immediately adjacent to the northbound bypass ramp, and Other Study Area Roadways Other study area roadways considered in the reconnects to OR 43’s mainline. A traffic signal at transportation analysis include SE Spokane Street, this intersection facilitates vehicle movements. SE Tenino Street, and SE Umatilla Street (which This ramp also provides access to northbound run parallel to SE Tacoma Street) and SE 13th OR 43 along the mainline segment, which merges Avenue and SE 17th Avenue/SE Milwaukie with the northbound bypass. Avenue (which cross SE Tacoma Street). In SE Tacoma Street addition, OR 43’s intersection with SW Taylors SE Tacoma Street is one of Sellwood’s Ferry Road is included. Community Main Streets. It serves motor vehicle traffic, public transportation, bicyclists, and Roadway Performance pedestrians. Between the Sellwood Bridge and Traffic Levels SE 17th Avenue, SE Tacoma Street generally Currently, about 30,000 vehicles cross the provides one through lane in each direction and a Sellwood Bridge each weekday. The majority center left-turn lane/two-way left-turn lane. (52 percent) of these trips are between On-street parking is allowed along portions of Clackamas County and Portland (Table 3.1-1). the south side of SE Tacoma Street in this segment. Between SE 17th Avenue and OR 99E, TABLE 3.1-1 SE Tacoma Street has one travel lane, a bike lane, Travel Markets of Existing Sellwood Bridge Users and an on-street parking lane in each direction. Vehicle Trips Between (percent) FIGURE 3.1-2 East side of Portland and west side 17 Existing OR 43/Sellwood Bridge Interchange of Portland Portland and Washington County 11 Clackamas County and 13 Washington County Clackamas County and Portland 52 East side of Clackamas County and 7 west side of Clackamas County Source: Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT). OR 43 serves over 34,000 vehicles each weekday north of the Sellwood Bridge and 26,000 vehicles south of the bridge. SE Tacoma Street serves about 28,000 vehicles between the bridge and SE 13th Avenue, 20,000 vehicles between SE 13th Avenue and SE 17th Avenue, and 14,000 vehicles between SE 17th Avenue and OR 99E. During the weekday-morning peak hour, the westbound travel lane on the Sellwood Bridge serves about 1,700 vehicles per hour, while the 3-4 Sellwood Bridge Project F i n a l Environmental Impact Statement Transportation C ha p t e r 3 . Existing Environment, Anticipated Impacts, and Mitigation eastbound lane serves almost 900 vehicles per are passenger cars; other types of two-axle, four- hour. However, the hourly westbound travel tire, single-unit vehicles; and motorcycles. demand is actually higher than 1,700 vehicles per hour; it is limited to this amount because of the Transit Service The vehicle weight limit now prohibits bus capacity constraint associated with the service across the bridge because a loaded bus interchange at OR 43 and the interaction with weighs about 19 tons.