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About The Southwest Portland Post. (Portland, Oregon) 2007-current | View Entire Issue (April 1, 2011)
A pril 2011 N EW S Portland Planning Fair (Continued from Page 5) helped shepherd the Southwest Com- munity Plan through City Council, simply told those present, “We’ve done a lot of talking in previous phases of this plan. Now we want to hear from you.” An exception, at the Oregon Zoo, was a table full of southwest residents who had enough critical mass to have an independent discussion. One of these, West Portland Park neighborhood activist Jim McLaughlin, later told The Post he found the strategies vague. “I’m an educated man and when I read these things I understood each word, but together they’re all mushy,” McLaughlin said. While they are “wonderful aspirational statements,” he did not see how they would be implemented. Worse, McLaughlin said, there seems to be a lack of understanding that much of Southwest Portland, with its lack of infrastructure and steep topography, poses special challenges for accessing resources without a car. Another participant, Roger Averback, said that while some staff people pres- ent such as Johnson were quite knowl- edgeable about Southwest, a staffer who sat in on the discussion proved so ignorant of the area that 15 minutes were spent explaining the location of significant destinations to him. Averback was intrigued by the con- cept of creating new neighborhood “hubs,” small centers of retail services at locations such as Southwest 45th Ave- nue at Multnomah Boulevard, and 45th Avenue and Vermont Street. However, he added, “A cause of concern which residents might have to pay attention to, is changing zoning and increasing the density” near the hubs to make them viable. Averback also noted, “Just doing that, without creating multi-modal facilities on the streets, isn’t adequate. People would be willing to walk further for services if they could do it safely.” The “equity” component would appear to favor Southwest, which is acknowledged by the City to have less than its share of sidewalks and other basic infrastructure. However, McLaughlin said, although the area has significant pockets of poverty, it is perceived by many as the domain of the rich, neither needing nor deserving of City resources. About 80 people attended the Or- egon Zoo event, which was held on a Sunday. Some participants felt it was a good event that respected the needs of working families. Others complained that it had a high cost, in terms of staff time and resources, in relation to the input received. Averback said he found the main hall “too crowded, too noisy, too festive. Perhaps this was aimed at people who don’t normally go to these types of meetings, but I wanted to get past that and into the discussion.” Staff members said they can also The Southwest Portland Post • 7 send speakers to interested organized groups, and that they will take online input into May. They can be reached online at www.portlandplan.com. South Waterfront Transportation (Continued from Page 1) retary of Transportation.” Through his help Portland will “turn unproductive land into an oasis of innovation.” Congressman Kurt Schrader, whose district includes Clackamas County, said that by tying the region together the pending projects would mean “not just jobs for now but jobs for the future, jobs that wouldn’t otherwise have hap- pened.” Congressman David Wu spoke of “the innovation this project will en- able, tying together OHSU, PSU and OMSI. Their scientists will be working to translate research into technology. The old ways of doing things are just not adequate anymore.” Portland Mayor Sam Adams and Southwest Trails chairman Don Baack at the city budget forum at Wilson High School on March 1. (Post photo by Lee Perlman) The Southwest Portland Post 4207 SE Woodstock Blvd #509 Portland, OR 97206 Fax: (866) 727-5336 email: news@multnomahpost.com Effects of bullying at any age can last a lifetime (Continued from Page 2) through Impact NW. This program helps educate students with puppetry, an effective form of communication with young children. Bullying prevention shows are our most frequently requested among Portland-metro schools. Our shows have helped open the eyes of kids to this topic and given them an opportunity to talk about how to respond to bullying in a healthy way. All children deserve a secure, healthy setting for personal growth. Many chil- dren who are being bullied don’t tell others out of humiliation or fear. 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