Page 128 - TransportationPlanUsetsGuide

A 2011 USDOT report indicated that passive crossings are almost 10 times more risky than active crossings. This same
report indicated that the incidents per year at railroad crossings have been declining over the last 20 years. Until recent-
ly, the State of Oregon regulated the length of time a railroad train may block a public highway-rail crossing. An Oregon
Court of Appeals ruling determined that federal law preempted the State from continuing this practice. So, the State of
Oregon can no longer control public crossings that are blocked by trains. Today, trespassing has become the leading
cause of railroad fatalities (USDOT FRA Annual issues). Each year, approximately 500 people are killed nationally as a
result of trespassing on railroad rights-of-way. Railroads face the challenge of identifying sites vulnerable to trespassing,
improving awareness, and installing fencing.

Oregon Operation Lifesaver is a not-for-profit organization devoted to ending collisions, fatalities, and injuries at high-
way/railroad crossings and on railroad rights-of-way. To accomplish their mission, they promote the 3 E’s of safety:
Education, Enforcement, and Engineering. One particular area of concern is in Aloha, where people often cross the
railroad tracks at unauthorized locations to reach bus stops and businesses along TV Highway. Railroad crossings also
significantly affect the operation of a number of roadways in Washington County such as Tualatin-Sherwood Road and
TV Highway.

PIPELINES
The most significant pipeline crossing Washington County is the Kinder Morgan Pipeline that transports pressurized, re-
fined products from a facility on the Willamette River in Northwest Portland to Eugene and points in between. The pipe-
line generally follows a north-south BPA electric transmission line corridor through Bethany, Beaverton, Bull Mountain,
and Sherwood; portions of which also accommodate the Westside Regional Trail. Several other gas pipelines cross the
County, including another north-south corridor from the Dairy Creek valley to Sherwood, and several east-west routes.
The primary concerns with major pipelines in the County are:

• Protecting the functionality of these pipelines as a mode of transporting products,
• Accounting for pipeline buffer corridors within planned development,
• Avoiding the high cost of relocating pipelines for transportation projects,

• Minimizing the community impacts of any future proposed pipelines, including liquefied natural gas (LNG)
pipelines that have become more relevant in today’s booming natural gas market,

• Minimizing impacts that any new pipelines would have on the community, and
• Minimizing impacts of new development on major pipeline corridors.

Existing high-pressure gas pipelines (60 pounds per square inch or greater) are shown in the TSP Aviation, Railroad and
Pipeline System map.

AVIATION
Washington County has one medium-sized general aviation airport, two smaller private airports, and approximately 23
other airstrips or helipads, as described in the following sections. Washington County’s Comprehensive Plan identifies
Public Use Airports and state-recognized Private Use Airports with land use overlay designations (entitled Airport Overlay
Districts) in the map elements of the Rural/Natural Resource Plan and/or Community Plans. Private use facilities fall
under two general categories: private use airports identified by the Oregon Department of Aviation (pursuant to ORS
836.608(2)) that are subject to LCDC’s Airport Planning Rule (OAR 660-013); and personal use facilities that are sub-
ject to local regulation. Land use related policies and strategies regarding the overlay-designated airport facilities are
addressed in the Rural/Natural Resource Plan and in the Comprehensive Framework Plan for the Urban Area. Develop-
ment standards for all airport and heliport related uses, including personal use airports and heliports, are outlined in
the Community Development Code.

110 PART 3: TRANSPORTATION MODAL ELEMENTS
Effective November 27, 2015 • Updated December, 15 2016