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Hood River’s Heights-area residents and users said they want a livable community with improvements that balance safety with business access and mixed-use development.
The Heights’ future was the subject of a report to the city’s Urban Renewal Advisory Committee, which met May 20 to hear the first phase of proposed project goals for the area, including analysis and community input. The report summarized input from 344 people who answered an online survey and attended community gatherings and interviews.
The Heights, for the purposes of future street planning, includes 12th and 13th streets between Belmont/Union streets at the south end and May Street at the north end. Today, the neighborhood includes homes, businesses, schools, a hospital and other public buildings.
As part of State Highway 281, it connects downtown Hood River with the Hood River Valley and the farms, forests, parks and trails that feed into it.
Initial community input called for slowing traffic, creating safer intersections, promoting livability, supporting local businesses and improving safety for walkers, bikers and drivers.
The consultant team said that they got some input from the local Latinx community, but they still hope for more. They are also seeking additional suggestions from business and property owners in the Heights.
The plan, once completed, will help inform future improvements to intersections, sidewalks, streets, parking and housing development in the Heights. The “Streetscape” plan also incorporates other city projects now in progress, including “Safe Routes to School” which is reviewing bike and walk routes for youths.
Additional plans for the Heights call for enhancing the district’s identity as a diverse neighborhood with historic roots as the northern gateway to the city; providing parks that support Heights businesses and neighboring residences; providing transportation and infrastructure improvements to enhance safety and efficiency; and enhance housing and neighborhood services.
Balancing the transportation corridor with the housing and neighborhood concerns will be the group’s main challenges, said Tina Lassen, committee member.
The city’s team will continue to collect input from business and residents before drafting goals and reporting to the Hood River Urban Renewal Agency Board for review June 14.
Another 10-12 months of planning remain in The Heights project’s three phases. The second phase will use identified goals to create preliminary concepts which will be refined into a preferred plan in the third phase.
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