Development

Eastside Burnside-Couch Couplet fact sheet – November 2008

Eastside Burnside-Couch Couplet Project

Phase I

In December 2002, City Council adopted the Burnside Transportation and Urban Design Plan, which provides a vision and strategy for humanizing Burnside from E 14th Avenue to W 24th Place. The plan’s proposed improvements overlap three downtown urban renewal areas: the Central Eastside, Downtown Waterfront, and River District Urban Renewal Areas. Specific plan improvements include:

• Realignment of Burnside and Couch into a one-way couplet system between E 14th and W 16th Avenues. (Burnside Street eastbound and Couch Street westbound)
• Vehicular left turns at most intersections from W 14th to E 14th Avenues.
• Traffic signal and curb extensions at intersections.
• Narrowed pedestrian crossing distance across Burnside and wider sidewalks.
• An extensive parallel bike route on Flanders and increased bike lanes on W Burnside.
• New and increased full-time parking spaces on Burnside.
• A unique parking configuration in the Central City segment between 2nd Ave. and Park Ave. on West Burnside that has the opportunity to be used for a flexible public space.

Additional information on the 2002 Burnside Transportation and Urban Design Plan is available on the Portland Office of Transportation (PDOT) website.

Phase II

In addition to proposing specific transportation and streetscape improvements, the 2002 plan directed PDOT to undertake Phase II of the project that includes: 1) refining the transportation improvements, including determining costs and a funding strategy, and 2) determining development potential and financial return given the proposed transportation and streetscape enhancements.

PDOT and PDC staff together with a team of consultants, have worked to complete Phase II companion documents. Final drafts (June 2005) of both the Burnside/Couch Transportation and Urban Design Plan, Technical Refinements and the Catalyst Development Study are now available.

On March 22, 2006, City Council authorized the Portland Office of Transportation to move forward with the preliminary engineering of the eastside Burnside/Couch Transportation and Urban Design Plan transportation improvements (E 14th Avenue to the east Burnside bridgehead). They took no action on the westside portion of the project. The City Council resolution also directed PDOT staff to update the financing plan to enable the eastside couplet to be completed on schedule with the Burnside Bridgehead project, or as soon as practicable thereafter. Similarly, on March 23, 2006, the Portland Development Commission passed a resolution to move forward with preliminary engineering on the Central Eastside improvements. The Commission resolution also directs PDC staff to work with PDOT and other City agencies to revise the project’s funding strategy to better meet the Burnside Bridgehead development schedule.

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