Existing Conditions

W Fourth Plain Boulevard is only of the only east-west Principal Arterial roadways on the west side of Vancouver, providing access between relatively dense single-family neighborhoods to the north, downtown Vancouver to the south, the Port of Vancouver to the west, and Interstate 5 and east Vancouver to the east. Currently only stop controlled at the minor approaches on the north and south legs, the intersection at W Fourth Plain Boulevard and Franklin Streets has long met warrants for a traffic signal. There is a gap of over one-third of a mile between existing traffic signals at Fourth Plain and Columbia Street to the east and Fourth Plain and Kauffman Avenue to the west. Providing direct access to multiple schools, employment areas, and parks, Franklin Street is a primary corridor for people walking, biking, and rolling, but the lack of a signalized crossing at Fourth Plain creates a safety barrier between neighborhoods and destinations. Multiple serious injury and fatal crashes involving vulnerable road users have occurred at the intersection of Fourth Plain and Franklin within the past three years.