 |
||||||||
 |
||||||||
 |
MEMO BLOG | |
Memo Calendar | Memo Pad | Business Memos | Loaves & Fishes | Letters | Home |
 |
 |
 |
The principal backers of the Gateway Green venture published their work last week, hoping for a popular response that could make the bike space a reality.
The idea, which can viewed at www.deainc.com, in the “Featured DEA Project” on the home page of David Evans and Associates Inc. Web site, calls for the development of 37 acres of vacant land between the I-84 and I-205 freeways into a recreation and natural area, and as such, has become an attractor for Gateway. The principal backers are developer Ted Gilbert and Hazelwood neighborhood activist Linda Robinson, both members of the Gateway Urban Renewal Program Advisory Committee. “This is the first time I’ve done a deal with a developer,” Robinson said at a Gateway PAC meeting. Members of DEA — particularly Gil Williams, who helped Gilbert and Robinson formulate ideas — later joined them.
A graduate class from Portland State University did an inventory of the land. Earlier this year Gilbert and Robinson led a tour of the land and later conducted a design charette attended by 46 people.
“We decided that rather than try to be all things to all people, we’d do one or two things spectacularly well,” Gilbert said. The two they chose were multipurpose bicycle facilities and environmental restoration and sustainability. They also decided to divide the site into six sub-areas, naming them after the traditional four elements, plus two more:
• EARTH — This first sub-area would have an open meadow.
• WIND — This sub-area, on the north end of the site, would have large wind turbines and conifer trees.
• FIRE — Here the emphasis would be on bike trails, including mountain and free biking on steep terrain. There would be a bike and pedestrian bridge to Gateway.
• WATER — This would contain more water treatment, bio-swales and wetlands, tree plantings and an education center with restrooms.
• FLOW — Here the plans call for access from the Gateway Transit Center and the conversion of an existing culvert into bio-swales and water features to treat storm-water runoff. “Right now that water flows directly into the Columbia River, and when it rains it gets pretty ugly,” Gilbert said.
• SUN and ART — This sub-area, on the south end of the land, would have a system of solar collectors and sun-related art, large enough to be seen from the freeways.
The Earth and Wind sub-areas would also have bike and pedestrian bridges to Rocky Butte to the west. This connection would expand the size of the site to more than 100 acres and allow connections to the Madison South neighborhood to the west. The bike trails could also connect to the planned Sullivan’s Gulch commuter bike trail, providing a car-free route all the way to the Willamette River and the Eastbank Esplanade.
The intended effects would include attracting people to Gateway and giving it a positive identity. Gilbert noted that 65 million travelers a year pass within sight of the area.
The development team has done outreach to the bicycling community, and several prominent bicyclists attended the February charette. Chris DiStefano, marketing coordinator of Chris King Precision Components, said at a meeting last month at Portland Adventist Medical Center, “As a resident who moved here for something unique, all these elements would be absolutely iconic, something you’ve never seen before. It’s difficult to have an off-road experience here on a normal day without using your car.”
Another cyclist said, “I moved here from the Bay Area. I utilize Powell Butte, and it’s good for an evening ride, but it doesn’t occupy you all day. When I heard about this, I was really excited.”
DiStefano said that the economic impact of attracting cyclists alone would be huge. In one pizza shop along a favorite biking route, “We spent $10,000 a year. It’s not just a matter of using this and splitting. We’d be providing stewardship.”
There are two main barriers to these plans: money and ownership. Gilbert said that everything so far envisioned could be bought for $20 million. The most essential elements, including the trails and one bridge to Rocky Butte, could be done for $2.3 million, he said.
Whether they would ever get the chance depends on the Oregon Department of Transportation, which owns the land. Spokesperson Carla Keller told those present, “We’ve had a lot of people asking to do things on this property over the years, and we’ve always said no. About the time that (Gilbert) came forward, we were saying, ‘Well, maybe we should do something with this.’”
That is not a blank check. At one point she said, “We don’t do well managing property. Our desire is to have someone like the Portland Parks bureau enter into an agreement with us.” In an apparent contradiction, she later said, “We’ve never been really successful in having someone else manage our land.” They would require an impact study, and would need to reserve land for future highway expansion. Some of the land may have an environmental overlay zone, precluding paved trails. Despite all this, she said, “I think this can all be worked through.”
For those wishing for more information, or to get involved, Gilbert can be reached at ted@gilbertbrotherscommercial.com, and Robinson at lrobinspdx@comcast.net. Gilbert can also be reached at 503-221-9424.
Activists look at new streetcar routes
In east Portland, as in other parts of town, a team of volunteers is looking at potential future streetcar routes as part of Commissioner and Mayor-elect Sam Adams and the Portland Office of Transportation’s Streetcar Systems Plan.
One route that has caught several eyes is the Gateway Circulator, a loop through the Gateway district between the Gateway Transit Center and Portland Adventist Medical Center. Unlike most of the routes currently under consideration, for the foreseeable future the Gateway Circulator would not connect to downtown or any route leading there. However, according to Justin Douglas of the Portland Development Commission, Adams’ office seems willing to consider the idea if it can be shown to have popular support in the area. At last month’s meeting of the Gateway Urban Renewal District Program Advisory Committee, the proposal received a unanimous vote of support.
The sentiment is not universal. The working group established to make recommendations on east Portland routes includes people who are critical of streetcars in general. At a recent meeting, one member complained that the system is very expensive and removing resources from other transit priorities, while another said that since MAX light rail was built, service on what had been well-functioning bus routes has deteriorated.
In defense of the streetcar, working group member Cora Lee Potter said, “This would be a huge boon to many seniors. Do we want to deny them simply because we live on a cul-de-sac somewhere and it doesn’t make sense to us?”
Another volunteer, Mark White of the Powellhurst-Gilbert neighborhood, suggested, “We should set out what’s different between us and downtown, and design something that fits our needs.”
Planners sift through East Portland Plan input
In formulating draft recommendations for the East Portland Action Plan, Senior Planner Barry Manning and his team are continuing to sift through responses gained at a public open house the project held in April, which was attended by 120 people. The biggest area of concern in written responses was crime and public safety, followed by housing and transportation. Some responded to questions about commercial areas and economic development, complaining that such development is lacking and existing properties are stagnating. There was also some concern about the state of education and schools. Relatively few talked about utilities and infrastructure, parks and open spaces, and natural areas and sustainability.
Asked what they liked best about the area, people mentioned having lived there all their lives with access to what they needed within a short distance and the rural feeling of the area. One said, “The yuppies are far away.” Mixed with such comments were unhappiness about the direction of change, and talk of moving away.
MEMO Advertising | MEMO Archives | MEMO Web Neighbors | MEMO Staff | Home