Big changes are coming to N.E. Halsey Street as the Multnomah County Board of Commissioners has put its stamp of approval on a master plan aiming to revamp the three-mile stretch into a safer, more community-driven space. In a meeting yesterday, the board gave a unanimous green light to the Main Streets on Halsey Street Design Project. The decision followed years of collaboration between the communities of Fairview, Wood Village, and Troutdale, alongside Multnomah County, in an effort to reimagine the corridor that spans from N.E. 201st Avenue to S.W. 257th Drive—a crucial connection linking town centers, schools, and parks.
Emphasis on community input has been a defining feature of this initiative since its inception. “The community’s voice was at the heart of this design plan,” Fairview Mayor Keith Kudrna explained in a statement, highlighting the extensive outreach conducted to carefully understand the needs and desires of those who traverse Halsey Street daily, as detailed in the Multnomah County press release. The plan is now confidently set to reshape the infrastructure to better serve not only vehicles but also pedestrians and bicyclists, while enhancing local business access—a move that could significantly alter the face of east Multnomah County for the better.
In an announcement made earlier this morning, the commitment to transforming Halsey Street into a vibrant and secure community hub was reiterated by Multnomah County Commissioner Vince Jones-Dixon. “Our partners in Fairview, Wood Village and Troutdale have long sought to transform Halsey Street from a commuter corridor into a safer, more lively community hub that’s built for the future,” he stated. The adoption of this plan marks a substantial progress point, heralding the next funding phase for engineering design and construction…