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About The Southwest Portland Post. (Portland, Oregon) 2007-current | View Entire Issue (July 1, 2017)
Hillsdale appreciates customers with annual Blueberry Pancake Breakfast – Page 8 Bicycle racers compete in the Alpenrose Velodrome Challenge – Page 5 State representatives provide overview of education funding legislation –Page 4 The Southwest Portland Post Volume No. 25 Issue No. 9 www.swportlandpost.com Portland, Oregon Complimentary July 2017 Autonomous vehicles may shuttle students from light rail stations to PCC Sylvania SOUTHWEST CORRIDOR PLAN By Erik Vidstrand The Southwest Portland Post The Metro community advisory committee met on June 5 to discuss two components of the proposed Southwest light rail line. Committee members reviewed alignment options in Tigard and transportation options to Portland Community College’s Sylvania campus. Eryn Kehe, Metro facilitator, announced that TriMet is partnering with University of Oregon student teams who will assess sustainable components of the project. These include technology, wildlife habitats, and autonomous cars. “They will be looking at phone apps such as schedules and tickets,” Kehe said, “as well as considering upgrading Wi-Fi services at many of the stations.” Matt Bihn, Metro project planner, then discussed options for accessing the PCC Sylvania campus. “Tonight we are proposing two shuttle options,” Bihn said. “These include an automated electric shuttle (van) up Southwest 53rd Avenue, and the Barbur Transit Center and Baylor Street shuttle buses.” Bihn explained that the 53rd Avenue shuttle would connect the PCC Sylvania campus with a light rail station at Barbur Boulevard and 53rd Avenue. “This quarter-mile route would use 12-passenger autonomous shuttles operating on demand,” Bihn said. “Frequencies would vary throughout the day.” Currently 53rd Avenue is mostly gravel, has no sidewalks, and no lights. The plan is to pave the street, add lighting, and make it safer for pedestrians and bikes. Bihn explained that six states, including Washington and California, have been testing autonomous vehicles in pilot programs. Metro is considering an autonomous (driverless) shuttle to carry passengers between light rail stations and Portland Community College Sylvania. (2010 photo by James Hill, courtesy Portland Community College) The Barbur-Baylor shuttle would connect PCC Sylvania with the light rail stations at Barbur Transit Center in Portland and Baylor Street in Tigard. This system would add eighteen 55-passenger standard Trimet diesel buses per hour during peak times. Travel time, convenience, neighbor issues, transfers, capital costs, and (Continued on Page 3) Construction underway; Plans include new playground, walkway, restroom SPRING GARDEN PARK By Erik Vidstrand and Don Snedecor The Southwest Portland Post The giant boulders and logs are gone, the sand pit is no more, and the toy Tonka trucks have been replaced by heavy machinery. Construction has finally begun at Spring Garden Park. Nestled in the Multnomah neighborhood, the 4.65 acre park is bordered by Southwest Dolph Court and Spring Garden Street between 32nd and 35th avenues. Friends of Spring Garden Park have been meeting with city planners the last few years to improve the park with extra amenities. “Working with parks staff, the city council, and with the support of the park commissioner, Amanda Fritz, we have sorted through all the construction and budget questions and are ready to proceed with building the park,” said Elizabeth Kennedy- Wong, community engagement manager for Portland Parks and Recreation. According to the park bureau, the playground will feature an interactive water feature, embankment slide, contemporary play structures, rocks for climbing with tree logs and stumps for nature-based play. The playground will meet all current Americans with Disabilities Act requirements. An ADA-accessible walking path will be constructed that links Dolph Court to Spring Garden Street through the park. Along the main walking path there will be seating opportunities as well as the option to take one of the alternative soft surface trails. Adjacent to the playground a loo (restroom facility) along with bike racks, drinking fountain and trash receptacles will be installed. There will be a small picnic area with shelter constructed along Dolph Court that sits within a more contemplative flower garden with small areas of turf grass along with benches, picnic tables and soft surface walking paths. Along the northern portion of the park, south of the existing stream area, a small group gathering area consisting of an approximately 400 square feet concrete pad, turf and seating walls will be installed. The gathering area will accommodate movies in the park and provide additional space for learning and interpretation of the adjacent stream daylighting project. “Recently, we indicated that the retaining wall and gathering area would be removed from the project,” Kennedy-Wong recently wrote the Friends of Spring Garden Park. “You will be happy to know that these features have been put back into the park program.” The gathering space, however, has been a point of contention in the neighborhood. Supporters of the park, including the “Friends” have been receptive to this area. Neighbors who live within earshot of the gathering space have not been supportive of the “amphitheater” as they call it. Some park components were scaled back, removed, or redesigned with more cost-effective building materials. The Post visited the construction site recently and spoke to Daniel Paul, the (Continued on Page 3) Subscribe to The Post and help us keep the presses rolling! Form on Page 2. The Southwest Portland Post 4207 SE Woodstock Blvd #509 Portland, OR 97206 Construction began June 19 on Spring Garden Park. Paul Brothers, Inc. won the landscaping bid. The entire park is fenced off until completion. (Post photo by Erik Vidstrand)
