Visitors to the Historic Highway In the past 10 years, traffic along the Historic Highway grew nearly 50 percent. Much of that growth occurred aſter 2013. In past years, more than 1,000 pedestrians crossed the Historic Highway every hour on weekends to access Multnomah Falls. This plan aims to address the congeson challenges that come with our interest and appreciaon for enjoying the Historic Highway and the desnaons in the Gorge. Fact Sheet – April 2018 C L A R K C O U N T Y S K A M A N I A C O U N T Y ¬ ¬ More people are visiting the Columbia River Gorge each year For over 100 years, thousands of drivers, cyclists and hikers have used the Historic Columbia River Highway to access some of the Gorge’s most beauful and popular desnaons. As the populaon grows, more people seek out the beauty of the Columbia River Gorge. We need to address traffic congestion Traffic congeson on the Historic Highway has worsened in recent years, increasing safety concerns and affecng the experience of visitors and residents. The Oregon Department of Transportaon is working with its partners to prepare the Congeson and Transportaon Safety Improvement Plan. The plan aims to improve the experience for all people living, accessing and vising the area by: • Enhancing safety for all users including people who drive, walk, cycle and take public transportaon • Reducing excessive delays due to traffic congeson and vehicles parked on the shoulder of the roadway • Minimizing conficts between cars, cyclists and pedestrians • Identifyingsustainable funding to implement strategies • Providing improved access for recreaonal and scenic enjoyment of natural and cultural resources • Decreasing negative efects of traffic congeson and vehicles parked on the shoulder of the roadway on scenic, natural, cultural and recreaonal resources Our focus is the waterfall corridor The study area for the Improvement Plan includes the drivable poron of the Historic Highway and connecng Multnomah County roads between the Portland Women’s Forum State Scenic Viewpoint and Ainsworth State Park. The study area also includes parking facilies for trailheads and viewpoints, including the Multnomah Falls parking lot on Interstate 84. M U L T N O M A H C O U N T Y Ç Ç Ç Ç Ç Ç Ç Ç § ¨ ¦ 84 § ¨ ¦ 84 £ ¤ 30 £ ¤ 30 « 14 « 14 E Larch M ounta in Rd SE M o ffe t R d Ind i a Marble Rd e r i em Rd SE Ev e rg reen Hw y m a n R d Riverside Dr C a pe H or n R d S m i t h C r i p e R SE Gibson Rd Palmer Mill Rd NE Palme r M i ll Rd Mt Pleasa n t R d Hi stor ic C olu mbia River H w y E La rch M ou n t ain Rd S a l m o n F a l l s R d Belle Center Rd Hain e s Rd o w e r R d Crow n P oi n t Hw y Canyo n Creek R d His to ric C ol u mbia R i v e r H wy Co lu m bia R i ver Hwy C o l u m b i a R i v e r O R E G O N W A S H I N G T O N Portland Women’s Forum Vista House at Crown Point Bridal Veil Falls Scenic Viewpoint Wahkeena Falls Multnomah Falls/Lodge Oneonta Gorge Horsetail Falls Ainsworth State Park Study Corridor