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.
“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
This story comes to you from the Northwest News Network, a collaboration between public media organizations in Oregon and Washington.