Commentary
Transit Plaza, anyone?
A couple of issues back, I promised to continue my "If I ran the zoo" vision for Hillsdale.
The following thoughts may seem crazy, but one never knows....
Please note that a few of these ideas have been aired before and inexplicably drifted into oblivion. I think they are worth revisiting, if only to stretch minds.
Here goes:
* Get serious about radically transforming Capitol Highway in the Hillsdale commercial area.
Specifically, shut it off to cars and trucks and make it a transit plaza. It could even be a place where an OHSU/Downtown MAX tunnel surfaces (see story in this issue). Let pedestrians, bikes and buses come up and down a Capitol bike/bus "transit way." (European urban and suburban centers have done this with great results). All private motorized vehicles (especially commuter traffic) would take the "long way" round and come to Hillsdale shops from the west. Parking lots would remain, but access to them would be less direct. Traffic that now uses Sunset/Capitol to get downtown, would take Dosch to Beaverton-Hillsdale Highway to Bertha to Barbur. * To alleviate the resulting backups on Bertha and encourage transit use, start a Hillsdale shuttle service to the Hillsdale Plaza/MAX station. Voluntary donations would fund the Hillsdale Community Foundation mini-bus.* Use the storefront commercial property on Capitol for shops and restaurants, not banks. * Create a "mirror" alley where the Bank of America/Queen of Diamonds is. The mirrors on the east wall of Casa Colima would double the visibility of the presently hidden businesses. Their signs would be written in reverse to "reflect" in logical order in the wall-sized mirrors. The oddity of it all would make the alley a regional attraction.* Install at least eight large neon signs and dub Hillsdale "Neon City Southwest." Again, the signs would make us a regional attraction. * Okay, so you don't like the Transportation Plaza idea...At least, put on-street parking along both sides of Capitol to slow traffic.* Put a credit union (odds are still good we will get one in the next year or so) where Food Front is, and move Food Front to the north side where it will appeal to home-bound shoppers not willing to risk Capitol's suicide turn lane to make a left turn to get to the store's current location. * Move the student-clogged bus stop away from the Ward building. (see the transit plaza idea above)* Finally: Underground utilities, Underground utilities, Underground utilities, Underground utilities, Underground utilities, Underground utilities, Underground utilities, Underground utilities. Again, Europeans hide utility wires as a matter of course - they don't even think of putting unsightly wires above ground.
Rick Seifert
Editor/Publisher
Letter to the Editor
The Oregonian committed suicide
Editor:
In my research I frequently access old copies of the Oregonian. The difference between the Oregonian of 50 years ago, and the Oregonian of today is clear.
Fifty years ago there was a huge amount of local events coverage. Every county political party meeting, every 'society' event, every fundraiser, every club meeting, every business opening, EVERYTHING that happened locally was covered.
Now?
Nothing.
For many years the O has been nothing but an aggregator of wire stories. Now that we can get those wire stories online, the O's day has passed. The internet didn't kill the O; it committed suicide.
Tim Lyman
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Book sale, open house help sustain Hillsdale Main Street
Every three months, Hilllsdale Main Street must come up with $7500 to qualify for an equal amount from the City of Portland. Because the local non-profit, economic revitalization program has an annual operating budget of $80,000, it must raise an average of $12,500 a quarter to meet its total annual local $50,000 share of its costs.
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Volunteer cashiers Marie Elena Potter, Mike Ponder, Diane Moskowitz and Pam Field tallied up book sales.
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The program, now in its fourth year, got a financial boost on Sunday, July 28, when it grossed $5,000 from its book and art sale. Dozens of donors contributed books and works of art over a five-week period. And hundreds attended the sale that was centered at the Watershed building but also spilled out over the south sidewalk of Capitol Highway. Megan Braunsten, Hillsdale Main Street's executive director, noted that many who donated art said they wanted to support the community but couldn't afford to do it with money, but they could with donated art. Volunteers spent hours collecting, arranging and displaying the books and artwork. This year Marie Elena Potter organized the effort and received praise from Braunsten for her work. Braunsten added that Hillsdale's strong volunteer base also contributed to the Hillsdale Business and Professional Association's successful - and simultaneous - Blueberry Pancake Breakfast.
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Capitol Highway's sidewalk offered pocket books at bargain prices.
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Funding Hillsdale Main Street has been a challenge, but in June volunteers raised $3,300 at "Hillsdale Heritage Circle" open house. In August, Baker & Spice, now open on Mondays, is contributing a portion of its Monday proceeds to Main Street. The next big Main Street event is the $80-per-person community Paella dinner Saturday, Sept. 28. The admission price jumps to $90 after Sept.15. For details, see Datebook below. Last year's Paella event netted $5,000, Braunsten said. The non-profit Hillsdale Community Foundation is the "parent" organization of Hillsdale Main Street. One board serves both organizations. The Portland Development Commission (PDC) oversees three Portland Main Street programs (Alberta and St. Johns are the other two). Amy Sleck-Rosete, a senior program project coordinator at the PDC said there are no plans for what might happen if Hillsdale Main Street were to miss a quarterly payment, but she did say, "The matching funds don't get disbursed until we have the money." She added, "We want to be as helpful as possible with our Main Street partners." For more about Hillsdale Main Street and the Paella dinner go HERE.
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SW Corridor decision keeps tunnel option open
In what Metro, the three-county regional government, is calling "a huge step" in its planning for the Southwest transportation corridor, public officials in July called for studying the feasibility of drilling a tunnel through the Southwest Hills, linking Hillsdale and points southwest with OSHU and downtown.
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A tunnel between Hillsdale, OHSU and downtown would be Portland's second.
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But a year from now, the Southwest Corridor Plan Steering Committee might also choose an alignment that follows Barbur, or rule out light rail altogether in favor of Bus Rapid Transit.
Whatever the alignment and the mode of transit chosen, the plan would make Tigard and possibly Tualatin part of the linked transportation chain to downtown.
The Southwest Corridor area affected by the eventual plan, which is years away from being implemented, is now home to 11 percent of the Portland Metropolitan area population and accounts for 26 percent of the Metro-area jobs.
The 14-member steering committee, which includes Portland Mayor Charlie Hales and other elected officials, expects the corridor area's population to grow significantly in the next two decades. The result will be major traffic congestion unless high-capacity transit is offered as an alternative, they have concluded.
Metro's Southwest Corridor web site says, "In combination with other investments to support transportation choices (driving, biking, walking and transit) a new bus rapid transit or light rail line would provide better access to jobs in the corridor and encourage development to key places while protecting the character of single-family neighborhoods."
Metro planners and the committee have many more hurdles to surmount, not the least of which will be finding federal and other funds for the work.
Hales gave hint of the scope of the effort when he asked after the July meeting, "Can we maintain this agreement through a tortuously long federal process - which is a competition that, even if we get our act together, we still might lose?"
He cautioned, "These things aren't inevitable. The lightning only strikes when everybody gets together at the local level, maintains that consensus and competes successfully for federal funds."
To learn more about the planning go to www.swcorridorplan.org |
City code allows neighbors
to comment on patio deck,
but not on Ballet building
Here are two construction projects in our neighborhood. The smaller by far calls for building of a new, larger deck on a house tucked away on an isolated residential street in a virtual closed community.  | |
Enlarging this deck required review by the neighborhood association.
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The other is a substantial enlargement of the Portland Ballet building at the busy corner of Capitol Highway and Sunset Boulevard. Work is underway. Question: Which does the city code deem necessary for review and comment by the neighborhood association? Which escapes neighborhood review under the code? Answer: The code allows neighborhood review of the deck, but not the expanded dance studio. What's the deal? The deck, in the Dosch Estates south of Sunset Boulevard, can't be seen from the quiet street and has virtually no impact on the larger neighborhood. The immediate neighbors whom the city notified for comment, had no problem with the expansion say owners, Frank and Ronnie Ramistella.
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No neighborhood review was required for Portland Ballet building.
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The couple had to pay $988 to go through the permitting process and the couple isn't happy about it. Ronnie says that when the deck finally gets built, she's asking for a refund. The additions to the Portland Ballet will have a significant visual impact and raise questions about traffic and parking. The building is just west of the already busy entrance to Wilson High School. When you put the question to City planners they send you to the code, which calls for expanded decks to be reviewed if they exceed "allowed building coverage." The deck in question does exceed the allowed coverage so it was on to the neighborhood association in early July for review. The dozen or so neighbors present quickly concluded that if a larger deck was a problem for immediate neighbors, they could raise the issue with the City. But the expanded Ballet School, which was announced in June just before ground was broken, had never come before the neighborhood association. Neighbors had no chance to make suggestions about the high-profile expansion. Joan Fredrickson, district liaison for Bureau of Planning and Sustainability in our area, said that because the Ballet decided to use set design standards and meet spelled-out "thresholds," the neighborhood wasn't asked to comment. Had the architects decided to work through design review, the neighborhood would have been able to comment. Fredrickson agreed that "....it is not a perfect system. It works the way it is set up but not necessarily the way the neighborhoods prefer." She said that if neighborhoods want to advocate for revisions they "need to give some thought to specific elements that are problematic and propose modifications." Two years ago, the neighborhood came up against code issues when a proposed Chase Bank branch was allowed to meet minimum footprint requirements by simply adding an enlarged awning to a building that otherwise would have failed to meet code requirements. In the face of community opposition, Chase later backed out of the project to be located in the empty lot just east of Baskin-Robbins. At Southwest Neighborhoods Inc, (SWNI), which serves as an umbrella organization for Southwest neighborhoods including Hillsdale, Leonard Gard, a land-use expert, said the case of the deck and the dance school "points out a difficulty that always arises when you write code. You have to set certain thresholds." But the code is reviewable, and the City has recently made money available for an extensive review, he said. Adjustments can become political. Contractors and developers don't like neighbors looking over their shoulders. But, Gard, who is SWNI's program manager, added, "The relationship doesn't always have to be hostile. Neighbors can give good ideas about modifications." Those who are troubled by the process can always complain to the "Development Review Advisory Committee," which has representatives from different parts of the community, including developers, contractors and neighbors. Yet another way to draw attention to code problems is with a letter to the city commission in charge of the Bureau of Planning and Sustainability. The commissioner now is Mayor Charlie Hales. His e-mail address is mayorhales@portlandoregon.gov
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Hillsdale intersection work delayed by bidding climate
Summer work on making three Hillsdale intersections more safe and less confusing has been delayed until next year in two cases and put aside in another. Kyle Chisek, a capital projects manager with the Portland Bureau of Transportation, said that two projects on Terwilliger near Barbur will be delayed because a shortage of available contractors has resulted in projects attracting too few bids or bids that are too high.
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Significant improvements on the intersection at Vermont and Capitol have been dropped.
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By delaying bidding until after the busy summer work schedule, the bureau hopes to receive bids that are more numerous and lower, he said. Bidding on the two Terwilliger projects are now scheduled to close in October. Chisek estimates that work at Seventh and Terwilliger and at Terwilliger, Chestnut and Sixth will start this winter and be completed by April. A third project at Vermont at Capitol Highway is being dropped after the bureau learned from the Water Bureau that it would require moving a large water main. "It may go back to the drawing board," said Chisek. He said that some low-coast interim improvements will be made at the Vermont-Capitol intersection, which is confusing to motorists and dangerous to pedestrians and bicyclists. Originally the Bureau had hoped to have the three projects completed by this fall. On Terwilliger, the Seventh Avenue up-hill cut-through to Wilson High School will be squared up requiring motorists to slow down and even stop rather than swiftly merging on and off Seventh. Just to the north on Terwilliger, changes at Sixth and Chestnut will result in Sixth being two-way. Left turns off Terwilliger onto Chestnut will be prohibited. The new configuration will create longer sight lines before motorists make the turn. A new crosswalk will be added on Terwilliger at Sixth and storm water improvements will be made.
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Date Book Friday, August 9
National Neighbors Night Out
7 p.m. to 9 p.m. The Watershed, 6388 SW Capitol Highway.
Refreshments and music by DJ Tony Santiago. This is one of several National Nights Out being held around the neighborhood and in Southwest.
Saturday, August 10
SW Trails Walk
9 a.m. meet promptly behind the bleachers at Wilson High School for a six-to-seven-mile walk through Spring Garden Park and Maplewood. Bring snack and water and dress for the weather. Well-behaved dogs allowed on leashes.
Wednesday, August 14
Steve's Creature Feature
3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. at Dewitt Park across from the Hillsdale Library. Free tickets available 30 minutes in advance. Explore the world of reptiles with Steve Lattanzi. Kids will be able to safely see, hear and touch some of the most exotic creatures on earth. Steve is a well traveled wildlife expert who specializes in studying exotic animals from around the world. For families and kids grades K to 5.
Wednesday, August 14
Barbur Bridge Noise Hearing
6 p.m. SW 4th Ave. Rm 2500 B. The City of Portland's Noise Review Board will review an Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) application for work on Barbur early spring next year. The work, to last a year and a half, will strengthen two Barbur Boulevard bridges south of the Capitol Highway on-ramp. Much of the work will take place at night. ODOT estimates that 177 nights of work will produce noise that is not expected to be "significantly louder than the current traffic noise on I-5 and Barbur," according to the department. For more information go to the ODOT web site.
Thursday, August 15
Park movie 'Hotel Transylvania'
Music starts at 6:30 p.m. with the movie starting at dusk. Dewitt Park is across from the Hillsdale Library. Free and family-friendly. "Hotel Transylvania" is reportedly a favorite for children of all ages.
Saturday, August 18
Multnomah Days
Multnomah Village celebrates its 104th anniversary with its annual street fair, which takes place on Capitol Highway between SW 33rd and SW 39th. It's a full day of fun for the whole family. The famed parade kicks off at 10 o'clock with musicians, street performers, cars, pets and more. More than 100 vendors will line the streets showcasing art, food, crafts and other merchandise. Live music and interactive booths last until 4 pm.
Sunday, August 19
Vine & Dine in Multnomah
1 p.m. and 3 p.m. SW Moss Street between 34th and 35th (behind Grand Central Bakery) The event, an extension of Multnomah Days, features wines from Oregon and Washington as well as sampling bites. Tickets are available at two levels. $50 for early birds at the 1 p.m. event and $30 for the 3 p.m. general event. Both events include wine tasting and food. Proceeds benefit the Multnomah Village Blocs Initiative for preserving the historic village.
Saturday, August 24
Read to the Dogs
10 a.m. to Noon, Hillsdale Library. Improve your reading skills and make a new friend by reading aloud to a therapy dog. The dogs and handlers are from Pet Partners�. Read with Debbie and Alex. For kindergartners through teens. Call the library to register.(503) 988-5388
Saturday, August 24
Community clean-up day
at Wilson, Rieke
9 a.m. to Noon, free BBQ to follow. Spruce up the campuses for the opening of the school year. Bring gloves, clippers, rakes and any gas powered clippers or weed wackers,
Wednesday, Sept. 4
Hillsdale Neighborhood Association meeting
7 p.m. St. Barnabas Church, 2201 SW Vermont. Agenda to be announced.
Saturday, Sept. 7
Usual Suspects
9 a.m., meet at the Food Front "front porch" for an hour of fun litter patrolling in the Town Center.
Saturday, Sept. 28
 Paella Benefit Dinner6 p.m to 9 p.m. at the Fanno Creek Clinic's parking lot at 2400 SW Vermont (near Capitol Highway) Proceeds benefit Hillsdale Main Street. $80 per ticket until Sept 15. $90 after that. Live music, famed local chefs including Seasons & Regions and Senor-Senior Ted Coonfield. Sponsored by A-Boy and Wyse Kadish Attorneys and Z'ivo Wines, a Willamette Valley winery, along with Baker & Spice and Salvador Molly's. For details, go to the Hillsdale Main Street web site.
PRO BONO:
Host family sought for AFS-USA exchange student Want to see America through different eyes? Expand your family's and your awareness by hosting an AFS-USA exchange student. AFS-USA, a leader in high school intercultural exchange programs for more than 60 years, is starting a new Community College Exchange Program in Portland this fall. The students, from Europe and Asia, will attend PCC with a focus on American culture and the English language. While generally more independent than exchange students in the High School Program, bright young adults need solid and loving home bases for their year-long stay. Families receive a modest stipend to defray expenses. Contact Peter Seilheimer at: herrseilheimer@gmail.com for more information. For the good of your pet in the summer heat...
Here are some hot-weather tips from Hillsdale Veterinary Hospital's Dr. Shaun Vaniman: Dogs can only cool off by sweating through the pads of their feet nad panting. Signs of overheating include excessive panting, difficult breathing, increased heart and respiratory rate, drooling, mild weakness, lethargy or even collapse. If you see any symptoms of overheating, call or bring your pet to the clinic immediately. A car's internal temperature can rise drastically and quickly even in moderate outdoor temperature with the window cracked. Never leave pets unattended in a car during warm weather. Pets need exercise even when it's hot, but extra care needs to be taken with dogs that are older, are overweight, are short-nosed, or that have thick coats. On very hot days, limit exercise to early morning or evening hours, and keep in mind that asphalt gets very hot and can burn your pet's paws. Make sure your dog has plenty of fresh water and shade. |
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