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About The Southwest Portland Post. (Portland, Oregon) 2007-current | View Entire Issue (March 1, 2015)
Fred Meyer fueling center opens in Multnomah – Page 6 Get in the swim during Spring Break at the Southwest Community Center at Gabriel Park. Lots more things to do this month on Page 7. MJCC has everything for the young at heart – Page 4 The Southwest Portland Post Volume No. 23 Issue No. 5 www.swportlandpost.com Multnomah neighbors discuss the future at land use planning forum By Erik Vidstrand The Southwest Portland Post On Feb. 10, approximately 150 neighbors, community leaders, and city staff attended a village forum in the Multnomah Arts Center auditorium, to see what was planned for Multnomah for the next 20 years. The auditorium’s rich walnut molding, red velvet curtain, and old light fixtures bring back an era when people gathered to discuss town hall issues. The topics were as thick as the smoke that used to prevail: mixed-use zoning; corner lot development rules; demolitions; neighborhood centers versus corridors; and land use rules. The proposed draft of the Portland Comprehensive Plan is also under review by the Planning and Sustainability Commission. The plan proposes land use changes for a number of properties across the city. What does it all mean and how can the Portland Comprehensive Plan make sense to the people it matters to most? Carol McCarthy, the new chair of the Multnomah Neighborhood Association, explained that the number one by-law for neighborhood associations is citizen involvement. “You have a very strong role on this plan,” she began, “whether you live or have a business within the neighborhood borders.” Jim Peterson, Multnomah land use chair, explained four main zoning component’s plans: dispersed, mixed use, civic corridor, and urban center. “It’s possible that this area is going to be just like Southeast Division Street,” Peterson warned. He described how that neighborhood have torn down older buildings and replaced them with tall residential units with retailers on bottom floors. “It’s going to destroy the character of the neighborhood,” Peterson said. “The city wants the village to be a center full Portland, Oregon Complimentary March 2015 Crosswalk Enforcement Sharon White of the Portland Bureau of Transportation acts as a pedestrian decoy during a crosswalk enforcement action at Southwest Capitol Highway and Miles Street on Jan. 28. In close proximity to West Hills Preschool, and stops for TriMet and public school buses, the intersection is frequently used by area families with children. (Photo by Felicity J. Mackay, Portland Bureau of Transportation) (Continued on Page 6) Proposed light rail tunnels could take passengers to Hillsdale, Marquam Hill SOUTHWEST CORRIDOR PLAN By Janet Goetze The Southwest Portland Post To tunnel or not to tunnel. That’s one of the questions a steering committee for the Southwest Corridor Plan will consider over the next four months. In 2009, the Metro Council selected the Southwest Corridor, from downtown Portland through Southwest neighborhoods to Tualatin, for “high capacity transit,” whether light rail or bus rapid transit. In addition to bus or rail, the developing plan will include road, bike, sidewalk and trail planning to increase travel safety Alternate routes are under study for high capacity transit, either bus or rail, from downtown Portland in an area where the population to Tualatin. (Map courtesy of Metro) continues to grow along with traffic congestion. The steering committee is made up of elected officials from cities and Don’t forget to renew your subscription. Form on Page 2. counties plus TriMet, Metro and the Oregon Department of Transportation The Southwest Portland Post representatives. 4207 SE Woodstock Blvd #509 By July, the steering committee is Portland, OR 97206 expected to decide if one or another light rail tunnel should be part of a plan to be completed in May 2016. One tunnel would be under Marquam Hill with a stop to take rail passengers by elevator to Oregon Health & Science University. Another stop would be in Hillsdale, with the tunnel continuing to Barbur Boulevard. Another shallower tunnel would be under Hillsdale with a town center stop. It would be part of a rail loop traveling west from 99W along Southwest Capitol Highway then going underground near the town center, under the Rieke Elementary School field, and rising again along Bertha Boulevard. A tunnel could increase the cost of the transportation project by an estimated $1 billion, said Matt Binh, a Metro senior transportation planner. A preliminary estimate of the project’s cost is about $1.3 billion without a tunnel, he said, but updated cost estimates are expected in April. The idea of a tunnel in the final plan has supporters and detractors among residents, business people and those traveling to or from OHSU or Portland Community College’s Sylvania campus, he said. At a February meeting in Hillsdale, some residents along a tunnel alignment learned of the proposal for the first time and were concerned they could be subjected to noise during and after construction. Chris Reid, a commercial property owner, spoke for the Hillsdale Business & Professional Association in favoring buses rather than tunnels, which she said could divert people away from the commercial district. Reid said she was asked to speak for the association by president Mike Roach. Don Baack, chairman of the Hillsdale transportation committee, said he is awaiting more study of the tunnel proposals before deciding if he favors either one. His major concern, Baack said, is (Continued on Page 6)
