Riverfront Drive Demonstration Project

The feedback period has closed. Thank you to those who participated. Next steps are detailed below. The next opportunity for community feedback will be during construction engagement scheduled May through July. Stay tuned for additional details.

February 27, 2023: City Council Work Session Update

On Monday, February 27, the City Council received an update on the performance measurement of the project, including feedback and design considerations. View the City Council Work Session presentation (external link). It is important to note that the project has not yet been authorized and there is a significant amount of review of the project and possible design modifications and considerations to come. We hope you will continue to stay engaged as we work with the community on the design of the project.

Next Steps:

• March 27 – Present information regarding City Council questions
• April – Finalize Demonstration project report
• May through June – Construction engagement
  • Development of streetscape
  • Construction access and detours
  • Phasing of the project
• July through November – Final design
• Spring 2024 – Construction anticipated

What is the Riverfront Drive Demonstration Project?

The purpose of the Riverfront Drive Demonstration Project is to pilot the proposed roadway design for Riverfront Drive between Plum and Rock streets using temporary, low-cost materials. This will allow people to experience what traveling through the corridor would be like. It also helps the project team evaluate the potential success of the redesign by providing an opportunity to collect real-time data.

How did we get here?

In 2017, a study of this area was completed to address pedestrian safety, speed issues and freight and local access for businesses. Three improvement options were identified and presented to the public for feedback between 2017-2020. Based on public input, the project team made small revisions to the redesign and will test it as part of this demonstration. Road images in photo below are examples.

How will the success of the redesign be measured?

The project team will collect public feedback throughout the duration of the project. The following data will be collected for comparison between the current design and redesign:

• Travel speeds closer to posted speed limits.
• Improved pedestrian and ADA accessibility.
• Travel time increase of no more than 30 seconds during peak hours.
• Minimal diversion of traffic on Second Street, a parallel route.
• Reduction of vehicle crash rate.
• Between 5% to 10% of stakeholder responses collected (about 1,800+).

The demonstration is expected to last for 10 months, June 2022 through March 2023, in order to collect data through all seasons of weather.