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About The Southwest Portland Post. (Portland, Oregon) 2007-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 1, 2016)
January 2016 NEWS The Southwest Portland Post • 3 Metro staff to report on alternative connection options to PCC Sylvania Important decisions are going to be made in the coming weeks and months about the Southwest Corridor Plan. One of the biggest ones will be whether there will be a bus rapid transit system or a light rail line. This month, Metro staff will report on the latest progress analyzing alternative connection options to Portland Community College Sylvania and issue recommendations on mode and a light rail tunnel alignment to the campus. In October, project staff released a memo related to high capacity transit alignment options in the area along Barbur Boulevard and Interstate 5 between South Portland and the Portland/Tigard city limits. Staff focused on location of stations, budget, travel time, and reliability. The report also looked at which intersections would be impacted, not only for vehicles, but also to properties, parking, and engineering complexity. Metro project coordinator Noelle Dobson said that staff proposed one modification to the “Central Barbur” alignment. Under consideration is the recommendation to remove the segment of the adjacent to Interstate 5 alignment north of 13th Avenue at Capitol Highway. No stations are proposed for this area. “This segment provides little to no benefit over the Barbur alignment,” Dobson said. “The main advantage of running adjacent to I‐5 in this segment would be avoiding the traffic bottleneck a t Te r w i l l i g e r Boulevard.” The Barbur Boulevard alignment north of 13th Avenue could be either center‐running along Barbur Boulevard or on a structure adjacent to the highway. Project staff recommended further study of the Interstate 5 segments south of 13th Avenue. These alignments will require more detailed analysis that will be performed as part of the Draft Environment Impact Statement. For an adjacent Interstate 5 alignment in this segment, buses would depart from Barbur Boulevard just north of Capitol Highway and run along the northwest side of Interstate 5 to 13th Avenue. For a Barbur Boulevard alignment December Storms Tryon-Stephens Plan (Continued from Page 1) (Continued from Page 6) of Terwilliger Boulevard and Taylors Ferry Road. Southwest Hamilton Street, near 39th Avenue, was closed due to a sink hole that compromised the roadway and drainage issues and a replaced pipe under the roadway. The city had crews working around the clock. Editor’s Note: Southwest Sam Jackson Park Road, the main route up to OHSU, was closed Dec. 18 due to landslides. Ti m o t h y L e e l i v e s d i r e c t l y downstream from where the city redirected all the water on Southwest 26th Avenue and Barbur Boulevard. Due to the redirection, Tryon Creek is now a river. It has flooded his basement, ruined his new furnace and shut off power for several days. Lee gets hit by flooding two to three times a year. He thinks this winter is way wetter than past winters. “The city spent millions of dollars on 26th and Barbur, but they didn’t conduct a test flow. They added channels, but now the creek cannot handle the amount of flow,” said Lee. “It’s never been this bad.” The environmental services bureau is currently implementing Phase 1 of the Stephens Creek Stormwater System Plan recommendations. These include repairing areas along Southwest Taylors Ferry Road that discharge water to a tributary of Stephens Creek. Phases 2 and 3 of this stormwater system are not yet funded but will be implemented in the future. Phase 2 projects include more stormwater detention and Phase 3 includes stream enhancement and daylighting in the upper part of Stephens Creek. Conducting stormwater system alternatives along Capitol Highway are part of a BES project that is moving forward independent of the Tryon-Stephens Plan project. All these stormwater projects need to be completed before road improvements can take place. The city council unanimously voted to adopt the resolutions. Commissioners Steve Novick [transportation] and Nick Fish [environmental services], whose bureaus have been involved jointly, praised the Tryon-Stephens Plan team for their outreach which began at the Southwest Sunday Parkways in September 2014. “We are committed to minimizing impacts,” Fish said. “We are sensitive to the terrain and are advancing new techniques in stormwater control.” Novick said the transportation bureau would continually engage the community every part of the way. According to Denver Igarta, transportation bureau staff, the plan included a list of near term actions on the last page of the report – Appendix E, p. 83. The link is located at http://www. portlandoregon.gov/Transportation/ article/547413 SOUTHWEST CORRIDOR By Erik Vidstrand The Southwest Portland Post Bridlemile Boundary Issues (Continued from Page 1) “Our role is to look at all the data, comments, and testimony,” Anthony said at the end of the session. “All we can do is present our recommendations to the superintendent by mid-January.” Superintendent Smith’s decision will then go to the school board by February. Some changes could happen as early as fall 2016. For more information, please visit http:// www.pps.k12.or.us/departments/ enrollment-transfer/9522.htm in this segment, high capacity transit would be center‐running. For an adjacent route to the Interstate 5 alignment in this segment, high capacity buses could either continue running adjacent to Interstate 5 from Capitol Highway or depart from Barbur Boulevard at 13th Avenue and then run along the northwest side of Interstate 5 to 26th Way. Two stations are currently under consideration around 13th and 19th avenues for a Barbur Boulevard alignment. Stations are proposed for 13th Avenue and Spring Garden Street adjacent to the Interstate 5 alignment. To the south, the route could cross over the Crossroads intersection (Barbur Boulevard/Interstate 5/ Capitol Highway/Taylors Ferry Road) and continue running adjacent to Interstate 5, drop into the center of Barbur Boulevard from a structure over the Crossroads, or turn south onto Capitol Highway to serve the PCC Sylvania campus directly with bus rapid transit. In addition to Barbur Transit Center, a station could be located at either 26th or 30th avenues. Two stations are currently under consideration in this segment, at Barbur Transit Center and around 53rd Avenue. “Project staff will share feedback regarding these recommendations to the steering committee at the January meeting,” reported Dobson. “A final report documenting the steering committee actions will be produced.” On Feb. 29, the committee will deliberate on a light rail tunnel to PCC Sylvania and discuss funding strategy for bicycle, pedestrian, and roadway projects. These decisions will constitute the draft preferred package for the Southwest Corridor Plan. • Winter Music Series - Live • Newly remodeled with more seating and over 13 TVs for all the sports games • 24 taps with 21 craft beers and ciders • Big screen TV giveaway on Superbowl Sunday • Chicago fans welcome $2 off Lunch 7827 SW 35th Ave. in Multnomah Village (503) 244-7345 Open daily 10am – 2:30am on food purchases of $6 or more, with coupon. The Ship Tavern Multnomah Village 503-244-7345 Expires 1/31/16