ODOT hits the brakes on Highway 217 ramp closure plan
Frequent users of Highway 217 are breathing a sigh of relief after officials from the Oregon Department of Transportation and local jurisdictions decided at a meeting Thursday, Nov. 19, not to consider closing ramps along the busy Washington Square area.
Recently, ODOT speculated about closing certain on-ramps during rush hour, in the hopes of alleviating the heavy congestion which has plagued the highway for years.
“That’s not going to happen,” said Tigard Mayor Craig Dirksen, who attended the meeting. “It would be too impactful on neighboring highways and roads.”
A recent study commissioned by ODOT modeled the effects of closing particular ramps during peak hours, showing that traffic would, instead, congregate in residential streets and neighborhoods, as they drove to get to open interchanges along the highway.
“The idea of all those cars driving past Vose Elementary School just is not very appealing to people,” said Jonathan Schlueter, executive director of the Westside Economic Alliance, and an outspoken opponent of the ramp closures. “It’s a non-starter for us.”
Highway 217 is infamous for its congestion, partly because the area lacks other north-south routes for divers, causing many commuters to treat the highway as a shortcut between sections of town, hopping on and off the highway in short distances.
“217 congestion can be found at almost any time, day or night,” said Schlueter. “For better or worse, we have a very steady flow of people who use the road every day.”
Highway 217 sees 120,000 commuters a day, Schlueter said. And that number is only expected to grow.
“Population only grows in one direction,” he said.
ODOT had planned another north-south freeway in the area in the past, but when the Westside Bypass was abandoned in the early 1990s, Schlueter said, then-Gov. Barbara Roberts promised that the highway would receive an expansion within the next 20 years,
That deadline is fast approaching.
“We’re still driving on the same two lanes we had when I was a freshman in college – and I went to college in 1974,” said Schlueter.
The future of Hwy 217
The reason why ODOT has yet to expand the highway is a familiar story: It will cost the state an estimated $1 billion, which is money the state just doesn’t have.
That leaves ODOT and city officials searching for cheaper solutions.
“There are other kinds of traffic management things that can be done (for 217),” said Dirksen. “Such as informational signs that would warn drivers of potential backups, or interactive speed signs that can lower the speed limits when traffic is at its heaviest.”
By slowing down cars ahead of time, Dirksen said, people will brake less and ease congestion.
“People come up on a slow spot of traffic, and then people step on their brakes, which causes the people behind them step on their brakes, and the people behind them step on their bakes — and before you know it you’re stopped.”
Ramp closures in other parts of 217 — away from Washington Square — are still on the table, including the Cedar Hills exit and Denny Road.
ODOT’s next step is to study the impact and costs of the proposed ideas.
“We had several good ideas at the meeting, but they’re all still just in the idea stage,” Dirksen said.
Schlueter, and Westside Economic Alliance members, plan to meet with ODOT officials, Dec. 9 to discuss other ways to fix 217’s congestion.
“We just need to keep the promises that were made 20 years ago to the people of Washington County. That’s really the lesson here,” Schlueter said.