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A ballot measure in Lake Oswego is in position to push ahead a project more than a decade in the making. Proponents say the project could invite economic development in the city’s Lake Grove Village Center.

Measure 3-406 would authorize the city to issue $5 million in general obligation bonds for improvements along roughly two-thirds of a mile of Boones Ferry Road, between Madrona Street and Oakridge/Reese Road. The property tax increase for the bond would be 6 cents per $1,000, or $18 a year for a $300,000 home.

That money would join $17.4 million from the city’s new Lake Grove urban renewal area; also, if the measure were to pass, the city is expected to chip in $3 million more. Total improvements 鈥� landscaped medians, vehicle turn lanes, sidewalk safety upgrades, new signals, street crossings, bike lanes and storm drainage 鈥� are estimated to cost $25.4 million.

鈥淧roviding for this infrastructure will help neighbors get access 鈥� but it will also provide incentive to keep up with the amount of private investment going into the private commercial properties right now,鈥� said Mike Buck, the owner of on Boones Ferry Road. 鈥淭he street is lagging behind.鈥�

In June, a $6 million redevelopment of an aging strip mall at the corner of Boones Ferry Road and Bryant Road opened with Zupan’s as an anchor tenant. Buck said a new veterinary clinic recently opened nearby and Wells Fargo is looking to build a branch across the street from Gubanc’s. Buck also recently invested half a million dollars in a new restaurant called Babica Hen, which will open in November.

Business is picking up, but the street can barely handle existing traffic, Buck said. His interest in the issue started in 1999, when he saw a man in a wheelchair fall into the street after attempting to maneuver around a telephone pole in the middle of the sidewalk.

Today, Boones Ferry Road attracts about 20,000 cars per day, and it can get jammed easily because of an absence of left-hand turn lanes. There are no crosswalks, so people often dart across the street. Also, the road has a tendency to flood.

鈥淵ou can’t even walk on Boones Ferry when it’s raining,鈥� Buck said. 鈥淭hat’s a travesty when you’re talking about how this is supposed to be a village center.鈥�

In 2008, community members adopted the Lake Grove Village Center Plan, which calls for bringing a greater mix of uses and sense of place to the area. Jane Blackstone, the economic development manager for the city of Lake Oswego, said Boones Ferry Road improvements are a critical component.

鈥淚t’s really the core element of this plan is to make Boones Ferry Road a great street to promote a bicycle- and pedestrian-friendly environment and to better accommodate auto traffic and meet the needs of business all along the corridor,鈥� she said.

Blackstone said construction would not start before 2016 and that a lot of engineering remained.

Buck said he did not know of any organized opposition to the measure, but admitted that justification of a new tax these days can be difficult. He is hoping that people will recognize the value of the street improvements when they vote.

鈥淟ake Grove is the new place for people to build and bring in more commerce and make it a more lively streetscape,鈥� he said. 鈥淪o we’re doing what we can to bring in the beauty and make it more memorable when you visit Lake Grove, and give it an identity and give us something to be proud about.鈥�

Blackstone said that if the measure were to fail, the city would need to devise a plan B.