The floors in the Carnegie section of the Oregon City Public Library are more than a century old and in need of replacement.

Floor Replacement Will Require Temporary Closure of Oregon City Public Library 

Oregon City, ORE. – Floors in both the historic and newer sections of the Oregon City Public Library will be getting replaced in January, resulting in some temporary alterations to business hours and available services.  

“We’ve known since the Library’s expansion in 2016 that the original floors, which are more than 100 years old, were nearing their end-of-life and couldn’t be refinished again as they had been several times in the past. They now need to be replaced, as they are in poor condition and represent a potential safety hazard for patrons and staff” said Library Director Greg Williams.    

More than 1 million visitors have gone through the library doors since the expansion in 2016, with more than 150,000 people visiting in the last fiscal year alone. That volume of traffic has had a negative impact on the wood floors in the newer expansion as well; the floors in that section are also in poor condition and represent potential safety hazards for patrons and staff. These floors will also be replaced during the project.   

“We’ve scheduled this work for January as our foot traffic numbers show it is typically one of our least busy months. We’ve worked with the contractor to create a work plan that will involve as little disruption as possible,” said Williams.   

The first phase of work will begin right after the new year on Jan. 2. That first phase lasts until Jan. 7, during which the entire library will be closed to the public so that work in the central lobby area can be completed as quickly as possible. During this closure, patrons will still be able to return library materials and pick up their holds from the Library’s Community Room, which will serve as a temporary Circulation Room during the project. 

Once phase 1 is complete, the Library will reopen to the public. The majority of the collections will be available to browse, including Children’s Room and the Adults and Teens areas upstairs. Patrons will continue to pick up their holds from the Community Room. During phase 2 and phase 3, both the Carnegie section and the Holds Room will continue to be closed. This closure will impact access to certain collections, including the Library of Things, Heritage Collection and Magazines. Public Computers will also be unavailable, although patrons will be able to check out Chromebook laptops to use in other parts of the Library.  

With circulation operations moving to the Community Room, many of the Library’s regularly scheduled programs, including storytimes, will happen at the Pioneer Center across the street. More information on January programs can be found at the Library’s Calendar of Events page.    

The second phase is planned for Jan. 8 – 13 and phase three is slated for Jan. 14 – 29. During this time the library will be open, with the exception of shortened hours (11:30 – 3:30) on Jan. 9. The final wrap-up work is planned for Jan. 30-31, when the Library will briefly close to the public once again while furniture and fixtures will be moved back in and as staff works through any backlog of materials processing.  

While the wood from the Carnegie section can no longer be used as flooring, the team plans on retaining some of the material to reuse in creative ways.  “This library and its history means a lot to the community and to the library staff. We’ve received some great ideas on how we can reuse some of the flooring to preserve the Library’s past while focusing on its future,” said Williams.  

The new flooring will preserve the Library’s historic character, being similar in color, size, grain, and orientation to the historic flooring. In addition, this more historical style will be carried into the lobby, bringing a more cohesive feel throughout the Library’s first floor.   

“We know this project will result in some inconvenience to the community, but our dedicated Library staff is doing everything they can to mitigate the impacts. Our goal is to get through the work as quickly as possible. Hopefully, we won’t have to do this kind of project for another 100 years,” said Williams. 

Updates on the project, as well as FAQs about it, can be found on the City’s website here: orcity.news/library-floor-project.  

Map of the stretch of Singer Hill that will be closed for approximately six hours on Dec. 12.

Preparations to create Oregon City’s first quiet zone will necessitate the closure of Singer Hill for about six hours on Thursday, Dec. 12. 

The Quiet Zone project been a City Commission Goal since 2019. The creation of a quiet zone is an expansive process requiring extensive coordination with the railroad and federal regulatory agencies. The project includes comprehensive safety improvements to crossings. Some of these improvements include four-quadrant gates that prevent vehicles from driving around barriers, raised medians and advanced warning systems. 

City staff have been undertaking some of the first steps in the process, which include ample coordination with interested agencies. Some of the first physical steps will commence on Dec. 12 when crews will conduct geotechnical investigations to assess soil conditions prior to completing the project design. 

“In order to gather the necessary soil data to advance the design of the improvements, we’ll have to close Singer Hill/10th Street from High St. to Main,” said Public Works Director Dayna Webb. “Closing roads is not something our team takes lightly, so our crews will be performing other work at the same time to prevent the need for future traffic impacts,” she said.

While the geotechnical borings are being taken, additional Public Works crews will take advantage of the closure to perform other maintenance tasks. That work will include cleaning of catch basins and storm drains, projects that would need further traffic restrictions if done at another time. 

The closure is expected to last 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Additional information on the project can be found here.