Single decisions that shape a community for decades are rare and often hard to pinpoint.

Years ago, the Kalapuya people, who gathered camas root and wapato in the Willamette Valley and fished in the Willamette River, discovered a "passing through" place through the mountains that stood between their vital, seasonal sources of food.

Archeologists will tell you that their route from the west followed Fanno Creek to its headwaters (where the aptly named "Watershed Building" stands) and then down the canyon where thousands of commuters travel to this day on Capitol Highway. The rest of the trail is still evident in the remains of Slavin Road.

That ancient decision eventually put our community on the map: Capitol Highway became the main route to Salem...hence the highway's name.

Another formative decision was made by the pioneering Wardin Family, which in the early 1950s decided to sell the bulk of their Fulton Park Dairy to the Portland School District. Significantly, the family decided to retain their commercial strip along Capitol Highway. Wardin descendants own it and manage it to this day.

Again, a single decision shaped Hillsdale.

Another landmark decision, as recently as the mid-1990's, was the reconfiguration of two designated neighborhoods sharing a border demarcated by Capitol Highway. In a vote, residents decided to merge parts of the old neighborhoods (Wilson Park and Bridlemile-Robert Gray) into a new one, HIllsdale.  The decision put Capitol Highway and the commercial area, The Hillsdale Town Center, at the "heart" of Hillsdale.

I cite these formative decisions because we now face another one that could define our future.

Will Hillsdale be connected by light rail tunnel directly to OHSU, placing our neighborhood two stops away from downtown Portland?

Neighbors are grappling with that question at Hillsdale Neighborhood Association meetings (see accompanying story in this issue). The next meeting will be Wednesday, March 4 at St. Barnabas, Church, 2201 SW Vermont, at 7 p.m.

At the meeting, the pros and cons will be listed. In the last month, more "cons" have emerged. The discussion should be informative, lively - and possibly historic.

While opinion in Hillsdale is important, the ultimate decision will be left to a Southwest Corridor Plan Steering Committee of regional elected and appointed leaders. A major obstacle to approval of the 2.35-mile-long tunnel is the estimated $1.3 billion price tag.

As more details about the tunnel options emerge, my own view has shifted. Like several others, I initially thought the tunnel would be a real asset for Hillsdale, but now I have my doubts. They largely echo those cited in the accompanying story.

The least expensive "High-capacity Transit" route follows Barbur Boulevard. Hillsdale's frequent Beaverton-Hillsdale Highway bus lines will continue because the Southwest Corridor Plan doesn't include state-of-the-art high-capacity-transit service to Beaverton. Under the Southwest transit plan, if it is approved (and that's also a big "if") the Town Center's transit facilities would be improved to provide new connections to a Barbur HCR line.

I doubt future historians will look back on a "no" decision about a Hillsdale tunnel and long for "what might have been."

Indeed, lightning-fast technological change and "history" may render Light Rail, buses and automobiles obsolete. Diminutive, self-guided, on call, fuel-cell-powered transit pods, anyone?

Rick Seifert
Editor

Lisa De Graaf, the new chair of the Hillsdale Neighborhood Emergency team, says that If there is a major earthquake here, neighbors should be aware that the Wilson High School football field is a City-designated BEECN (for "Basic earthquake emergency communication node"). It's the place to go in Hillsdale after a major earthquake in order to seek emergency assistance if phone service is down or to report severe damage or injury.

De Graaf encourages families in the neighborhoods to have a plan and have on hand necessary supplies. Hillsdale NET will help organize and guide neighbors to obtaining emergency preparedness resources.

A story about NET in the last issue didn't include this information.

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