The Southwest Portland Post., April 01, 2018, Image 1

Metro staff
proposes initial
light rail route
from Portland to
Tigard
– Page 6
Hillsdale
Farmers’ Market
kicks off 17th
season, Molloy
returns as manager
– Page 5
Cannibis dispen-
sary to replace
Uncle John’s Pizza
in Markham
– Page 5
The Southwest Portland Post
Volume No. 26 Issue No. 6
www.swportlandpost.com
Portland, Oregon
Complimentary
April 2018
City bureaus deal with four watersheds along with 30 percent design concerns
CAPITOL HIGHWAY PROJECT
By Erik Vidstrand
The Southwest Portland Post
The Southwest Capitol Highway
Project continues to move forward
reported Chris Lyons, chair of the
Multnomah subcommittee.
Lyons provided an update at the
March meeting of the Multnomah
Neighborhood Association. Last fall,
the bureaus of Transportation and
Environmental Services provided
residents with its 30 percent design.
“The city said this is one of the hard-
est projects they have ever done,” Ly-
ons said. “There are four watersheds
and [numerous] topography issues to
contend with.”
Lyons explained that the west side
of Capitol Highway would have an
all-purpose path, which wasn’t the
neighbors’ favorite choice.
“The city didn’t have the money to
separate out the bike lanes and side-
walks,” Lyons said.
The city spent several
months responding to
the committee’s concerns
of the first design. Park-
ing, swales, and keeping
bike lanes as straight as
possible were some of
the main issues Lyons
presented.
“We wanted to clarify
that the only mainte-
nance the residents will
have,” Lyons said, “will
be maintaining the side-
walks in front of their
homes.
“They would also pre-
serve as many trees as
possible and pay special BES staff visited Southwest Capitol Highway neighbors near Basin 3. Front row: Marianne Fitzgerald,
attention to intersections Nayda Boone, Nancy Miller, Michele Ruby, K Christensen, and Bev Shields. Back row: Al Iverson,
like Dolph, reduce the Angie Clark, Jason Clark, Michael Jordan, and Becky Tilson (Photo courtesy of Murphy Terrell)
use of retaining walls,
“We appreciate your insights and
and add crosswalks as needed.”
miles per hour. The current limit is
your commitment to this joint Trans-
The committee has also recom-
35 mph.
portation and Environmental Ser-
mended the city reduce the speed
Lyons shared some of the highlights
(Continued on Page 3)
limit along Capitol Highway to 25
from the city’s letter.
Controversy over Spring Garden Park remodel includes landscaping, parking
Spring Garden Park is currently under construction but should be opening in late
May or early June. (Photo courtesy of Portland Parks and Recreation)
By Jack Rubinger
The Southwest Portland Post
Joel Schaper lives across the street
from Spring Garden Park, a 4.65 acre
site in southwest Portland, acquired
in 1999, in an area that has been park
deficient for some time.
Schaper said he has lived happily
in the Multnomah neighborhood for
several years, and was originally
happy about plans to develop the
park, but now he’s not so happy.
His beloved lush, green park is
getting a messy makeover consisting
of bark dust and hard surface areas.
Schaper believes these changes are
forcing folks off 50 years of estab-
lished walking paths.
“Since the landscape didn’t change
too much it seems like the paths that
were naturally used should have just
been paved. The wet area from the
stream/spring in the back of Spring
Garden Street has still caused a very
wet area at the bottom of the park,”
said neighbor Ken Boltz.
“We warned the parks people about
this area and it seems like the warn-
ings were not listened to since the area
is not draining properly, “ Boltz said.
“Since. Since the project is almost fin-
ished, this will probably be a problem
spot for years.”
Park bureau officials are defending
their process and their communica-
tions to the community, saying that
there have been numerous commu-
nity and open house meetings related
to the reconstruction of the park.
“The community was very clear
about the desire to develop a natural
space that came from the master
plan process while at the same time
providing ADA access through the
site, soft surface trails, creating a
contemplative garden space as well
as a hybrid nature playground,” said
Jennifer Yocum, community relations
manager for the park bureau.
“More specifically, the majority
of the park is planted with meadow
and wildflowers directly in line with
what we heard from the community
members,” she said.
Boltz and other neighbors are dis-
pleased that the park bureau is al-
lowing cars to park on the north side
of the street in smaller than normal
parking spaces.
Neighbors complain this change
will force cars to park in a traffic lane
and make it unsafe for pedestrians,
bicyclists, and cars. Schaper said he
is upset because these changes were
made without any neighborhood
input.
“The planners and the people at
the top have been subpar and have
outright endangered people with their
poor plan design. In fact when people
voiced concern about the intent most
neighbors believed parking wouldn’t
be allowed,” said Schaper.
But according to Yocum, “Given
the existing condition of both Spring
Garden Street and Dolph Court (both
narrow and absent of sidewalks), it’s
not surprising that traffic and con-
gestion was an ongoing topic during
our 12-month public involvement
process.”
Other neighbors are perfectly fine
with developments at the park in-
(Continued on Page 2)
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