After extensive public engagement and a unique collaborative partnership, ODOT and the City of Portland combined parts of the N/ NE Quadrant Plan and the I-5 Broadway/Weidler Facility Plan to create the I-5 Rose Quarter Improvement Project. The I-5 Rose Quarter Improvement Project was adopted by Portland City Council and approved by the Oregon Transportation Commission in October 2012. Public engagement and partnership continued through the environmental phase and the release of the project’s Draft Environmental Assessment in February 2019 followed by a 45-day public comment period, and will continue into future project work.
During the N/NE Quadrant Plan and I-5 Broadway/Weidler Facility Plan process, together with a 30-member Stakeholder Advisory Committee (SAC), ODOT and the City evaluated over 70 design concepts and narrowed the scope of freeway improvements to accommodate and incorporate modifications to the local system in line with the City’s land use planning goals. During this planning effort, ODOT and the City engaged with over 2,800 individuals and held 19 SAC meetings, 14 subcommittee meetings, four open houses, and over 85 community briefings and walking tours.
During the environmental review phase of the I-5 Rose Quarter Improvement Project, engagement activities included interviews with Black Portlanders and communities of color, work with a 14-member Community Liaisons Group to inform outreach, project presentations at over 100 events and community gatherings, nine hosted events with more than 280 attendees, community walking and biking tours, door-to-door outreach with over 60 businesses, a public hearing, updates via the project website and newsletters, and a 45-day public review and comment period on the draft Environmental Assessment.
The project team continues to intentionally listen, inform, and engage with communities of color, especially the historically impacted African American community, the primary community displaced by past public and private development decisions. Transparent, inclusive engagement will be a central feature of the project through design and construction.
