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About The Southwest Portland Post. (Portland, Oregon) 2007-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 1, 2012)
6 • The Southwest Portland Post NEWS December 2012 Planning report calls for parallel main street at 26th, Dolph, and Spring Garden BARBUR CONCEPT PLAN By Lee Perlman The Southwest Portland Post As this issue went to press, the Bu- reau of Planning and Sustainability had scheduled a public open house for November 29 to review recommenda- tions of the Barbur Concept Plan. These include targeting what are now side streets, parallel to the boulevard, as potential development areas. The Plan is an effort to determine the desired type and level of new develop- ment on Barbur Boulevard, identify obstacles to such development, and identify improvements to overcome such obstacles. It is a complement to a wider study by Metro, the Southwest Corridor Study, which is looking at a major transit project for the area. This study recently narrowed the choice of mode to a new MAX light rail line, enhanced bus service, or No Build. The study covers the area from Downtown Portland to Sherwood, but it has concluded that if a light rail line is selected, it should go only as far as Tualatin. Planners found that land along the boulevard consisted mainly of single- story, car-oriented commercial and multi-family residential buildings dat- ing to the 1950s. The commercial structures currently have vacancy rates higher, and rental prices lower, than the citywide average. Residential areas nearby are home to people with above-average incomes and education-levels compared to the rest of the city. Based on public input, the Plan calls for mixed-use develop- ment in buildings three to four stories tall. The public previously rejected a higher level of density. The Plan di- vided Barbur Boulevard into a series of segments and focus areas. It gave the most attention to the northernmost segments,KellyandHamilton. Not surprisingly, the report found thatamajorissueintheKellysegment is the internal transportation access problems in the area, while a benefit is its proximity not only to downtown but to the Portland State University, Oregon Health and Sciences Univer- sity, and National College of Natural Medicine campuses. It proposed to put high-capacity tran- sit, whether rail or bus, on Southwest Naito Parkway rather than Barbur Bou- levard, and to simplify the “spaghetti maze” of Ross Island Bridge access ramps. At the Hamilton segment, the Plan foresees development taking place pri- marily on Southwest Corbett Avenue. However, it does call for reconfiguring the Hamilton-Barbur intersection. Immediately south of Hamilton- Barbur is the segment known as the Woods, which consists largely of wood- ed frontages of property oriented to- ward interior streets. The Plan doesn’t anticipate much redevelopment here, but does call for making bike and pedestrian improvements continuous. South towards Terwilliger Boulevard and beyond is what the report calls the Historic Highway. Two focus areas are served by Fred Meyer, the anchor of Southwest 13 th Avenue, and a Safeway under construction at Capitol Hill Road. The biggest problem near 13 th , the report said, is the fact that the land is largely in the hands of absentee owners seen as less likely to “reinvest.” There is relatively good infrastructure, the report says, but it calls for a new traffic A recent view of Barbur Boulevard looking north at 13th Avenue. (Photo courtesy of Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability) signal at 13 th . The Capitol Hill area has seen some new rowhouse development, and has some “large parcels with a potential for redevelopment.” A problem is a lack of continuity of bike and pedestrian facilities, and the existing bridge over Southwest Multnomah Boulevard “precludes bike lanes and standard sidewalks.” The re- port calls for new roadway connections that don’t currently exist. Near Southwest 26 th Avenue, the report calls for a “parallel main street” along Southwest Dolph and Spring Garden streets and 30 th Avenue for new development. It also calls for a new freeway on-ramp at 26 th Avenue. The Far Southwest segment takes in the Crossroads at Southwest Capitol Highway and everything else to the city limits. According to the report, “There is no way to solve the transportation circula- tion of the Crossroads one intersection at a time.” South of the Crossroads to the Wash- ington County line, the report says, Barbur Boulevard is relatively isolated, and retail would have to compete with more established areas in Tigard. The report does see potential services for students north and south along Barbur Boulevard on their way to the Portland Community College Sylvania campus. PoSt A to Z BuSineSS CARd diReCtoRy 503-244-6933 Your Fall Leaf and Yard Cleanup Service Average lawn mowing less than $20 per week. Anywhere in the Portland metro area. Free estimates. No contracts required. (503) 244-2314 info@cleancut1.com www. cleancut1.com Lic # 370189-91 Fully Insured