Page 4 * The ST. JOHNS REVIEW * #1-Jan. 15, 2016 * Email: reviewnewspaper@gmail.com * Mail: PO Box 83068, Port. OR 97283 * Web: www.stjohnsreview.com * Phone: 503-283-5086
“Letters”
Continued from Page 2
respects the desires stated in the
SJLP in regard to preferred inter-
section design ( see page 36) for a
calmed intersection.
This transfer passes the cost of
intersection repair to the develop-
er who should receive benefit for
his investment, but also creates
another community feature at an
intersection that is designated in
the SJLP as a ‘community corner’,
deserving and requiring special
treatment.
I would ask the St Johns com-
munity to consider this and let
City Council know that you want
the SJLP to be honored and that
the proposed vacation of Ivy Is-
land be approved. That a group
of folks who may not have any
understanding of the goals, his-
tory and importance of the SJLP
and its implications stand to derail
efforts of their neighbors to guide
the development of the Lombard,
downtown and Cathedral Park
segments of St Johns are misguid-
ed. For those who were involved
in the discussions and the work,
your voice is especially important.
You will bring a sense of history
and perspective.
Links to contact City Council can
be had here: http://www.portlan-
doregon.gov/25999
Re-alignment of the Lombard /
Richmond intersection is brief-
ly touched on in SJLP. Vision il-
lustrations vary, but the slip lane
is closed. The question simply is
whether the City will allow the
transfer of that small piece of pub-
lic property to occur now, passing
the cost of intersection repair to the
developer. Or will the status quo re-
main, with an unsafe slip lane feed-
ing into a blind corner and onto an
increasingly busy small local street
until the inevitable happens and the
public demands a safer street.
If chock full of passion, consider
directing it to our wonderful parks,
our schools, our public library, our
great business district and the many
benefits our forbearers gifted us.
These benefits are why we come
and why we stay. St John’s WILL
change, as it always has. We have
that opportunity to manage that
change, or be overwhelmed with it.
If you want to read the St John’s
Lombard Plan in its entirety, follow
this link http://www.portlandore-
gon.gov/bps/article/65700
Respectfully,
Joe Adamski
Safety Issue VS Slip Lane
Dear Editor,
In talking about Ivy Island, some
people see little value in it other
than it “just” being a traffic island
with little to recommend it. Oth-
ers, like myself, see a green space
with mature trees and a traditional
and historic entrance into our com-
munity that many in our commu-
nity have an affection for. It is a
Gateway into our Main Street and
has value other than being “just” a
traffic island. Over the years, with
the marque, trees, and landscap-
ing, our community has worked
hard to create the Ivy Island we
now know.
Concerning the issue of safety at
Charleston, many see this as just
an issue of the slip lane and it’s re-
moval. If that is the point of view,
then there are very few options.
I prefer to think of it as an issue
of safety. If it’s a safety issue we
can break it down into parts and
work on making the parts better;
for example, 1) blind curve, 2)
vehicle speed, 3) pedestrian cross-
ing, 4) walkability. If it’s only
an issue that it’s a slip lane, and
we don’t like slip lanes, then the
only solution is to remove it. To
do that we must also destroy Ivy
Island. We’ve never experienced
the Charleston corner other than as
a blind curve. Anyone who com-
plains about it usually starts the
complaint with how they can’t see
traffic coming. It was a blind curve
because the Huck/Weir building
was blocking your line of sight.
That is no longer true. That build-
ing is gone. We could now work
on making that curve more visible
and safer.
What else could we do? We
could increase police enforce-
ment of the 25mph speed limit. In
Pennsylvania a community start-
ed a speed-monitoring program
in which residents of a neighbor-
hood measure vehicle speeds.
The speeders were sent letters
explaining the safety concerns. In
Denmark they slowed traffic with
topless female sign holders (really,
it works!).
Artwork can be used to draw
the mind to the surroundings.
Focusing on where you are, not
just where you’re heading. Other
useful strategies are to raise and
texture the crosswalk to alert mo-
torists to their surroundings and re-
mind them that they are entering a
pedestrian-friendly area. With the
destruction of the Hookah Lounge
we can now put in a crosswalk at
the top of the Island too.
I think that safety is important,
but Ivy Island has other value that
is also important for St. Johns.
That importance should be in-
cluded when considering what’s
going to happen. It’s much more
than “just” a traffic island. It’s an
iconic piece of the history of St.
Johns. Ivy Island and our St. Johns
Gateway is important enough to
try harder.
If it’s about ridding the communi-
ty of the Slip Lane that limits the
options that we can act on. If it’s
about safety, with work and imag-
ination we can make that corner
safe and keep Ivy Island.
John Teply
PS: We now have the dates: Feb 10
will be the City Council hearing,
Feb. 17 the vote.
-------------------------------------
Taken from Dickens…
Dear Editor,
Thank You St. Johns Review.
I so enjoyed the wonderful cov-
erage of recent events by Ms. Pat-
A recent Ivy
Island rally.
ton. You and staff should be lauded
for bringing attention to the woe-
fully inadequate media coverage
of a potentially life-threatening
explosion and fire near our town.
Thanks also for publishing my
wife’s insightful editorial exposi-
tion of the ongoing problem of, not
only the recent inadequate disaster
response but of the day-to-day dis-
crimination of which St. Johns is a
recipient.
As Christmas has just round-
ed the corner and snow is falling
I would ask you to entertain the
possibility of some parallels be-
tween St. Johns and Dickens, A
Christmas Carol. If we look into
St. Johns Ghosts of Christmas past
we see annexation to Portland in
1915.
“You are fettered,” said Scrooge
(Portland City Council), trem-
bling. “Tell me why? I wear the
chain I forged in life,” replied the
Ghost. “I made it link by link, and
yard by yard; I girded it on of my
own free will, and of my own free
will I wore it.”
For you see, it is the founda-
tion and bedrock of St. Johns an-
nexation contained the nails for its
coffin. Portland City Council and
PBOT- Scrooge, need to review
their insatiable greed that will be
the death of our town. If they visit
the Ghost of Christmas Past they
should recognize that it was not
the intent and willingness of our
town to be dissolved in a fetish to-
wards greed.
“Business!” cried the Ghost,
wringing its hands again. “St.
Johns was our business. The com-
mon welfare was our business;
charity, mercy, forbearance, and
benevolence, were, all, our busi-
ness. The dealings and trade were
but a drop of water in the compre-
hensive ocean of our business!”
The citizens of St. Johns of the
previous century, who walked
upon the sacred grounds of their
former city sit, watched, and relent
planting the seeds of destruction. I
know this because it is logical.
Scrooge, (City Council) is now
planting the seeds of Christmas
Present but this present is not the
gift that our Past foresaw. Today’s
destruction of what was St. Johns
should behoove us to change now
if we are to preserve St. Johns’ fu-
ture.
As Dickens might have said, “I
will honour St. Johns in my heart,
and try to keep it all the years as
it is meant for the health of our
children. I will live in the Past, the
Present, and the Future. The Spir-
its of all Three shall strive within
me. I will not shut out the lessons
that they teach. Oh tell me that I
may sponge away the writing from
these codes and city plans. “Men’s
courses will foreshadow certain
ends, to which, if persevered in,
they must lead,” said Scrooge. But
if the courses be departed from,
the ends will change. Say it is thus
with what you show me.”
I ask that each citizen of St. Johns
understand the rich heritage wo-
ven by unseen hands. Should this
tapestry be discarded for the Em-
peror’s New Clothes? As Tiny Tim
said, God bless us, every one...but
especially those who suffer.
Richard (who borrows from Dick-
ens) Tennant
N. Haven
-----------------------------------------
Keeping an historic green
space
Dear Editor,
St. Johns is a valuable neigh-
borhood. One of the things that
attracts people to this city is its
small town feel and its historic
neighborhoods, its access to na-
ture and its natural spaces within
the city. These are all key elements
of St. Johns. On the edge of For-
est Park, St. Johns is an historic
neighborhood that still maintains
a small town feel and a sense of
community.
We are living in the age of gentri-
fication and it is more crucial now
than ever to maintain and foster
our communities. Development
and progress is important and nec-
essary, but equally important is
developing in a way that supports
and enhances the neighborhoods
and the people who have made this
city what it is.
From the moment a person en-
ters downtown St. Johns, wheth-
er traveling over the historic St.
Johns Bridge or ushered in by the
welcome sign and the foliage of
Ivy island, one feels that they are
entering a community and a little
piece of history. Ivy Island high-
lights the small town feel of the St.
Johns Business district and pro-
vides easy access. Ivy Island is a
signature gateway into St. Johns.
This new intersection that would
go in place of Ivy Island would
be getting rid of one of our valued
green spaces and it would obstruct
the view of and easy access to the
St. Johns Business District.
This development would be a
detriment to the current feel of St.
Johns and has the interest of out-
of- town developers in mind more
so than that of the people who
made this neighborhood what it
is. Please save this historic green
space for the good of the neigh-
borhood and its people. Develop-
ers might provide people with new
places to live for the time being,
but it is the character and history
of this place that brought them
here and that is what will make
them want to stay. Please save Ivy
Island.
Sincerely,
Chloe Frisella Kunst
Portland, OR 97203
-----------------------------------------
Loving Ivy Island
Dear Editor,
Why I Love Ivy Island and the
Lombard Slip Lane:
* Uniquity: Ivy Island is a unique,
welcoming, historical gateway
into St Johns.
* Easy Access: The Lombard slip
makes it easy for cars to enter the
business district.
* Visibility: You can see through
the trees on Ivy Island into the
business district.
* Canopy: The thirty-foot mature
trees on Ivy Island contribute to