The first day of summer is Friday, June 20, which Ridgefield Mayor Matt Cole highlighted some important topics for the city to focus on ahead of the busy summer season.
Cole told The Reflector that on one side is the heavy construction taking place on crucial roadways, and on the other side, the community aspect of all the upcoming events remains vital for the growing community.
As the Pioneer Street widening project continues, the road does narrow during construction.
“Navigating that as we get summer traffic coming through here and naturally with a little burger chain that’s going to open up soon, and so all of that is kind of a huge focus for us right now,” Cole said.
He added that the completion of the Pioneer Street widening project will generate a significant amount of commercial interest — even more than there is already — especially in the junction sub-area. When that project is completed, Cole said the 11th Street overpass will be a critical road expansion, as it will connect the business districts on both sides of Interstate 5, which also provides neighborhood access.
As Cole follows former Ridgefield Mayor Ron Onslow, he now leads the city into the future, where growth has expanded from residential developments to regional and community-centric retail and job opportunities.
“Costco and In-N-Out and all the other businesses are going to come in and are coming in there, it doesn’t just make it local traffic only,” he said. “We will get a lot of regional traffic, and so what that means is we want to make sure that our residents have better options for navigating the city and especially going between the east and west side of town with Clark College opening up that campus there at Boschma Farms. … So the 11th Street overpass is a really integral part of that that connects the two sides of town and in a multimodal way.”
Cole said the multimodal aspect has been important for the City Council as studies have shown younger generations would like to be less car-reliant. The traffic improvement plan in the city’s comprehensive growth plan places a strong focus on enhancing multimodal transportation options throughout the city, he added.
Community input in the 20-year growth plan has been important for the city, Cole said, adding that there have been numerous outreach events and online surveys to hear the needs of Ridgefield residents.
The city has been outlining the genres of commercial needs in Ridgefield. As for the “crossroads,” the area around Pioneer Street and Royle Road already has a Les Schwab Tire Center. Additionally, an oil change business and car wash are slated, along with an auto parts store. A second, locally-targeted grocery store is also slated to arrive at the crossroads area.
“Whenever I go to Costco, I definitely see people from Ridgefield there, but I always see people wearing Kalama sweatshirts, or you see them coming from Castle Rock, right?” Cole said. “Like that’s kind of what that’s designed to do and give access to more regional traffic. But the stuff that’s coming in there at the central part of town feels like it’s designated for residents of Ridgefield. It’s targeting that market right there, and I think that’s by design, right? We want to make it so that it’s accessible to Ridgefield residents without having to feel like they’re going outside of town to get something like that.”
The need for expanded commercial growth has arisen in response to a population boom that was expected. Still, population growth occurred in a short period for Ridgefield at a rate rare for many cities.
“Over the pandemic, the city’s population grew by 30% just during those two years alone,” he said. “That’s a significant amount of growth, and you start asking like, ‘well, why do people move here?’ And you look around the region, a lot of other areas are tapped out. Vancouver’s tapped out. You go south of Portland, Wilsonville’s tapped out. You go east, you know, all these other jurisdictions are tapped out on where they can grow …”
Cole also highlighted the city’s proximity to Portland, the Portland International Airport, and especially the closeness to Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge, being just a few minutes away from practically every driveway in the city. He also said the enjoyment of nature, such as seeing Mount St. Helens on a clear day and the close distance to outdoor recreation opportunities, is a draw for Ridgefield.
“So you have to balance the growth with the reason that people moved out here to begin with,” Cole said, highlighting the pocketed zones of mixed-use areas and larger commercial areas. “Then you have the charming downtown, and you have all of the neighborhoods in between. It’s important that we preserve and we grow smartly and make sure that all of those zones stay intact.”
The city is also committed to green space as Cole highlighted a council decision to mandate that 25% of all new developments have green space. Having a network of trails and multimodal pathways will be a critical aspect of the future, as well, he said.
