March 2017
NEWS
The Southwest Portland Post • 3
Committee hopes to attract grocery store to replace Strohecker’s
SWHRL NOTEBOOK
By Jack Rubinger
The Southwest Portland Post
Despite the “snowpacolypse”
which seemed to bring activity in
Southwest Portland to a grinding
halt, the Southwest Hills Residential
League finally conducted its
quarterly membership meeting in
early February.
Among issues addressed were
concerns about snow and safety in
Southwest Portland. Ice is definitely
the danger up in the hills and it traps
people where they can’t leave their
homes by car, and there are no nearby
walkable services.
SWHRL president Nancy Seton
opened the meeting with a plea for
new board and committee members.
Seton explained that the SWHRL
b o a rd , c o m m i t t e e s a n d o t h e r
volunteers perform a vital role
monitoring issues that could impact
livability, communicating these
issues to residents, advocating with
government agencies and developers
for the neighborhood’s interests, and
building community throughout
various educational forums, events
and projects.
“With new volunteers, we can
continue this important work to
protect and enhance our community,”
said Seton.
The current board offers a wide
variety of skills, knowledge, life
experiences, resources and contacts
which can be drawn on to deal with
transportation, land use, schools,
emergency preparedness, public
safety, parks, and other issues.
Board members include Nancy
Seton (president/land use chair),
Sean Baioni (vice president), Margaret
Gossage (treasurer), Kara Stone
(secretary), Kady Al-Saeed, Mark
Christensen, Bill Failing (Strohecker’s
committee chair), and Ryan Fedie
(transportation chair). Volunteer Rob
Wilcox has worked hard on other
transportation projects.
Meeting discussions focused on:
• The Southwest in Motion Active
Transportation Initiative (set priorities
for trails, steps, and bike lanes).
• Wildwood Trail Pedestrian Bridge
over Burnside (ready for funding).
• Land use and transportation
updates, including the subdivision
proposed for Southwest Broadway.
• Strohecker’s update (property
up for sale).
• Playground equipment in
Southwest Hills parks.
• Vista-Spring Restoration Project
(informal pocket park with native
plants and a seating area).
“One of the top challenges facing
the board this year is filling vacant
board and officer positions,” said
Seton.
“Also critically important is
outreach – getting
neighbors involved
and getting feedback
on issues that concern
them so we can create
relevant goals, and
accurately represent
their concerns in
dealings with the
city of Portland and
developers with
proposals to build in
the neighborhood.”
Staying on top
of the Strohecker ’s Strohecker's grocery store closed in January 2016.
replacement issue, (Photo by Mike Benner, KGW)
being prepared
to respond to any proposals for
lobbying for restored and enhanced
redevelopment on the site, and
bus service. Currently, area buses
reaching out for support from the city
with service to downtown only run
are also important.
during commuting hours, and not on
Until January 2016, Strohecker’s
evenings or weekends.
was the only grocery in the SWHRL
Group members strongly support
neighborhood, not to mention
TriMet’s proposal to join lines #39
post office, pharmacy, liquor store,
and #51 to link service from Lewis
espresso bar, and dry-cleaning
& Clark College, through Hillsdale,
service.
up Dosch Road, through Portland
The Strohecker’s committee plans
Heights to downtown.
to continue as a neighborhood
Residents are frustrated that bus
watchdog to see that future plans
routes in other parts of the city get
for the property are grocery-specific,
more enhancements, when they
and that any future plans must be
have no service mid-day, evenings
beneficial to the character of the
or weekends and have long steep
neighborhood.
hikes to the nearest grocery, and other
Public transportation and
services. This has been especially
walkability are also major
painful during the recent snow and
neighborhood issues.
ice, when the area bus doesn’t run
The SWHRL neighborhood is
at all.
Portland school district may reopen George Smith School in 2019
ASHCREEK NOTEBOOK
By Jack Rubinger
The Southwest Portland Post
Ashcreek is a quiet neighborhood
with only a few businesses and a
population of about 6,000.
Its heritage is rolling farm and
pasture land, and only in the last 10-15
years has there been any significant
housing infill.
Most of that has been harmonious
with neighborhood character, but is an
important area to watch to make sure
that the city’s housing infill policies
are respectful of neighborhood
character and livability.
In addition, Ashcreek is one
of the many Southwest Portland
n e i g h b o rh o o d s t h a t a re p a r k
deficient, have few sidewalks and
safe pedestrian and bike routes to
schools and services.
As the population grows, especially
among school-aged kids, the city’s
willingness to invest in infrastructure
to serve the neighborhood will be
very telling.
“The school district is considering
re-opening George Smith School
at Southwest 52nd (Avenue) and
Marigold (Street) as early as 2019,”
said Dean Smith of the Ashcreek
Neighborhood Association.
“In the works are changes in
neighborhood boundaries to make
Southwest Taylors Ferry Road the
boundary between Ashcreek and
Crestwood neighborhoods.”
According to Smith, this would
reduce Ashcreek’s population by
about 1,000 residents and make the
neighborhood boundaries more
rational and understandable.
Proposed boundary changes will be
voted on by Ashcreek Neighborhood
Association residents on Monday,
March 13, at 7 p.m. at the Multnomah
Arts Center (Room 30), 7688 SW
Capitol Highway.
Smith said that Ashcreek heroes
include Marianne Fitzgerald, who
has been a longtime advocate
for transportation infrastructure
improvements all over Southwest
Portland, and Dave Manville, who has
worked diligently in the neighborhood
and in Woods Memorial Park Natural
Area.
Manville, Jack Klinker and
Michael Kisor are resurrecting
the Neighborhood Emergency
Team preparedness program for
t h e A s h c re e k a n d C re s t w o o d
neighborhoods.
OPEN FORUM
(Continued from Page 2)
active transportation network in
our community.
Once the list is approved,
SWTrails or other non-profit
organizations can easily work
with the adjacent land owners,
the community, neighbors and
others to build and/or maintain
the connections as time and
resources permit.
SWTrails is in the process of
requesting funds be included
in the Portland Bureau of
Smith Elementary School closed in 2005 due to declining enrollment and a shrinking
district budget. (Photo by Bryan M. Vance, OPB)
“The work of these four people
has been a major factor in recent
successes at getting funding for
capital improvements at the Garden
Home Road and Multnomah
Boulevard intersection, as well as
bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure
projects on Capitol Highway between
Multnomah Boulevard and Barbur
Boulevard,” said Smith.
Transportation budget to maintain
our 40+ miles of Southwest urban
trails, the routes marked with the
brown sign with a number, an
arrow and a white walker symbol.
Will adjacent owners still have
liability for actions on these public
lands next to their lots? They
should secure direct legal advice
on that issue.
As we work to build and maintain
an active transportation trail
network with you the community,
we will be asking for city resources
for materials, a very nominal sum.
S W Tr a i l s v o l u n t e e r s g e t n o
compensation. Join us at our next
work party. Visit www.SWTrails.
o rg t o s i g n u p f o r m o n t h l y
updates.
Glenn Bridger, now retired, spent a
long career with the Federal Highway
Administration and HDR, a national
e n g i n e e r c o n s u l t i n g c o m p a n y.
Bridger is past president of Southwest
Neighborhoods, Inc. Don Baack is a
retired timber executive who after
retiring organized SWTrails to help
improve the pedestrian and bicycle
environment in Southwest Portland.
Both Baack and Bridger currently
serve on the board of SWTrails PDX.