The Mid-county Memo is your newspaper. We want to hear from you. Discuss an important issue, respond to a request for comment or address a concern you want to call to the attention of the community. Letters to the editor will always be edited for space, style, grammar and issues of clarity. Please include your full name and identify the neighborhood in which you reside. We prefer e-mailed letters to the editor sent to Darlene Vinson at editor@midcountymemo.com. Please put “Letter to the editor” in the subject line. You may also mail your letter to 3510 N.E. 134th Ave., Portland, OR 97230. Deadline for the March issue is Thursday, Feb. 15. 

It’s time for a new outlook and some fresh air

To the Editor:

As a Parkrose resident, I feel obligated to respond to the recent comments regarding our eastside community. I don’t think it’s unreasonable to aim for a more livable neighborhood. We love riding our bikes to local stores and cafes. My mother-in-law loves walking to our developing parks. I love the use of bioswales. Most of all, we love that we don’t have to get into a car to enjoy our local area.

I refuse to stubbornly yearn for the times of yore. Yes, we have a homeless and IV drug-addicted population, just like the rest of the city. Our presence in these new parks might just counteract this issue. Maybe people should dust off that old bike and use our new bike lanes. You never know, the fresh air and exercise might do you some good.

Shannon Ludeman
Parkrose Neighborhood


“Poor-tland” bureaucrats stupid

To the Editor:

When they were wasting money doing Northeast 102nd Avenue and ruining it for emergency vehicles, I tried to get a true roundabout put in here which should be done now to speed up traffic flow.

Since they removed the right turn lane there [Northeast Weidler Street westbound], the traffic goes through Kaiser at a high rate of speed, as well as at Heavenly Donut at Northeast 102nd Avenue and Glisan Street.

I see this a lot, as we wait for the 77 buses there often and my wife uses Kaiser.

The people here in “Poor-tland” are told, “You do not need to watch out for cars, honey. They have to watch out for you,” and this is getting people killed—and they rarely go to the intersection to cross a street.

Now put in a true roundabout and quit playing around. Remove the concrete out of the center of Northeast 102nd Avenue south of Halsey Street and put the right turn lane back in at northbound Northeast 102nd Avenue and Halsey Street.

There should be a roundabout here also and remove the stupid stop signs at roundabouts.

Why don’t we ever get some decent people to get things done? There needs to be a lot more signage before the intersections.

The city of “Poor-tland” runs on stupid most of the time.

Rex R. Bahr 
Russell Neighborhood