Shared Used Path on 18th Street - City of Hood River

The City will be installing a permanent, thermoplastic two-way shared use path and bicycle path along the east side of 18th Street between May Street and Belmont Avenue. When completed, parking will be prohibited on the east side of 18^th Street between May Street and Belmont Avenue. This installation is a result of the Safe Routes to Schools Plan and positive feedback of the 2023 demonstration project at the Hood River Middle School.

History of the project:

In March of 2022, the Hood River City Council accepted the Safe Routes to School Plan Report after a year and a half of work with partners at ODOT, Hood River County School District, Alta Planning and Design, and Hood River Valley Parks and Recreation. The Plan identified the 18^th and 17^th Streets corridor adjacent to Hood River Middle School as a priority project.

The City partnered with Portland State University’s Better Blocks program to redesign this area. The resulting conceptual design from these capstone engineering students became the starting point for the Safe Routes to School: Hood River Middle School Demonstration project.

In collaboration with the Hood River County School District, the City installed a series of temporary street treatments between Belmont and Sherman Avenues along the 18th and 17th Street corridor as a pilot project conducted from August-November 2023. The treatments included dedicated two-direction bicycle/shared-use path traveling the length of 18th and 17th Streets beginning at Belmont Avenue and ending at Eugene Street.

Data on the pilot project was collected through traffic and pedestrian counts and a series of online surveys.

Implementing the project:

At the March 11, 2024 City Council meeting, the findings were presented publicly to the Hood River City Council. The City of Hood River is taking the following actions based on the project findings, cost and feasibility of surface treatments:

Location	Treatment
Intersection of 17^th and May	Install new stop sign (completed)
18^th from Belmont to May	Surface treatment to create shared-use and bicycle path to be installed summer 2024. Barriers to physically separate the path from the street will be considered at a later date.
17^th from May to Sherman	No changes

The path is scheduled to be installed in summer 2024. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact City of Hood River Community Engagement Coordinator, Jackie Vanderpuye at 541-645-3470 or j.vanderpuye@cityofhoodriver.gov.