Wistful Vista Drive

Street Improvements

Project Updates

Our street analysis and door-to-door work has taken a little longer than expected, and we've moved the Open House date to Monday, September 18 from 6:30-8:00 p.m. The meeting will be held at Fairview City Hall in the 2nd floor Council Chambers. At the meeting, staff and the consultant will share design options for the roadway and ask neighbors for feedback to help select the preferred project design. 

The City will be mailing an open house invitation to all neighbors who received the initial project mailing.

About the Project

In the spring of 2023, the City contracted with PBS Engineering to develop a design for street improvements along NE Wistful Vista Drive from NE 205^th to the dead end at Fairview Parkway. 

As a dead-end road, the City’s street standards and Fire Code require that the terminus be constructed with an approved fire truck turnaround or egress. The lack of a fire turnaround and narrow travel lane create a hazardous condition for fire trucks as well as other emergency service vehicles, and completion of a 30% design is the first step toward constructing the improvements.

In addition to designing a fire truck turnaround for near-term construction, the City is completing a design for the full ¼ mile road between 205^th and Fairview Parkway. The full road design is needed to set the alignment / centerline of the paved road within the existing 100-ft. public right-of-way, and determine the street frontage design for new development.

The Fairview Transportation System Plan classifies Wistful Vista as a Local Residential Street, with a right-of-way width of 49-50 feet, and a paved roadway width of 28 feet. The City is exploring design options based on existing conditions (slopes, trees, storm water facilities, driveways, etc.), input from neighbors, and meeting Fire Code requirements.

History of Wistful Vista

NE Wistful Vista Drive was once a right-of-way owned by Oregon Water Power and Railway Company and used as an interurban electric rail line, connecting people across the region. The right-of-way was deeded as a public road in 1944.

While the right-of-way between NE 201st and NE 205th was unimproved and vacated in 1981, the right-of-way between NE 205th and NE Fairview Parkway continues to serve as a public road providing access to abutting residential development. Once a gravel road, the western half was paved around 2007. The eastern 850 feet of roadway remained unimproved and a constant pothole issue until 2011 when the City laid a 14-foot-wide stretch of roller-compacted concrete through a pilot project. This work has provided a temporary improvement and maintenance solution until a complete street improvement is designed and constructed.