NEWS
March 2009
The Southwest Portland Post • 3
Advisory group agrees with task force on Sellwood Bridge recommendations
For once citizens and offi cials saw eye
to eye, as the Sellwood Bridge Public
Advisory Group voted in February to call
for a new bridge pretty much in accord
with the recommendations of the project’s
Citizen Task Force.
Despite the pleas of condominium own-
ers who may be displaced by the project
the PAG, made up of representatives of
participating agencies and jurisdictions,
voted unanimously Alternative D, a new
bridge immediately to the south of the
existing structure.
The advisory group also agreed to use
a pedestrian-activated traffi c signal rather
than a conventional one on the east end,
and a signal rather than an elaborate inter-
change on the west end, as the Task Force
had recommended. The PAG called for
most of the bridge to have just two traffi c
lanes rather than three, an issue the Task
Force had split almost evenly on.
The issue will now be referred to the
Milwaukie and Portland City Councils,
the Clackamas and Multnomah County
Commissions, the Metro Council and the
TriMet Board, all of whom are expected to
endorse the PAG recommendations.
The only signifi cant questioning of the
proposal came from Metro Councilor
Robert Liberty. As he has in the past, he
questioned how the $300 million project
will be funded. “I’m concerned we’re
making these decisions before funding is
planned,” he complained.
“The more expensive it is, the less likely
it will be funded. We may be setting up
false expectations.” He said he wished
that the Task Force had been consulted
about funding, and that staff had done
“reality-based planning.”
Portland Mayor Sam Adams respond-
ed, “We can’t go for funding unless we
have a project. I would prefer to move
forward.”
The Task Force examined several pos-
sible courses, including rehabilitation
of the deteriorating 1926 bridge. The
fi nal choice was between Alternatives D
and E. Alternative D would necessitate
demolition of four units in the Sellwood
Harbor, and one in the River Park, con-
dominiums.
Alternative E, which would swing
northward from the east side approach
on Southeast Tacoma Street, would avoid
these impacts but create others; it would
come close enough to the Springwater
Corridor, Sellwood Riverfront Park and
Oaks Pioneer Church to negatively af-
fect them. It would also be more costly,
staff found.
Condominium owners disputed these
fi ndings before the PAG. John Holmes
of Sellwood Harbor said Alternative D
would take out not four units but 12, and
reduce the value of 37 more. “I think ‘E’
is better, but either way it’s dependent on
fi nancing,” he said. “If the money isn’t
available, just do a rehab.”
Another condo owner, Ed Murphy, said
that proponents of Alternative D “used
emotional appeals sometimes not based
on facts.” Alternative E was presented
as being 75 feet wide, thus having the
potential to funnel more traffi c through
Southeast Tacoma Street and someday
force its expansion, he said.
If built narrowly, “E can be built faster
and cheaper, it doesn’t have a material
effect on the park or the church, it doesn’t
take out any homes,” Murphy said.
POST
CLASSIFIED ADS
Massage
By Lee Perlman
The Southwest Portland Post
(graphic courtesy of Mike Pullen, Multnomah County)
However, most of those who testifi ed
felt that Alternative E would be a threat to
the park, the church, the corridor and, es-
pecially, to Southeast Tacoma Street. Bar-
bara Barber, a Sellwood resident, owner
of Three Square Grill (in Hillsdale) and a
member of the Task Force, said, “When I
fi rst moved in Tacoma was impenetrable;
there was no New Seasons, no Safeway,
and there were shootings at 2 a.m.”
Since then, Barber said, it is moving
toward becoming “a model for what the
rest of Portland can be. It would be a
shame if the bridge were to take out the
assets of our neighborhood.” She cited
the Sellwood-Moreland Improvement
League (SMILE)’s march in favor of Al-
ternative D.
Paul Notti of SMILE said that Alterna-
tive E would involve “the unknown, the
unknowable and the unwise.” Citing
general public support he said, “Not just
some people, but everyone I’ve talked
to favors D.” (This produced a chorus of
“No!” from the condominium owners.)
(Continued on Page 5)
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