Transportation System Plan Goals and Policies

Goals and Policies

Note that items in italics are only explanatory in nature and "therefore could not be appealed as land use decisions."

There are seven Goals, each with several implementing policies and explanations in italics:

Plan, design and construct transportation facilities in a manner which enhances the livability of Forest Grove.

Policy 1. Maintain the livability of Forest Grove through proper location and design of transportation facilities.
Design streets and highways to respect the characteristics of the surrounding land uses, natural features, and other community amenities.

Policy 2. Encourage pedestrian accessibility by providing safe, secure and desirable pedestrian routes.
The City will develop and maintain a pedestrian plan in Forest Grove, outlining pedestrian routes. Sidewalk standards will be developed to define various widths, as necessary, for City street types.

Policy 3. Protect neighborhoods from excessive through traffic and travel speeds while providing reasonable access to and from residential areas. Build local and neighborhood streets to minimize speeding.
Develop and maintain a program of street design standards and criteria for neighborhood traffic management for use in new development and existing neighborhoods. Measures to be developed may include speed humps, traffic circles, curb/sidewalk extensions, curving streets, diverters and/or other measures.

Policy 4. Relate the design of street capacity and improvements to their intended use.
A functional roadway classification system shall be developed for Forest Grove which meets the City's needs and is coordinated with County, Regional and State roadway classification systems. Appropriate design standards for roadways in the City should be coordinated and developed by the responsible jurisdiction.

Provide a balanced transportation system, incorporating all modes of transportation (Including motor vehicle, bicycle, pedestrian, transit and other modes).

Policy 1. Develop and implement street standards that recognize the multi-purpose nature of the street right-of-way for utility, pedestrian, bicycle, transit, truck and auto use.
Develop and maintain a series of system maps and design standards for motor vehicles, bicycle, pedestrian, transit and truck facilities in Forest Grove.

Policy 2. The City should coordinate with Tri-Met to improve transit opportunities and service to Forest Grove. Fixed route transit should primarily use arterial and collector streets in Forest Grove.
The Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) and Tri-Met service plan will be the guiding documents for development of Forest Grove 's transit plan. The City should provide input to Tri-Met regarding their specific needs as they annually review their system.

Policy 3. Bicycle facilities must be constructed on all arterials and collectors within Forest Grove (with construction or reconstruction projects), where feasible. All schools, parks, public facilities and retail areas shall have direct access to a bikeway.
The City will develop a bicycle plan which connects key activity centers (such as schools, parks, public facilities and retail areas) with adjacent access. Standards for bicycle facilities within Forest Grove will be developed and maintained. Where activity centers are on local streets, connections to bicycle lanes shall be designated.

Policy 4. Sidewalks must be constructed on all streets within Forest Grove (with construction or reconstruction projects). All schools, parks, public facilities and retail areas shall have direct access to a sidewalk.
The City will develop a pedestrian plan that connects important activity centers with adjacent access. Standards for pedestrian facilities within Forest Grove will be developed and maintained.

Policy 5. Bicycle and pedestrian plans shall be developed which link to recreational trails.
The bicycle and pedestrian plans will need to indicate linkages between recreational and basic pedestrian networks. Design standards for recreational elements will need to be developed and maintained.

Policy 6. Regional streets shall be designed with special amenities to favor public transportation, bicycle and pedestrian travel and balance travel demands in the Town Center area.
The purpose of this policy is to provide broader street design standards within the Town Center area to allow for on-street parking, wider sidewalk, curb extensions, and other roadway amenities, as appropriate, for non-auto travel modes.

Policy 7. Local streets shall be designed to encourage a reduction in trip length by providing connectivity and limiting out-of-direction travel. Provide connectivity to activity centers and destinations with a priority for bicycle and pedestrian connections.
The purpose of this policy is to provide accessibility within Forest Grove, with a focus on pedestrian connectivity. Pedestrian connectivity can be provided via pedestrian / bike paths between cul-de-sacs and/or greenways where auto connectivity does not exist or is not feasible. Wherever necessary new streets built to provide connectivity shall incorporate traffic management design elements, particularly those that inhibit speeding.

Policy 8. Forest Grove will participate in vehicle trip reduction strategies developed regionally.
DEQ and Metro are developing regional policies regarding trip reduction. Some of these policies are aimed at provision of parking and others are aimed at ridesharing (Employee Commute Options -- ECO rules).


Policy 1. Design of streets should relate to their intended use.
A functional classification system shall be developed for Forest Grove which meets the City 's needs and respects needs of other agencies (Washington County, Metro, ODOT). Appropriate design standards for these roadways will be developed by the appropriate jurisdiction.

Policy 2. Street maintenance shall be a priority to improve safety in Forest Grove.
The City shall coordinate with Washington County for the maintenance of those facilities within the City maintained by the County.

Policy 3. Safe and secure pedestrian and bikeways shall be designed between parks and other activity centers in Forest Grove.

Policy 4. Safe and secure routes to schools shall be designated for each school and any new residential project shall identify the safe path to school for children.
Working with the school district, citizens, and developers, the City will need to undertake a process of defining school routes.

Policy 5. Access management standards shall be developed in conjunction with the functional classification system for Forest Grove to improve safety in Forest Grove.
Access control standards shall be developed for each street classification. These standards shall be applied to all new road construction and development. For roadway reconstruction, existing driveways shall be compared with the standards and a reasonable attempt shall be made to comply (possibly consolidating driveways as an example).

Policy 6. Establish a City monitoring system that regularly evaluates, prioritizes and mitigates high accident locations within the City. Review traffic accident information regularly to systematically identify, prioritize and remedy safety problems. Working with the County, develop a list of projects necessary to eliminate such problems. Require development applications to identify mitigation for high collision locations if they generate 10% increase to existing traffic at an intersection.

Policy 7. Improve traffic safety through a comprehensive program of engineering, education and enforcement.

Policy 8. New roadways shall meet Illuminating Engineers Society Lighting Standards.
Existing roadways within the city limits shall be systematically retrofitted with roadway lighting as roadway reconstruction and fronting property re-development opportunities occur.
Priority locations for roadway lighting include schools, parks and town center. The City shall coordinate with the City's Light and Power district.

Parking standards shall be listed in the development code for the City of Forest Grove. DEQ encourages lower parking ratios to encourage use of alternative modes (walking, biking, transit, car pooling, etc.).

Policy 3. Work with Washington County Metro and ODOT to develop, operate and maintain intelligent transportation systems, including coordination of traffic signals.

Policy 4. Provide a cost-effective transportation system where the public, land use development and users pay their respective share of the system's costs proportional to their respective demands placed upon the multi-modal system.

Develop transportation facilities that are accessible to all members of the community
and minimize out of direction travel.

Policy 1. Design and construct transportation facilities to meet the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Policy 2. Develop neighborhood and local connections to provide adequate circulation in and out of the neighborhoods.
Establish design criteria and implementing ordinances to enable the connection of streets identified on the plan as funds are available and new development or re-development opportunities arise. As a planning guideline, require local streets to have connections no more than 530 feet for local and neighborhood streets (330 feet for high density mixed-use developments such as the Town Center), except where prevented by topography, barriers such as railroads, expressways or pre-existing development, or environmental constraints.

Policy 3. Work with Washington County to develop an efficient arterial grid system that provides access within the City, and serves through City traffic.
As outlined in Title 6 of the Metro Urban Growth Management Functional Plan, access connection standards will be developed. The arterial street system should facilitate street, bicycle and pedestrian connectivity.

Provide for efficient movement of goods and services.

Policy 1. Design arterial routes, highway access and adjacent land uses in ways that facilitate the efficient movement of goods and services.

Policy 2. Require safe routing of hazardous materials consistent with federal and state guidelines.
Work with federal agencies, the Public Utility Commission, the Oregon Department of Energy and ODOT to assure consistent laws and regulations for the transport of hazardous materials.

Implement the Transportation System Plan (TSP) in a coordinated manner.

Policy 1. Coordinate and cooperate with adjacent agencies (including Washington County, Cornelius, Metro and ODOT) when necessary to develop transportation projects which benefit the region as a whole in addition to the City of Forest Grove.
Maintain plan and policy conformance to the Regional Transportation Plan and Transportation Planning Rule (OAR 660-012). Seek compatibility with all adjacent county and city jurisdiction plans.

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