Complaining about street inadequacies is a popular urban pastime. The usual response from city officials - repeated nationwide - is that there simply isn't enough money to keep up.

McMinnville is no exception to the general rule. Residents complain that when it rains, downtown streets develop small rivers across every curb cut; bicycle lanes are sorely lacking; collector streets are becoming congested; and motorists drive too fast.

McMinnville's transportation committee has spent several months reviewing the condition of the city's streets and evaluating what improvements are most needed. The committee is charged with updating the city's Master Transportation Plan, which establishes a guideline for roughly 20 years of street improvements.

Figuring out where the money will come from is scheduled for somewhat later in the process. Several million will be needed, according to early estimates from Traffic Consultant Andy Mortensen.

But the committee is gradually narrowing down its list of projects. It now has a list of 17 areas to address, a summary of the problems for each with recommended remedies, and some early cost estimates.

The committee plans to continue refining the plan and present it to the city council for review within a few months.

Moving traffic from east to west in the core area is one of McMinnville's biggest problems. Michelbook Golf Course blocks most of the possible routes, funneling traffic down to just one street - West Second, where traffic lines up for blocks at rush hour.

Motorists trying to avoid the congestion move over to First and Third streets, but the frustration is palpable. Visibility at intersections is often blocked by parked vehicles, and pedestrians run an obstacle course trying to move around the downtown, or walk to the library or swimming pool.

Complicating the problem is the intersection with Highway 99W, where large trucks often try to cross in order to reach the city's industrial area.

There aren't any easy ways to fix the traffic tie-up, Mortensen told the committee Tuesday.

Instead, the draft focuses on ways to improve pedestrian safety, shift some of the traffic over to Fifth Street to ease the congestion, and add additional lanes on Second. It also calls for replacing the traffic signal, and perhaps changing the signal timing.

The committee wants the city to explore the feasibility of widening Second between Adams and Baker to allow a second left-turn lane, and add a separate right-turn lane to the street just north of Baker. Curb extensions are called for at Baker to help pedestrians cross the street safely and make them more visible to motorists.

The estimated cost for those improvements is $1.1 million.

The committee also believes that repairing the pavement on Fifth Street, which is in poor condition, and replacing the sidewalks, would help to ease congestion by moving some traffic over from Second.

To help facilitate the shift, the draft calls for installing traffic signals at the intersections with Highway 99W, and Lafayette Avenue. The signal at Adams and Fourth would be removed.

The plan calls for replacing the south Highway 99W bridge, the Old Sheridan Road bridge and the Yamhill River Bridge - an expensive set of propositions - and possibly adding a second bridge across the Yamhill to connect Highway 18 with the McMinnville Industrial Park.

The bridges targeted for replacement are all in poor condition. Adding the new bridge would reduce the amount of truck traffic through the downtown, cutting congestion significantly and easing wear and tear on city streets, but would cost an estimated $15.8 million.

The committee wants to improve access throughout town for pedestrians and bicyclists as well, a goal called for by city policy.

The draft plan calls for adding bicycle lanes along Highway 99W for commuter bicycle traffic, and adding bike lanes to Baker Creek Road, North Baker Street, Booth Bend Road, North Hill Road, South Hill Road, Old Sheridan Road, Riverside Drive and the Yamhill River Bridge. In several of those areas, it also calls for improvements to sidewalks for added pedestrian safety.

On South Highway 99W, the committee would like to see an additional northbound travel lane and a new southbound left turn lane on the bridge. It would like to see protected left-turn lanes on Baker Creek Road, along with more street trees and islands for pedestrians to improve safety.

The draft calls for putting in sidewalks along North Baker, Booth Bend Road, North Hill Road, South Hill Road, Old Sheridan Road and Riverside Drive.