I live in the neighborhood of Noble Woods Park and have a deep connection to the forest and wetlands of this green space. I also have a child that attends one of the 4 local schools in this neighborhood. The Century Blvd Extension Project threatens the safety and tranquility of the roadways in our neighborhood and will cause irreparable harm to the wetlands and animal habitat at Noble Woods Park. 

The addition of traffic along Century Blvd will make our roads more dangerous, particularly for kids walking or riding bikes and scooters to school. The project does not address long-standing concerns neighbors have with inadequate sidewalks along Borwick leading to Noble Woods Park and on other roads in the neighborhood that children use to walk to school. The intersection and Main & Century is already extremely dangerous, which this project will only exacerbate by increasing traffic crossing Main St where drivers routinely drive way over the speed limit.

This project will cause significant harm to a section of Noble Woods Park that includes wetlands, native plant and animal species, and nesting birds. Over 200 trees will be removed and damage to banks and wetlands around Beaverton Creek will continue downstream into the Rock Creek river system. As this becomes a pass-through for busy commuters each day, increased traffic noise and pollution will continue to harm nesting birds and other wildlife long after the project is finished.

Financially, the Century Blvd Extension Project boasts a hefty price tag of $43 million—a significant sum that could be directed towards enhancing safety and walkability throughout the entire county. The county first planned this project in 1999 just after Century High School was built, just after Noble Woods was established as a park, and long before the construction of the South Hillsboro or the development at Orenco Station. During the planning stages, there have been very little effort made by the county to engage with the neighborhood that will be most directly and adversly impacted by this project. The original goal of this project was to benefit commuters traveling from South Hillsboro to North Hillsboro for work. But in the intervening years, Century Blvd is no longer an ideal route for commuters. There are school zones, crosswalks, stop signs, intersections, and a Max intersection that cross Century making this a very slow, inconvenient route for commuters. Whereas, the existing routes along Cornelius Pass Rd and especially along Brookwood Parkway have much fewer stops making these better options for commuters.

Join me in opposing the Century Blvd Extension Project by signing this petition. Let us protect our neighborhood, our children, and our cherished Noble Woods Park. Each signature is a step towards preserving safety, nature, and a way of life for generations to come.