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The City of Vancouver is seeking community input on potential design options for making Fourth Plain Blvd and Fort Vancouver Way safer for all users regardless of how they choose to travel.

Project Update

Phase 1 paving, restriping and facility updates are happening in the summer and fall of 2023. Residents in the area should be receiving postcards, door hangers and more information about changes, impacts and improvements to the roadway coming soon.

Phase 2 covers the East end of the corridor, design, engagement and evaluation will continue throughout 2023 before paving, striping and construction begins in 2024.

Project Background

In Spring 2022, the City began studying ways to improve safety, mobility, and comfort for people moving on both Fourth Plain Blvd (from F Street east to Andresen) and Fort Vancouver Way (from Fourth Plain to Mill Plain). Over 300 crashes occurred between 2018 to 2020, making it the most unsafe corridor in the City. In Summer 2022, we confirmed with Vancouver residents and community members that many people feel unsafe traveling these streets, including people crossing the street, children, and people with disabilities.

In Fall 2022, the City is sharing draft design options for making these streets safer and more comfortable. These options also consider ways of making The Vine bus run more efficiently along Fourth Plain Blvd, making the service more attractive and reliable for riders. The design options being considered can be done without widening the existing roadway by repurposing a traffic lane, and could be constructed in 2023 and 2024 as part of already planned paving projects.

Learn more about these options from the project summaries linked in the Project Library.

How will the community be involved?

In the summer and fall of 2022, the City conducted in-person and online outreach to people who live, work, play, or go to school on Fourth Plain Boulevard and Fort Vancouver Way. The City is committed to gathering broad community feedback to understand how project improvements can best serve all who drive, walk, bicycle, or use a mobility device along these corridors. See the Project Library to review engagement and design summaries from this stage of the project.

What will the project accomplish?

The purpose of this study is to improve safety, mobility, and comfort on both Fourth Plain (from F Street east to Andresen) and Fort Vancouver Way (from Fourth Plain to Mill Plain). These roads have a history of safety problems for all users, and are not comfortable roads for people to walk, ride a bike, or use transit. Improvements may include:

• Repairing potholes and repaving
• Safety and operations improvements at intersections
• Improved conditions for people walking, biking, using mobility devices, or taking the bus
• This project is exploring how to use the existing right of way (road space) to make this corridor safer. This could include "lane reconfigurations," that change the number of lanes for driving to make more room for people biking, walking, or using the bus.

This project is part of the Vancouver Moves program - a citywide initiative to increase safety and mobility for all community members regardless of how they travel. Learn more about the Vancouver Moves portfolio of projects by visiting the City website.

Construction Timeline

Repaving and corridor improvements to Fourth Plain Blvd and Fort Vancouver Way are planned to occur in two separate construction phases (see map below):

• Phase 1: West Corridor (2023): Safety upgrades, and potential lane of Fourth Plain Blvd (F Street to Fort Vancouver Way) and Fort Vancouver Way (Fourth Plain Blvd to Mill Plain Blvd). These segments are planned to be repaved in 2023.
• Phase 2: East Corridor (2024): The second phase of the repaving, safety upgrades, and potential lane of Fourth Plain Blvd between Fort Vancouver Way and Andresen Road. This segment is planned to be repaved in 2024.

The map above shows the two construction phases for the Fourth Plain Blvd and Fort Vancouver Way Safety and Mobility Study.

Why is the City doing the Project now?

The City completed the Transportation System Safety Analysis (TSSA) in 2018 that showed that Fourth Plain Blvd between Grand Boulevard and Andresen Road had the highest number of crashes per mile of all principal arterials in the City. Fourth Plain Blvd and Fort Vancouver Way are also home to several of the City's key destinations such as the Portland VA Medical Hospital, Clark College, and Fourth Plain International Business District. This project is the first step to understand how to best make these roads safer, while balancing the needs of all users. Fourth Plain and Fort Vancouver Way are also slated to be repaved in 2023 and 2024, which will provide a cost-effective opportunity for the City to implement any recommended safety improvements that come out of this project.

Stay Involved!

Use this site to sign up for email updates, review documents in the project library, and stay informed about opportunities to join us for an upcoming community event. You can also use this page to tell us your experience traveling on these streets, share an idea, or ask a question.