Building on several recent planning efforts for Tigard’s traditional town center, a multi-disciplinary team including SERA, Kittelson, and Johnson Reid, prepared the Downtown Conceptual Connectivity Plan. The plan describes a vision for a complete system of streets and pathways that would significantly improve multi-modal access to, from, and within Downtown and organize development within a block structure better suited to intensive urban development. The plan also puts forth street character classifications that have been designed to meet the future context of individual street segments.
The plan divides the Downtown into several conceptual sub-districts, each with its own unique character and function within Tigard’s core. The degree of connectivity and the character classifications for each street have been individually tailored to meet the design intent of these five conceptual sub-districts.
The proposed street and pathway network would create a fine-grained block structure that is characteristic of other successful downtowns throughout the region and the nation. The new grid would be pedestrian-friendly, universally accessible, and supportive of both the existing downtown-appropriate businesses and the type and scale of development the community desires to see in the Downtown in the future. A transportation assessment of the network prepared for this study determined that each of these character classifications closely matched the anticipated traffic volumes in Downtown Tigard. Additional analysis of the resulting block sizes and frontages assessed the district’s redevelopment potential.
