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The City of Vancouver is making Fourth Plain Blvd and Fort Vancouver Way safer for all users no matter how they get around!

Winter 2025 - What's happening now?

Fourth Plain Safety & Mobility Project Phase 1: F Street - Fort Vancouver Way

• Construction of final pieces of the project planned: October 2024 - Winter/Spring 2025
• The project includes installing new bus platforms, a lane reconfiguration to add a two-way cycle track on the south side of Fourth Plain, repairs and restriping to existing crosswalks, and upgraded signals for bike and pedestrian safety.

• Traffic impacts: Expect lane closures, lane shifts, ramp lane closures, shoulder closures and traffic delays during this project.

• Work hours: 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. Some night work hours possible.

How to use the new 2-Way cycle track and BAT lanes

Fourth Plain Safety & Mobility Project Phase 2: Fort Vancouver Way - Andresen Road

• Pavement work and curb ramp upgrades - Summer and Fall 2024
  • Grind, fill cracks and make repairs, re-pave and apply temporary striping.
• Install safety and mobility project elements - Fall 2024
  • A lane reconfiguration to add bike / small mobility lane on each side of the street between Fort Vancouver Way and 62nd Avenue.
  • Repairing and restriping existing crosswalks.
  • Priority bus lane markings and creation of Bus and Turn only Lanes.
  • Upgraded signals for pedestrian and bike / small mobility safety.
• Fourth Plain Boulevard and Stapleton Road intersection improvement - Summer 2024
  • Intersection improvements to the signal and intersection of NE Fourth Plain Boulevard and NE Stapleton Road. The intersection enhancements include upgrading the traffic signal and improving the current pavement striping.
    
    
    

Project Background

In Spring 2022, the City began studying ways to improve safety, mobility, and comfort for people moving on both Fourth Plain Blvd (from F Street east to Andresen) and Fort Vancouver Way (from Fourth Plain to Mill Plain). Over 300 crashes occurred between 2018 to 2020, making it the most unsafe corridor in the City. In Summer 2022, we confirmed with Vancouver residents and community members that many people feel unsafe traveling these streets, including people crossing the street, children, and people with disabilities.

In Fall 2022, the City shared design options for making these streets safer and more comfortable. These options consider ways of making The Vine bus run more efficiently along Fourth Plain Blvd, making the service more attractive and reliable for riders. The design options do not widen the existing roadway, but instead repurpose a traffic lane. These designs will be constructed in 2023 and 2024 as part of already planned paving projects.

Learn more about these options from the project summaries linked in the Project Library.

How will the community be involved?

In the summer and fall of 2022, the City conducted in-person and online outreach to people who live, work, play, or go to school on Fourth Plain Boulevard and Fort Vancouver Way. The City is committed to gathering broad community feedback to understand how project improvements can best serve all who drive, walk, bicycle, or use a mobility device along these corridors. See the Project Library to review engagement and design summaries from this stage of the project.

The City presented the project to the Transportation and Mobility Commission and Vancouver City Council a total of 13 times between 2021 and 2023, and City Council adopted the proposed designs in March 2023.

What will the project accomplish?

The purpose of this project is to improve safety, mobility, and comfort on both Fourth Plain (from F Street east to Andresen) and Fort Vancouver Way (from Fourth Plain to Mill Plain). These roads have a history of safety problems for all users, and are not comfortable roads for people to walk, ride a bike, or use transit. Improvements may include:

• Repairing potholes and repaving.
• Safety and operations improvements at intersections.
• Improved conditions for people walking, biking, using mobility devices, or taking the bus.
• This project is exploring how to use the existing right of way (road space) to make this corridor safer. This could include "lane reconfigurations," that change the number of lanes for driving to make more room for people biking, walking, or using the bus.

This project is part of the Complete Streets program - a citywide initiative to increase safety and mobility for all community members regardless of how they travel. Learn more about the Complete Streets portfolio of projects by visiting the City website.

Construction Timeline

Repaving and corridor improvements to Fourth Plain Blvd and Fort Vancouver Way are planned to occur in two separate construction phases (see map below):

• Phase 1: West Corridor (2023 and 2024): Safety upgrades, and repurposing of a vehicle lane of Fourth Plain Blvd (F Street to Fort Vancouver Way) and Fort Vancouver Way (Fourth Plain Blvd to Mill Plain Blvd).
  • Pavement work: 2023
  • Safety and Mobility work: Fall 2024 - Winter 2025
    
    
• Phase 2: East Corridor (2024): The second phase of the repaving, safety upgrades, and roadway repurposing on Fourth Plain Blvd between Fort Vancouver Way and Andresen Road.
  • Pavement work: 2024
  • Safety and Mobility work: Summer and Fall 2024.

    
    

    

Why is the City doing the Project now?

The City completed the Transportation System Safety Analysis (TSSA) in 2018 that showed that Fourth Plain Blvd between Grand Boulevard and Andresen Road had the highest number of crashes per mile of all principal arterials in the City. Fourth Plain Blvd and Fort Vancouver Way are also home to several of the City's key destinations such as the Vancouver VA Medical Hospital, Clark College, and Fourth Plain International Business District. This project is the first step to understand how to best make these roads safer, while balancing the needs of all users. Fourth Plain and Fort Vancouver Way are also slated to be repaved in 2023 and 2024, which will provide a cost-effective opportunity for the City to implement any recommended safety improvements that come out of this project.

Stay Involved!

Use this site to sign up for email updates, review documents in the project library, and stay informed about opportunities to learn more about complete streets.