Hillsdale
celebrates with
39th annual
Blueberry
Pancake
Breakfast
Will there be a
light rail tunnel
to Portland
Community College
Sylvania?
OnPoint
Community
Credit Union
opens new branch
in Hillsdale
– Page 8
– Page 3
– Page 4
Neighborhood
House considers
building
affordable
housing in
Multnomah
Village
– Page 4
The Southwest Portland Post
Volume No. 23 Issue No. 9
www.swportlandpost.com
Portland, Oregon
Complimentary
July 2015
Developer defends proposed four-story apartment building in Multnomah Village
By KC Cowan
The Southwest Portland Post
One sign of the interest in a
proposed 71-unit apartment building
in Multnomah Village came when the
regular meeting of the Multnomah
Developer Tim O'Brien answers questions
about his proposed four-story apartment
building at the Multnomah Neighborhood
Association meeting on June 9.
(Post photo by KC Cowan)
Neighborhood
Association
Proposed:
moved from
Multnomah
Village
Room 30 of the
Apartments
Multnomah
Existing:
Center to the
Starbucks &
Annastasia
auditorium.
Salon
Smart move, as
nearly 150 people
came to hear the
developer and
architect explain
the project
and unveil the
Capitol Highway
venue
first artistic
33rd A
Proposed: 4 stories, 71 units
renderings.
(mostly studio, with some 1 & 2 bedroom),
As proposed,
2 retail spaces, 43-60 parking spaces
the building will
offer studio, one
and two bedroom An artist's concept of the proposed four-story apartment building at Southwest 33rd and Capitol Highway
rental units, with (Urban Asset Advisors)
ground-floor
retail on Southwest Capitol Highway.
Starbucks coffee shop. It will stand
Despite petitions to stop the project
It would replace the Children’s
four stories tall, higher than any other
set out on the sign-in table, Sucec
Program at Southwest 33rd Avenue
building in the village.
stressed that neighbors are not against
and Capitol Highway, and a small
Former neighborhood chair Martie
development. “But we want to be at the
house located next door to the building
Sucec opened with an explanation of
table with everybody else, not just city
housing Annastasia Salon and the
zoning issues and density.
(Continued on Page 6)
Bicyclists conduct road safety audit on Vermont, Newbury bridges
BARBUR BRIDGE PEDAL
By Erik Vidstrand
The Southwest Portland Post
It’s not news that Southwest Barbur
Boulevard is unsafe for all users
whether one walks, bikes, or drives,
especially from Multnomah Boulevard
to Hamilton Street. Six motorists and
one pedestrian have died in recent years
from unsafe conditions.
To bring this point to the public, the
Bicycle Transportation Alliance has
been putting pressure on the Oregon
Department of Transportation to make
drastic changes to this stretch of Oregon
99W. ODOT is responsible for state
highways.
The BTA is a nonprofit organization
promoting bicycling and improving
bicycling conditions in Oregon. They
just celebrated 25 years of service.
According to the BTA, recent structural
improvements on the Vermont and
Newbury bridges have made them no
safer for bicyclists than they were before
construction began.
The bridges lack legal sidewalks and
bike lanes. Bicycle riders must merge
with speeding traffic.
“While this process may be necessary
for designing engineering solutions,”
said Carl Larson, BTA engagement
manager, “we already know that Barbur
is unsafe.”
So, on June 15, one of the warmest
evenings of the year, ten cyclists
conducted a mock safety audit of Barbur
Boulevard. The group, sponsored by
the BTA, rode from ODOT’s Old Town
headquarters (123 NW Flanders St.)
south to the Vermont and Newbury
bridges.
The ride was aimed at building
awareness about the highway’s
deficiencies and encouraging quick
action to correct them.
In order to capture the essence of the
problem, this reporter decided to tag
along with the two-wheeled activists,
underinflated tires and all.
“Barbur serves mass transit,
pedestrians, vehicles and freight traffic,
as well as cyclists,” explained Don
Hamilton, ODOT’s public information
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The Southwest Portland Post
4207 SE Woodstock Blvd #509
Portland, OR 97206
kill, glass, gravel, and even pedestrians
officer. “We have additional priorities
texting while walking.
from downtown all the way to
One of the riders, Damian Miller,
Sherwood.”
said
he commutes every day from
It also becomes a relief valve for
Southeast
to Lewis & Clark College.
Interstate 5 when things go wrong on
He
said
he
has
been pretty frustrated at
the freeway.
ODOT
ever
since
he attended the bridge
“We had to repair the old bridges,”
construction
open
house years ago.
said Hamilton, “but widening them
“ODOT
didn’t
do
a thing for cyclists,”
was way too expensive.” Only flashing
Miller
yelled
while
navigating
numerous
beacons were installed to alert motorists
flares
and
large
rocks
once
the
group
that bicyclists were sharing the roadway
passed
Hamilton
Street
“All
they
did
on the bridges.
was
put
up
flashing
lights
which
are
Hamilton commented that ODOT
too
close
to
the
bridge
for
motorists
to
will be facilitating an independent
respond
to
in
adequate
time.”
study of the bridges by the end of the
As the group got closer to the first
summer. It will include engineers, law
bridge
(where Beaverton-Hillsdale
enforcement, neighborhood leaders,
(Continued on Page 4)
and bicyclists.
The study will also serve
as a guide to the Southwest
Corridor Plan which is in its
planning stages.
Larson led the ride which
f i r s t h e a d e d a c ro s s t h e
Burnside Bridge to pay respect
to the pedestrian that was
killed on June 14 by an out of
control vehicle.
W h i l e t h i s re p o r t e r i s
somewhat out of shape and
does not have bike legs or
lungs, the ride went reasonably
well. The sights and smells of
downtown restaurants, diesel
trucks, and wafts of marijuana
permeated the warm evening
air and were more evident than
by just driving home in a car.
But one has to be very aware.
Car doors can catapult a cyclist.
Inpatient drivers navigate
their cars sometimes with one Bicyclists measure and take notes on the thin bike
finger in the air. And road ledge on the Newbury Bridge along Barbur Boulevard.
obstacles are everywhere: road (Post photo by Erik Vidstrand)