4 • The Southwest Portland Post
NEWS
February 2012
Councilor Roberts previews South Corridor Project for South Portland NA
By Lee Perlman
The Southwest Portland Post
Metro
Councilor
and former
governor
Barbara
Roberts
(District 6)
last month
gave the
S o u t h
Portland
Neighbor-
hood Asso-
ciation an Councilor Roberts
overview
of the South Corridor Project, a
study of future transportation needs
between downtown Portland and
Sherwood that may lead to a light
rail route along Southwest Barbur
Boulevard.
Metro planner Karen Withrow,
who accompanied Roberts, noted
that light rail is just one of the trans-
portation options being studied for
this corridor; others include express
or enhanced bus service and merely
making minor improvements.
As compared to other such stud-
ies, “We’re looking at this different-
ly,” Roberts said. “Instead of saying,
‘This is what we’re going to do,’ and
making everything match that, here
we’re looking at the corridor before
deciding what the solution is.”
Among the communities the
project will study will be Sherwood
Town Center, Tualatin Refuge,
Tualatin Commons, King City, the
Murray-Scholls Town Center, Lake
Grove, Downtown Tigard and
the Tigard Triangle, Washington
Square, Nimbus, and Bridgeport
Village.
Of Portland Community Col-
lege’s Sylvania Campus Roberts
said, “We need a way to serve more
students without attracting thou-
sands of more cars.”
Of the West Portland Crossroads
she said, “It’s clear how few side-
walks there are; it’s not safe. There
are places where you can’t even get
across the street. We need to provide
for pedestrians and bicyclists, not
just the person in the car.”
Of Multnomah Village Roberts
said, “It’s one of these wonder-
ful little places. It was quiet for
many years, then the complexion
changed.”
West Portland Crossroads includes Barbur Boulevard, I-5, and Capitol Highway.
(Post file photo by Leslie Baird)
Hillsdale Town Center is “another
one of those areas where walkability
is very questionable,” Roberts said.
“It has small, family-owned busi-
nesses, and we don’t want to do
things that would make them go
away. We want to see what kind of
things we can do to make it healthier
than it is now.”
Roberts also mentioned Oregon
Health and Sciences University –
“The neighborhood is affected at
both ends of the tram” – plus the
South Waterfront and River Place.
Withrow said the study area in-
cludes “28 bus lines carrying 27,000
riders, 2,000 parking spaces, three
transit centers, 140,000 residents
and 163,000 workers.” It has been
chosen for attention over 40 other
transit corridors because projected
growth, if not provided for, will
increase travel time by 30 percent
by the year 2035, she said.
Board member Jim Gardner noted
that the study is due to reach con-
clusions by the end of the year, well
ahead of the Barbur Concept Plan,
which is studying land use and local
conditions on and near that street.
Under the circumstances, he asked,
how will this work “inform” the
Corridor Study? Roberts said the
two efforts “learn from each other
on a daily basis.”
Board member Bill Danneman
complained that the study’s provi-
sions for public input seem “mini-
(Continued on Page 7)
New off-leash dog
park proposed for
Duniway Park
Nearby resident Chris Goodrich
thinks part of Duniway Park should
go to the dogs. That is, he wants to es-
tablish a new off-leash dog park there.
Duniway is best known for the track
and athletic field adjacent to Southwest
Barbur Boulevard. This, Goodrich, con-
ceded, is heavily used.
However, the upper section of the
park, bordered on three sides by South-
west Terwilliger Boulevard, is relatively
deserted, he told the Homestead Neigh-
borhood Association last month.
In fact, Goodrich said, some people
use the park for this purpose now, but
risk a $150 fine for doing so. The clos-
est existing legal off-leash dog park is
Willamette Park, about two miles away,
Goodrich said.
Goodrich said he presented the idea
to Portland Parks and Recreation’s
Bureau Advisory Committee, which
seemed favorably impressed. How-
ever, he said, it was vetoed by bureau
administrators.
He was told that the upper park
is “heavily used” by soccer players,
which Goodrich says has not been true
for years. Another Homestead resident
said the upper park is used regularly by
dog owners “and there are never any
other users.”
“It’s a wonderful thing to have in-
teraction with people while exercising
your dogs,” Goodrich said. The Home-
stead NA board agreed and voted to
endorse the idea.
– Lee Perlman