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About The Southwest Portland Post. (Portland, Oregon) 2007-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 1, 2009)
SERVING Burlingame • Capitol Hill • Garden Home • Glen Cullen • Hillsdale • South Portland • Multnomah Village • Raleigh Hills • Vermont Hills • West Portland INSIDE: Southwest Portland’s Independent Neighborhood Newspaper Volume No. 18, Issue No. 1 www.multnomahpost.com Portland, Oregon Tri-Met’s #1 Vermont bus line no longer provides regular service? – Page 2 Complimentary November 2009 Multnomah County adopts plan to raise $330 million for new Sellwood Bridge By Lee Perlman The Southwest Portland Post Proposals for a new Sellwood Bridge took a big step forward from a dream to a plan last month. Multnomah County has adopted a plan for raising the $330 million needed for the new structure, and some of the pieces are already in place. The funding package includes $100 million from the City of Portland, and $30 million from the state, already allocated, both from the state Jobs and Transporta- tion Act. The County is seeking $40 mil- lion from the federal government, and an unspecified amount from Clackamas County. The biggest single contribution would be $127 million, collected over the course (Continued on Page 3) A photo simulation of a deck arch Sellwood Bridge replacement. According to Mike Pullen, a spokesman for Multnomah County, "This has been the most popular of the three bridge type options that are being considered." (Graphic courtesy of Multnomah County) Gibbs Street Pedestrian Bridge bids come in $4 million over budget Loaves and Fishes Centers, Inc. wins Spirit of Portland Award NEIGHBORHOOD NEWS By Lee Perlman The Southwest Portland Post It was back to the drawing boards last month for the Portland Bureau of Trans- portation as the bids for the proposed Gibbs Street Pedestrian Bridge came in $4 million over budget. PBOT had hoped to build the span for about $7 million but, according to project manager Jodi Yates, the City re- ceived no bids under $11 million. Yates was unavailable for comment at press time. A bureau spokesperson, Elizabeth Mahon, told The Post that planners were engaged in “value engineering” on the bridge design to try to decrease its cost. The proposed bridge would connect Southwest Kelly Avenue with a point on the east side of Southwest Macadam Avenue, and connect to trails that would take pedestrians to the Oregon Health and Sciences University. The City has viewed the bridge as compensation to A photo simulation of the Gibbs Street pedestrian bridge as it crosses Interstate 5. (Cour- tesy Portland Bureau of Transportation) the South Portland neighborhood for the presence and impact of the OHSU aerial tram, which Gibbs Street resi- dents had bitterly fought. It has also been seen as a way to provide pedestrian access through the neighborhood, which had been cut apart by Interstate 5, Naito Parkway, an expanded Southwest Macadam Avenue and other through routes. Not all residents viewed the bridge as their highest priority, and the neighbor- hood association extracted a promise from Mayor Sam Adams to let them use any surplus in the budget for other projects. Don’t forget to renew your subscription. Form on Page 2. The Southwest Portland Post 7825 SW 36th Ave Suite #203 Portland, OR 97219 Headquartered in Multnomah Village, Loaves & Fishes Centers, Inc. won the Spirit of Portland Award for a non-profit. Pictured are Jackie Hampton, Vivian and Tina Bodaghi. (Photo courtesy of Loaves and Fishes) Loaves and Fishes Centers, Inc. (Meals on Wheels) headquartered at 7710 SW 31st Ave., in Multnomah Village, was one of 25 winners of the Spirit of Portland Awards. The awards are given annually to individuals, busi- nesses and organizations whose work improves the city’s livability. They are selected from public nominations by a citizen jury under the direction of the Office of Neighborhood Involvement. This year the awards will be given at a ceremony beginning at 7 p.m. No- vember 12 at the Portland Center for Performing Arts’ Newmark Theater, 1111 SW Broadway. Loaves and Fishes provides 5,000 free, nutritious meals daily at 31 sites to senior citizens. Meals on Wheels drivers deliver meals to shut-ins. The non-profit is assisted by 7,500 volunteers. Series of meetings scheduled to update Portland Plan Temporarily derailed by administra- tive and budget issues, the Portland Plan process is gearing up again. The Bureau of Planning and Sustainability has scheduled a series of meetings to get staff and volunteers started on the effort to update the Portland Compre- hensive Plan. For southwest Portland, the kickoff meeting will be 6:30 to 9 p.m. Decem- ber 7 at Wilson High School, 1151 S.W. Vermont St. For more information call 503-823-2041 or visit marty.stockton@ ci.portland.or.us. (Continued on Page 8)
