Commentary
New Hillsdale Plan needed
 As noted elsewhere in this issue, the Hillsdale Neighborhood Association (HNA) is embarking on prioritizing future transportation improvements in our community.
I hope you plan to attend the special HNA meeting scheduled for the community room of the Watershed on Saturday, Jan. 12, at 10 a.m.
I'd urge those attending to call for a systematic approach to looking into Hillsdale's future. Transportation is just one piece of it, as we discovered more than 15 years ago when the Hillsdale Vision group hammered out a comprehensive Hillsdale Town Center Plan.
That plan, approved by the Portland City Council in Nov. 1997, had seven topic areas (Land Use, Transportation, Business Growth and Development, Urban Design, Community, Environment and Recreation, and Housing.) The document listed 80 "action items," many of which have been achieved. (You can see them HERE.)
The list of accomplishments since then is long and attests to the importance of planning. Among the direct or indirect results: the Farmers' market, rezoning for higher densities, the creation of the Town Center itself, the institution of Hillsdale Main Street, the mid-block crossing, the creation of a local improvement district for new sidewalks and street trees, the construction of a new library. The list goes on and on.
It helped that we were assigned a paid City of Portland planner who guided us through the steps. We could use the same help today and should ask the City Council for it, particularly in light of Hillsdale's importance to Southwest regional planning taking place at Metro (see the lead story in this issue).
In the next 15 years or so Tri-Met, Metro and the City of Portland are going to be making major transit changes in Southwest. We need to make sure that they are consistent with our priorities. To do that, we first need to envision where we want to be 15 years from now and weigh how our old concerns have changed with time.
In short, it's time for our community to decide what it wants to be - again!
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Civic Participation through on-line game-playing
Regional planning decisions
to impact Hillsdale
Governmental officials are trying to figure out how development in the Southwest part of the Metro region should proceed over the next 15 years.
To help them know what you want, Metro has come up with an on-line game for you to play. If you play the game you could shape what happens in Hillsdale. 
The web site game is part of a $2 million, federally financed planning effort in the Southwest Corridor, a 15-mile swath stretching from Sherwood to downtown Portland.
To play the game and register your opinion, visit the Metro web site. So far more than 300 in the Southwest Quadrant of the Metro region have participated. The deadline for responding is Dec. 31.
"If we get an overwhelming response from Hillsdale, it will tell us something," says Elissa Gertler, deputy director of planning and development for Metro. She is overseeing all of Metro's corridor plans. "We definitely don't want a plan that no one wants."
Early next year the elected officials on the Southwest Corridor Steering Committee will be presented with sweeping "investment strategies" for the quadrant, Gertler says. She describes the choices as "bundles of options and investment strategies. Particular areas, like Hillsdale, will be judged for their development potential. Others include Multnomah Village, Washington Square and South Waterfront (see map).  | |
The game asks you to connect places that you travel to frequently.
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The on-line game asks participants to choose the places most important to them. Construction for the improvements won't begin at least until 2020, Gertler said. And the project, which is reliant on federal dollars, could get pushed back another 10 years if the long-delayed Columbia River Crossing is funded first.
Metro has experienced a "paradigm" shift regarding transit and particularly light rail, Gertler noted. Any transit system should follow development. "Transportation is a development tool,"
And under the new paradigm, she said, a light rail tunnel between Hillsdale, OHSU and downtown is "probably the last solution on the list" because of its complexities, costs and the length of time to plan and construct it.
The 15-mile-long transit corridor will connect downtown Portland and Sherwood. Eventually Metro and its member local governments will decide how the area should develop, what forms of transportation will be used, and how the improvements will be paid for.
Light rail, which has met stiff opposition in Clackamas County, might well be rejected in favor of Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), which is gaining popularity nationally, said says Karen Withrow, communications manager for Metro's Southwest Corridor planning effort..
Meanwhile, the Hillsdale Neighborhood Association (HNA) is holding a transportation planning charette on Saturday, Jan 12, at 10 a.m. at the Watershed Building (Corner of Capitol Highway and Bertha Court).
Glenn Bridger, HNA's transportation chair, said it's time to prioritize more immediate transportation needs, regardless of the larger regional issues. Among the needs are solutions to problems such as the lack of sidewalks and parking, dangerous intersections, and the quality of transit service.
Still, whatever results from the two-county Southwest Corridor planning obviously will impact Hillsdale. Bridger is on a citizens' advisory panel that is working with City transportation planners studying the Barbur section of the corridor. "The Barbur Plan is looking at development opportunities," he said. Echoing Gertler, he says, "We want land-use to drive the decision, not transportation," he added.
Fifteen years ago, when the Hillsdale neighborhood and business community forged a Town Center Plan, zoning was changed to allow greater housing density near the community's numerous Capitol Highway bus lines. Now, Bridger says, it is time to look at zoning that will be appropriate 15 years from now. But he adds, unlike the planning 15 years ago, the current discussion won't produce a plan but, instead, a priority list. "We don't have the capacity to do a new Hillsdale Plan," he said.
Nevertheless, he adds, "High-capacity transit here is an opportunity for our community. We need to say what we want our community to be before someone else tells us what they want us to be."
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Carolers from the Wild
It came upon a midnight clear, That glorious song of old, From angels bending near the earth, To touch their harps of gold
 For Bill and Emmy Lawrence, who live on SW 19th Avenue near Sunset Boulevard, the first two lines of the old Christmas carol describe what happened on midnight, Tuesday, Dec. 4.
After that...well...not so much...
The "angels" 50 feet down the driveway on that midnight clear each had four legs and fur. A coyote pair performed a duet directed at the street lamp.
Sorry, no "angels" touching "harps of gold."
But never mind.
Bill and Emmy enjoy music in many forms but this was a real change. Bill compared the wild coyote caroling to a concert. He joked in a Christmas newsletter that the yowling harmonies might have been worthy of Johann Sebastian Bark.
In the nearly 30 years the Lawrences have lived on 19th, they've seen coyotes frequently. Sometimes the wily ones pass singly through the backyard. They have been spotted ambling down Sunset Boulevard in broad daylight.
But this is the first time the Lawrences have heard the critters yap out their "glorious song of old."
Bill and Emmy are listening - and eager - for an encore.
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Food Cart offerings to grow
The new Hillsdale Food Park at the Capitol Highway entrance to Wilson High School is adding two new carts - Ramy's Lamb and an as-yet-to-be named taco cart.
In announcing the newcomers, park owner Richard Stein said that Radiant Light, one of the original three carts, has backed out.
Ramy's Lamb, which will open before the new year, will serve kebobs, gyro sandwiches, falafel and baklava. The taco cart should be open by the end of January, Stein said.
Stein said he is also looking for a cart that will serve Bento or Asian cuisine.
Two new carts join Violetta, which features burgers, and Smaaken Waffles.
The park is also adding an ATM machine kiosk.
Stein described patronage at the park, which opened in mid September, as "fine" so far but "irregular and unpredictable."
"No one can figure out what the pattern is," he said. Oddly, patronage doesn't seem to be tied to the weather, and the carts are attracting a cross-section of people in addition to Wilson students.
As the park has expanded, the prominent Wilson High School reader sign has been moved 10 feet toward the school entrance corner.
And the "free speech" table, which invites written comments (pen provided), is so covered with words of wit and wisdom that even the lack of space has been commented on. A second table may be added.
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HairColor Salon Dirk blazes
sustainability trail for Main Street
HairColor Salon Dirk is the first Hillsdale business to become Sustainability at Work (SAW) certified, receiving a Silver certification recently.
Owner Jo-Anna Dirk took advantage of the offer made by Hillsdale Main Street to be the liaison between the City of Portland's SAW team and her business.
SAW offers green audits of businesses that ask for assistance, providing them with an overview of what they already do well, and what new ideas could increase efficiency and sustainability.
The Hillsdale Main Street Sustainability Committee hopes that once enough Hillsdale businesses have been through the SAW process, a "to do" list of projects can be created.
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Old Bridges on Barbur slated
for major repairs in 2014
 As you travel along Barbur Boulevard just south of the Highway 10 turn-off to Hillsdale, you don't pay much attention to the two bridges you cross.
You should.
According to the Oregon Department of Transportation, key wooden parts are slowly rotting and cracking. Rebar is corroding.
Blame it on age. They are nearly 80 years old.
First, introductions are in order: The northern most is Newbury Street Bridge. It's southern neighbor is Vermont Street Bridge.
The names are actually misnomers. Newbury Street, while once platted, was never built; the distant Vermont Street was never extended to go under the span that bears its name.
And there's more. Jilayne Jordan, community affairs coordinator for the project, says that technically the spans aren't bridges at all. They are viaducts. Bridges, by strict definition, go over water.
Whatever they are, ODOT wants to make them safe, otherwise trucks and buses will soon no longer be able to use them.
The work, which includes replacing rotting sections and building new decks, will take place from spring to fall in mid-2014 at a cost of $5 million.
The work won't make the bridges strong enough for Light Rail, which is being considered under the Southwest Corridor Plan. For light rail, new bridges would be needed at an estimated cost of $25 million, said Jordan.
"Our plan now is to maintain and preserve what we've got."
Jordan also said a seismic analysis has never been done on the bridges. "We don't know if they are seismically sound or not," she said, adding, "thousands of bridges in our region are a higher priority for that type of review."
The public is being asked to comment on the construction's impact and on the design of the repairs, says Jordan. Comments are invited on the project's web site HERE. An as-yet-to-be scheduled open house will be held in the spring to share up-to-date details about construction plans.
At an open house held Dec. 13, attendees expressed concern that during construction, traffic might be detoured to Terwilliger Parkway. Jordan said that ODOT is looking for alternatives, but single lanes open on the heavily used, narrow bridges, could be a problem.
Another issue was the lack of adequate room for bicylists and pedestrians on the bridges. Jordan said some of the lane widths might be tweaked to make make more room but separate, standard-sized passage for bikes and pedestrians are too expensive.
Building a separate bridge for pedal and foot traffic would cost an extra $3 million that isn't in the budget, she said.
To learn more about the project and to comment, go to its web page: Comments will be accepted via email through Dec. 27. A summary of the comments received will be developed and posted online in early January. |
Date Book
December 21 & 24
Community Church Christmas events
All events at the Hillsdale Community Church, UCC, 6948 SW Capitol Hwy. Friday, December 21, 7:00 p.m. Longest Night: A service of healing and hope on the longest night of the year. Quiet music, time for silence, candle lighting and prayer. Monday, December 24, 11 p.m. Christmas Eve Festival of Lessons and Carols. Wednesday, Jan. 2
Hillsdale Neighborhood Association
7 p.m., St. Barnabas Church, 2201 SW Vermont. Monthly meeting includes a proposal to improve the intersection at SW 7th and Terwilliger Parkway as well as committee reports. All invited.
Saturday, Jan. 5
"Usual Suspects" clean up for the New Year
9 a.m., meet at Food Front. The "suspects" meet the first Saturday of every month for a one-hour litter patrol of the town center. Good, cleaning fun. All are invited and suspected.
Wednesday, Jan. 9
What is a "healthy" Hillsdale?
7 p.m., The Watershed Community Room (Bertha Court and Capitol Highway). The Hillsdale Alliance, a forum for community organizations that meets quarterly, will discuss how Hillsdale can be a healthier community in body, food and mind. The public is invited to participate.
Saturday, Jan 12
Hillsdale's transportation priorities
10 a.m., Watershed community room. A Hillsdale Neighborhood gathering (or "charette") to discuss and identify the neighborhood's transportation needs. Sponsored by the Hillsdale Neighborhood's Transportation Committee. See lead story in this issue.
Tuesday, Jan. 22
Film about 9/11 engineering findings 6 p.m., Hillsdale Library. Free presentation of "9/11: Explosive Evidence - Experts Speak Out" from Architects & Engineers for 9/11 Truth. The 90-minute documentary presents the evidence of explosive demolition of the Twin Towers and neighboring Building 7 on Sept. 11, 2001. For general audiences.
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