By SHAYLA ESCUDERO/Lincoln Chronicle
A major project to overhaul a portion of U.S. Highway 101 and restructuring Newport’s City Center just got the green light.
The city center revitalization plan will convert a 4-6 block section of Highway 101 into two one-way routes, moving northbound traffic to the parallel Southwest Ninth Street without changing the alignment of southbound traffic.
The changes are part of a larger goal to reconfigure Newport’s city center making the project area more walkable, attractive, and help create more opportunities for housing and businesses.
The Newport city council unanimously approved the project during its meeting last week, kickstarting its design. Between design, funding and construction, the project is expected to take about seven years to complete. Three years ago consultants estimated its cost at $11 million.
“Newport’s city center needs help,” the first sentence of the Newport’s project plan reads. There’s vacant storefronts, aging buildings and heavy summer tourist traffic.
The area has a limited supply of updated, move-in ready buildings for businesses. Low vacancy rates signal unmet demand for commercial space but stagnant rents and high construction costs restricted new construction, according to a 2024 city presentation.
Compared to the rest of Newport, the area has a younger, more diverse population with larger households, more children and more renters, according to city data. Rising rents and low vacancy rates suggest a limited supply of multifamily housing in Newport. With limited housing, businesses face challenges recruiting workers.
But city planners and consultants envision a vibrant downtown with mixed-use spaces, wider sidewalks, space for bikers, a public space tailored for the farmer’s market and more opportunities for housing. Newport’s city center could have the charm and character of many other sections of the city such as Nye Beach or the Bayfront, according to a 2024 city presentation.
The planning effort would focus on three blocks on either side of U.S. Highway 20 and Highway 101, from the east entrance to the city, west to the Highway 20/101 intersection, and then south to the Yaquina Bay Bridge, according to the city.
But to have a “focal downtown core” some things will need to be reshaped – mainly, the flow of traffic.
Adding bus stops, biking lanes and changing the flow of traffic would make Newport’s downtown more attractive to developers, consultants said. When the city first visualized the project over a decade ago, it saw three options. Two involved forming one-way couplets, one longer than the other and a third option to retain the highway at its current alignment. After public feedback, the city focused on the short couplet over a longer one.
That meant taking part of Highway 101 into a couplet — moving northbound traffic to the parallel Southwest Ninth Street without changing the alignment of southbound traffic.
Public comments
A few community members voiced concerns over the disruption that construction of the couplet would pose, and concerns over funding the project at the Sept. 2 city council meeting.
Lori Sanders served on the revitalization committee and had originally been opposed to the project. When it was time to vote and send a recommendation to the council, she had changed her mind and approved the project. But, Sanders has since regretted that decision, she told councilors last week.
“It’s going to impact everybody that drives through the city for a very long time,” Sanders told the council. “I’m all for revitalizing the city and housing. I’m all for that, but I’m questioning if this is the best way to do it.”
She also had questions about funding that she felt went unanswered and she worried about the project cost for reinforcing Ninth Street to handle the traffic.
Initially, the couplet was estimated in 2022 to cost about $11 million. That number is expected to go up as the cost of materials and labor increased over the years.
“To do any kind of meaningful change is going to cost some money, but what we do have is a package that the state is backing,” said community development director Derrick Tokos.
The project meets state policies, objectives, and programs for transportation improvements. In addition to using urban renewal funds, the project would be competitive for state and federal funding, he said. Although the city had an initial estimate, a more accurate project cost would come after once 30 percent of its design is completed.
Newport resident Wendy Engler spoke in support of the project at last week’s public hearing, and later clarified that she opposes only the couplet and not the city’s attempt to revitalize the area.
“While the Highway 101 couplet option that the city council will be voting on may or may not help revitalize city center, there are many other components of the urban renewal proposal that will help create a vibrant city center,” said Engler.
She encouraged Newport residents to support the space that would be the permanent home to the farmer’s market and the bike and walking paths that would get people out of their cars and into businesses.
After the public hearing, the council unanimously approved the project, adding the changes to the city’s comprehensive plan and transportation plan. Newport residents and visitors will see changes in about seven years, after design is complete and funding secured.
“I support the motion that was made because it gives us a macro look at what is going to happen,” said Councilor Cynthia Jacobi. “It’s the high view, and as it develops and we get some more information, then we can look at the more intricate parts of this plan, and we can certainly have citizen committees input as we move along.”
● Shayla Escudero covers Lincoln County government, education, Newport, housing and social services for Lincoln Chronicle and can be reached at Shayla@LincolnChronicle.org
Don’t understand this, from the pictured proposed couplet plan, it looks like it is now creating two separate lanes of heavy 101 traffic for pedestrians to cross in order to get from one area of the “revitalized” city center to another. Why not keep 101 as it is, create refreshed and new retail office space on either side, but make more safe, quieter, less congested and walkable areas of shops, restaurants, housing, green spaces, parking a block or two away around seventh, ninth, ten streets etc.? Seems splitting 101 just spreads the traffic, dangers and noise thru a larger area for people to deal with.
Please consider moving the farmers market. Northbound traffic will be stopped often while people cross from the parking lot behind city hall. Or a traffic light will need to be installed.
I agree with Janet. Why make two streets very congested? Put in planter boxes, paint it up, make it pretty, you still have 10,000 to 15,000 cars per day travelling thru the area. If 9th Street were for commerce, pedestrians and bikes you would have a nicer environment, keep the traffic congestion on 101.
It is also interesting that the City approved the project before getting a well thought out cost estimate.
Engineers make cost estimates everyday, why not update the old estimate before a decision is made? As it has been decided, the project is approved, $XXX,XXX will be spent to get 30% design, then we’ll have a handle on the cost.
Imagine if the boatloads of cash were given to the businesses and residents of Newport? Reinvesting in current business and infrastructure would have a giant and homegrown appeal for which the wonderful city of Newport is already known. Messing with traffic flow and spreading exhaust and detritus throughout existing neighborhoods seems kinda mean. Good luck to the citizens of this lovely town.
Bad idea, but it’ll make developers money/happy. The state and feds continue to misapply funds. The couplet in Philomath made similar claims that haven’t come to fruition, actually losing some businesses during/after construction. This plan simply splits traffic into 2 dangerous strips to cross, will take more street space from existing lots, and does nothing to address the traffic glut north and south of this area. Once the couplet is completed and the traffic vibrations disturbs the building, I predict the bureaucrats will want a new city hall. Along with now paid parking on the Bayfront, my trips to Newport decrease. I was on Corvallis Planning Commission for eight years. The staff and council ask your input after decisions made, so they can put out fires. They don’t ask input before (or do so only perfunctorily) to avoid pushback. Think about the Bayfront parking — it was a done deal before more than a handful knew of the project. I know because I was over there a year ago asking businesses their thoughts, and they hadn’t heard of the project. It would be nice if they would ask what we want, and act on it, instead of their dreamed up projects. Instead, purposefully or naturally, they maintain a disconnect to avoid interference in their plans.
The couplet is a bad idea.
Literally all you have to do to fix the traffic issue is remove the four blocks of hwy 101 on street parking to create a center turn lane.
The whole backlog in this section can be traced to only allowing single lane North or South bound traffic rather than creating a turn lane and letting North and South operate at the same time.
The cost difference would be so minimal in comparison, especially since there is a serious water problem that needs the extra money.
Your comment makes sense to me. Creating a turn lane would keep the 101 traffic in the same location rather than to disrupt a section of Newport with narrow streets and walking traffic. The downtown area isn’t so big that people can’t park and walk to destinations. A turn lane would seem to make that even easier.
Agree. Do not split 101.
Remove the parking along the street for those few blocks, and add a left turn lane to ease congestion. That would make it safer. Face it.
Plus, There will never be money to complete this. How much money have we paid the Portland urban planning company? Are we going to keep paying them for the next seven years?
Years ago, Lincoln City gave out interest free loans for businesses to update their storefronts. Great idea. Yes, let’s put the money into improving the businesses. Sure, nice sidewalks with trees too.
Need to send farmers market to the Lincoln County fairgrounds. Also need to paint yellow curbs on corners around city’s recreation center, people are parking right on the corners and blocking oncoming traffic views from drivers trying to pull out. Almost been hit several times trying to leave my residential area.
I’d think most people who walk frequently to do errands would feel that a one-way highway is a lot easier to cross than a two-way highway. If only there were more one-way sections like that. And anyone who uses a bicycle to do errands knows that bike lanes directly on the highway help them access businesses directly on the highway. If only all of Hwy 101 had bike lanes. Exhaust travels freely wherever the wind and water take it. Car pollution is part and parcel with concentrating transportation options to cars and trucks. Making it easier to walk and bike is how to cut down on exhaust. Don’t do like Lincoln City did & add center turn lanes to Hwy 101 because it encourages people to drive like they’re on a racetrack & go 50 or 60 in the 30. Install crossing islands instead.
ODOT has pushed couplets on small towns over and over. Brookings rejected a couplet proposal circa 20+ years ago and instead offered matching city funds to main street building owners to beautify their areas.
Looking forward to Newport having two decrepit main streets instead of just one. And it’s a shame this will eliminate the city parking lot that hosts the Newport Farmers Market – which draws in more people in four hours on a Saturday than the rest of the area brings in a week.
This project will take years to complete and a lot of money that could have been better spent. Meanwhile, the businesses that are supposed to benefit from such a project will suffer rather than be helped. Newport will need funds from ODOT to complete this project, at a time when funding for infrastructure has been and will continue to be reduced. The road surface of 9th Street was not designed to hold up to the weight of traffic that flows up 101 on a daily basis. The city of Philomath had the ribbon cutting ceremony for their couplet in 2007 and they still haven’t finished the pedestrian areas affected by that project.
I’ll be more direct and brief than the detailed and accurate comments above.
This is just a dumb dumb dumb idea. Why is Newport doing it?