The agency is well into its planning process for Lot 1, and its lower Hanel Mill property is about to get a long-awaited cleanup.
By the end of fall, the port hopes to turn the abandoned mill site in Odell into a buildable piece of land for light industrial businesses, as reported by Patrick Mulvihill on page A5. It is a promising location, scenic as it is and smack in the center of things, and with a vibrant set of neighbors.
Lot 1 bears some distinct similarities: a large open area though somewhat unlovely juxtaposed with its surroundings, a central location next to a neighborhood growing more vibrant every day. (Specifically, the newly completed Nichols boat basin trail and park, Naito Corp.’s Hampton Inn under construction on the boat basin, and Sheppard’s move next spring to Riverside location just west of Lot 1.)
Access is the chief difference between these two plots of potential. While lower the Hanel Mill has the benefit of Highway 35 and Lower Neal Creek so close at hand, Lot 1 is hemmed in and accessible only by the narrow and busy Second Street, the oft-choked downtown feeder street. The problem is going to get worse with Hampton Inn opening and the return of wind sport season, both next spring.
Solutions, according to the city, include a traffic light at Second and Riverside and traffic revisions in the waterfront itself. Long-term it is imperative that the city and Port engage with ODOT and Hood River County Transportation District, and within the context of transportation management planning that has just begun on the city’s west side. These are all important pieces to what will be a long-range fix. But even though Lot 1 buildout is not likely for 5-10 years, the projected 2020 traffic impacts on Second Street have arrived in 2015. As Hood River’s renown as a visitor destination grows, those short-term impacts will only intensify. The time is now to specifically address what will be done to keep the Second Street overpass from becoming bottleneck alley.
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