8 • The Southwest Portland Post
NEWS
January 2011
Design commission approves
new light rail bridge design
Parker Realty, Inc.
Conceptual images of the new Portland to Milwaukie light rail bridge. (TriMet)
By Lee Perlman
The Southwest Portland Post
The Portland Design Commission
last month unanimously approved
a new Willamette River bridge that
will carry the proposed Portland to
Milwaukie light rail line. The bridge
is a key part of the $1.5 billion project.
Starting at the current Green Line
terminus at Portland State University,
the line will travel through the South
Waterfront to Southwest Sherman
Street, cross to the Oregon Museum
of Science and Industry, and travel
through inner Southeast Portland to
Milwaukie and Oak Grove in Clacka-
mas County.
At a session two months before,
the Commission had asked for minor
changes, and Portland Bureau of De-
velopment Services staff had called for
additional review in the future.
This time planner Tim Heron said,
“All the issues raised by the Com-
mission have been addressed,” and
recommended approval. This included
the color of the concrete to be used
(“natural, not white”).
One of the few issues Commission
members raised was the west side bike
access ramps. Rather than the sweep-
ing circles seen on other bridges, these
will be tight switchbacks, which will
compel bicyclists to go slower.
TriMet consultant Sean Batty said
this was dictated by the limited space
available, and was done at the urging
of the Oregon Health and Sciences
University and the Zidel Corporation,
who donated the land for the bridge.
He added that there is virtue in
causing cyclists to slow when they are
entering an area shared by pedestrians.
Brian Newman of OHSU and Rick
Saito of Zidel confirmed this. Newman
said that OHSU will be attempting to
relocate its Medical, Dental and Health
schools to six square blocks of the new
campus, and the bridge will make this
a very tight fit.
Negotiations with the TriMet team
were “not always pleasant, but every-
one had their eyes on the prize,” he
told the Commission. The end result
“leaves the public with something they
can be very proud of,” he said.
Batty reported that the Kiewit Com-
pany’s bid to construct the bridge was
$7 million below previous estimates,
$127 million instead of $134 million.
To the delight of the Commission, he
said that this allows TriMet to restore
some features that were eliminated as
cost-cutting moves, including a wide
place in the pedestrian path that will
allow visitors to pause, admire the
scenery and take pictures without
interfering with pedestrian or bike
traffic.
The bridge even has at its bottom
designed to serve as nesting sites for
birds of prey. “Peregrine falcons on
the west (left?), ospreys on the (east?)
right,” Batty said tongue in cheek.
Commission members enthusiasti-
cally praised the project. “The design is
beautiful and well-thought-out down
to condor condos,” Ben Kaiser said.
TriMet will provide bike lockers on
the west end, and Commission chair
Gwen Millius urged them to provide
enough. Beyond this, she said the re-
finements have “changed this from a
serviceable bridge to something really
awesome.”
Happy New Year
from Parker Realty!
Jeff Parker
Your Neighborhood Realtor
Since 1980
503-977-1888
7830 SW 35th Ave., Portland, OR
www.parkerrealtyportland.com