SW TRAILS GROUP COMMITTEE
-----------------------
Minutes: April 24, 2008
St. Luke's Lutheran Church
6835 SW 46th Ave.
Portland, OR 97219

Attendance: Don Baack, Lee Buhler, Gregg Everhart, Steve Evans, Sharon Fekety, Chris Mays, Diane Mays, Roger Geller, Keith Liden, Fred Nelson, Jim Stutt, Liz Marantz, Daria Gray, Phil Hamilton, Astrid Dragoy, Arnie Panitch, Navah Epstein, Tsvi Epstein, Mark Lear, April Bertelsen, Ross Zenier, Michael Kisor

Chair Don Baack called to order at: 7:05 and asked those in attendance to introduce themselves.

Gregg Everhart made a presentation on Parks planning on trails. She had several maps showing trails that need work. Gregg said they are very short staffed for the work that needs to be done. To make things work better they have had meetings with groups interested in trails and came up with a framework to work on trails. They have prioritized trail work and Greg displayed a map with color coded trail projects by priority. Gregg asked people to think about the projects and let them know if an thing is missing. Don said the steps in Himes park that were removed by BES should be replaced as soon as possible by BES. Don also suggested a planning process for pedestrian and bicycle trails in Gabriel park. Don said the signage in Gabriel Park is OK. Don said a trail from Barbur to Terwilliger in from the central South Portland Neighborhood area was important due to the many people who live in the area and work at OHSU.  This route coupled with the trail from the Marquam Trail to OHSU are the most important trails in the Marquam area from a transportation point of view.  Don suggested moving the Marshall park existing trails project to red. Astrid asked how many projects could be moved to red and Gregg said we cannot have a much higher number of “red” projects because there were already more than can be done in one year. Gregg and Astrid said that trail work should be done in concert with restoration to be cost effective. Chris asked if people could donate money to move up a project in priority. Gregg said was not sure if that was possible. Keith asked about Maricara park and if there could be a bike trail through the park. Gregg said that is something they will be looked into and there will be a meeting about it on May 13th and interested people should attend. Phil said they will be discussing bike access and PDOT is looking into it. There may be right-of-way issues. Don said the Maplewood Neighborhood around April Hill Park  is very interested in the Urban Trail 3 project going through the south end of April Hill Park. Arnie said that he hoped people would let people know when there are trail problems for the already scheduled ten-toe and senior hikes so that people would not be mislead with the printed material. Jim asked if there are projects we can start on right away. Don said we are waiting for parks to get their planning work done. Steve asked if there are easy ones that we can get started ASAP. Gregg said there will be work soon in Marquam and Woods parks. Don said we are really anxious to get started in Maricara and Marshall parks as well.  Interest in having West Portland Park trails planned is increasing, consider increasing the priority. 

Rodger, April and Mark from PDOT discussed the bicycle master plan and bike paths. Roger thanked the committee and Keith for the work on the SW bike plan

Don nominated Keith for SW trails volunteer of the year. Diane seconded the motion and it passed unanimously.

Roger said they have great planning in place for bike amendments but they really need money at this point. They are looking hard for money sources. They are hoping to get money from Metro (MTIP). They are trying to get Metro consider Bike boulevards as well as bike paths and let cities use the money as they see fit. They are also pursuing trail funding with the federal rails to trails program. Their list of improvements adds up to 150 million so federal funding is very important. They are also looking for funding through the safe sound and green program which would include some funding for bike transportation.

Roger and April talked about the improvement project on Vermont.  It will supplement the Halo LID in this area.

Phil made a motion to support the letter from SWNI to ODOT in support of the Vermont improvement. project. Lee seconded the motion and it passed unanimously

Tsvi said the section on Vermont from 32 to Capitol hwy is in bad shape and many people are using it so it would be nice to have it improved as soon as possible.

April said this area was considered for a Halo LID and that was a part of the grant to ODOT. If both the Halo and grant are approved it would mean a much better project

Arnie pointed out the signals on Chestnut and Vermont and Vermont and 30th are 22 seconds long if someone pushes the walk button but only 7 seconds if someone does not push the button. There are many orthodox Jews living in the neighborhood and they do not use technology as part of their religion on the weekend. He requested that PDOT consider having the signals at the long length all the time on weekends. Mark said they have discussed the problem and it would be looked at further. Said this is also a problem for school children who do not push the walk button.

Tsvi suggested getting volunteer contributions from beyond the Halo district for the improvements on Vermont and April said that was a good idea and it has been under discussion.

April said they would be applying for additional grants and asked what routes were important to SW Trails. Keith said a 3 block section on Capitol at the I-5 crossing was very important. Don said they had looked at it and is a difficult problem. Don said our top priority was the Red Electric trail and especially the bridge at the west end of Hillsdale. Roger said they were looking for additional funding for the Red Electric trail and had the possibility of increasing it to about 50 million. Diane suggested the area at the west end of Vermont. Don talked about the Barbur bridges and the Newbury structure and it is important to get those on funding plans. Mark suggested making drawings and getting letters of support to show how important this area is. Mark pointed out how important the bike route on Barbur is due to the flat grade. Gregg said we should look at transportation enhancements for money for these projects.

Tvsi suggested adding the trail through Robert Grey school and over the foot bridge as a bike trail. (one problem for the north bound biker, how to cross BH Hwy safely at Bertha to then go westbound.  If one does not cross, one is riding against the traffic.)

Don talked about a trail system on the Robert Gray campus that will need graveling as soon as Portland Schools approves the project, which should be soon.

Daria talked about the trail on Boones Ferry and the suggestion that the trail go under the overpass. She is opposed to the idea due to the environmental sensitivity of the area. She is the property owner adjacent to the site on the east side. She is worried that people and dogs will go off the path to the environmental area. She is hopeful we can think of something else.  It was pointed out that PDOT does not want an at grade crossing at this corner, and that crossing under Boones Ferry is the only way we will be able to get a trail through the area. 

There was a discussion of a problem on a  segment of stairs at SW 25th and Seymour. The route is well used and a neighbor had installed stairs on his property for people to use many years ago. However, he recently told SW trails he was removing the stairs due to his concern for liability. SW trails offered to rebuild the stairs on the public right-of-way a few feet away. He was receptive to the idea and even served refreshments to the work crew building the stairs. A few days after the stairs we built he suddenly changed his mind and complained to the city. He now is against any improvement and wants to keep all people off the public right-of-way. He told Mark Lear he is thinking about asking that the street right of way be vacated. 

April said she strongly supports SW trails. She wants to work out a procedure to follow in these instances so these problems do not reoccur. Mark talked about the issue said the city brings a lot of regulations when they get involvement. He said there had been discussion on the procedure to follow in allowing SW Trails to build trails in the past but it had not been formalized and now we should do that. The first thing he said will be instituted is that PDOT will provide SW Trails with stair steps and maintain an inventory of steps so we no longer will need to do so.  The inventory of predrilled steps will be ordered immediately. We will no longer have to use creosoted rail-road ties. Mark pointed out that the connection at 25th and Seymour was important for many reasons including the safe routes to school program.

Mark talked about the Safe Routes to School program and schools in SW such as Rieke elementary. He passed a map around showing some plans around various schools

Arnie talked about the Ten Toes Express and Senor Strolls walks. Arnie will do the his Lair Hill/South Auditorium hike on August 6th.

Keith said we do not yet have a date for the bike open house but he wants to start publicizing the map and spreadsheet by putting it on the web and the SWNI new. Keith and Don suggested June 18th for the open house. Don asked Keith to talk to Roger Geller to see if they would be willing to put a colored map in as an insert to the SWNI News, and we expect him to provide the snacks and coffee.

Don talked about the easement negotiations at the Multnomah Presbyterian Church and he hopes there will be more progress

Phil said there was an open house planning session for Maricara park.  The next planning session will be May 13th at 7pm and will include a walk through the park.  Meet at the west side of the park.

Don said he thinks BES should replace the steps they destroyed on the 40 mile loop and Urban Trail 3.  We do not want to leave the steps in the unsatisfactory condition they are in today for 4 years til the state is done with working on the bridge.

Don said the next hike would be from Hillsdale towards Lake Oswego and led by Bob Miller.

Don said there was a cub scouts hike on the 12th that went well.

Don said Kirk Morganson has laid out a trail concept in Arnold Creek.

Don discussed the SW Trails action plan and some additions were suggested. Don will send the list out for other considerations.

Don said there is funding for the Marshall Park bridge.

Meeting was adjourned at 9:26pm

Respectfully submitted

Lee Buhler

SW TRAILS GROUP COMMITTEE
-----------------------
Minutes: March 20, 2008
St. Luke's Lutheran Church
6835 SW 46th Ave.
Portland, OR 97219

Attendance: Don Baack, Lee Buhler, Phyllis Towne, Chris Mays, Diane Mays, Sharon Fekety, Steve Evans, Keith Liden, Kate McClullen, Bill O’Brian, Vern Krist, Michael Kiser.

The meeting was called to order at: 7:03pm

Introductions

Kate McCullen a volunteer from AmeriCorps talked about invasive plants. Two plants there are very concerned about are Garlic Mustard and Hogweed. Garlic mustard has been a big problem in other areas and it has just arrived in Multnomah County. Hikers can spread this plant by transporting the seeds on their shoes. She handed out several brochures on the plants. She asked anyone who sees garlic mustard while hiking to let them know so they can remove it. Don asked about Japanese Knotwood and identified a patch of it. Knotweed is very hard to control and must be done with a licensed crew and chemicals. They will hold a workshop for homeowners in May on noxious weeds. Vern asked about what plants to put on bare ground and Kate gave some suggestions of native plants.

Don talked about the stairs constructed at 25th and Seymour. The stairs were orginally constructing by and adjacent neighbor on his property and not in the public right-of -way. The neighbor was concerned about his liability and asked that the stairs be moved a few feet to the public right-of-way. A SW trails crew built new stairs in the public right of way after discussion with the adjacent homeowner.  Would anyone who was there when the stairs were discussed please contact Don Baack.   However, the neighbor then complained to the city about the new stairs. Don has been talking to PDOT about the steps and they are going to help us with this project. Mark Lear at PDOT has been especially helpful. We may have to re-do the stairs and add a hand-rail.  Anyone willing to contribute to the handrail should send a check made out to SWNI with a note saying SWTrails Stairs to Don Baack, 6495 SW Burlingame Place, Portland, OR  97239.  Please indicate if you want a receipt for a tax deductible donation.  The issue of whether the community desires to retain the pedestrian connection at SW 25th and SW Seymour will be addressed at the May 7th Hillsdale NA meeting, as well as the next SWTrails meeting on April 24th.  Plan to attend both of these meetings to express your support of keeping the connection.  

Don talked about the trails around Robert Gray school. Don met with people from school maintenance about the trails and they have been receptive to working with us to complete the trails around the school. This will help to keep people with dogs from using the school grounds and create safer routes to school for childern.  We have supplied PPS with a map of where the trails are to be located, and with ORS documents on liabilitly.  We still need to agree on trail standards for the trails around the area. 

There was a discussion of a map Keith had prepared for the bike project. We also discussed funding for the bike projects. Don suggested several possible sources for funding. Keith talked about the map and the spreadsheet with proposed priorities and specific comments. He had highlighted some routes he thought would make good first priorities for the city. He choose routes spread out around SW and routes that might also serve walkers as well. Bill said the connection to downtown is very important. Keith agreed and pointed out several suggested improvement that would help the connection to downtown. Don pointed out that one of the sections may be funded by the Safe and Sound Streets program. Keith suggested one more open house to get public input on our current recommendation. Don suggested breaking up the priorities into separate maps for the open house because there is too much information on one map for people to quickly grasp. Don talked about a possible route in the outer SW near PCC. He also suggested a route in the Collins View neighborhood through the Riverview cemetery. Don proposed moving the route on Custer to priority one and making some changes in the route. Don suggested adding a route on Naito or adding a bike track to Naito. (This means the bikes are on the same level as the sidewalk but walkers and bikers share a very wide sidewalk, and are separated by a line or similar designation.) We discussed the area north of Kelly to the old Greyhound bus barn. Michael asked about Garden Home Road and Keith said his suggestion was to add a shoulder first and then a bike lane.  See photo below from Helsinki.  


 

Phyllis gave the hike report. Chris and Diane did a great job for the March hike. Lee will lead the April hike, hopefully through areas with trilliums in bloom. Bob Miller will lead the May hike.

Don said he will lead a cub scout hike on April 12th. Don reminded everyone to send a email to city commissioners about the bridge in over Tryon Creek and under Boones Ferry Road at the intersection of Boones Fy and Arnold.

Don said there will be a meeting on trails in Maracara Park on April 8th.  Phil and Keith will be attending for SWTrails. 

Don talked about the destruction of Urban Trail 3 and 40 mile loop at the east end of Himes Park  under the Iowa street overpass on I-5 by the Oregon Department of Transportation. He will send out an email about who to contact.

Don meet with Fred Miller and a representative from the Multnomah Presbyterian Church about the easement to try to work out a compromise. He is hopeful

Meeting was adjourned at 8:46pm

Respectfully submitted

Lee Buhler

SW TRAILS GROUP COMMITTEE

Minutes: February 28, 2008
St. Luke's Lutheran Church
6835 SW 46th Ave.
Portland, OR 97219

Attendance: Don Baack, Lee Buhler, Phyllis Towne, Laura Foster, Chris Mays, Diane Mays, Keith Liden, Bill Obrien, Don Mc’Taggert, Michael Wolf, Frankie Anderson, Daryl Anderson, Kina Voelz, Simone Goldfeather, Phil Hamilton, Dale Sherborne

The meeting was called to order at: 7:02

Keith read some comments from Julia Harris about the bike project.

Laura Foster talked about her book and trails in SW. SW trails map was a big help to her. She will have a new book in the fall: “Portland City Walks” She talked about the Safe Routes to Schools program and wondered why kids did not use staircases more.

Metro got a grant from Kaiser to do a book of 50 Portland area walks.

Michael Wolf a graduate student at PSU gave a presentation about a proposed bike route along Highway 26. He has written a grant proposal to build the trail. The west hills are a challenge to bikers that has not been addressed. There is already a good bike path from Sylvan to Beaverton. The proposed route would connect this path to downtown. It is about 1 ½ miles long. There is one challenging  spot of about 1000 ft that would require retaining walls and a cantilevered trail. There is one other difficult spot and the connection to Canyon road into Goose Hollow might be difficult. He estimate a bike shed of 43000 people. Using bike count data on Barbur he estimates about 1100 bike users per day on the Hwy 26 route. Don said there should be a bike storage shed at the zoo. Michael estimated a budget of just under $3 million to construct the project. Bill asked about tie-ins to other path networks and Michael said it would. Keith said the bike shed could even be larger since it feels into the Beaverton area which is very flat and well connected. Keith also said the general rate of increase of biking should be factored in. Keena asked about the experience of riding so close to such a major freeway and Michael said it was better than you would think do to being separated by the ravine. Keith said the big advantage of this route is its directness.

Phyllis talked about the March which will be lead by Chris and Diane Mays. The hike will start at Wilson High and go to the Wilcox estates and back 2 ½ hours. Lee Buhler will lead April and hopefully Bob Miller will do May. She said Phil and Katurah are doing well and so is Myra. If anyone has dry firewood that they would be willing to donate to the Penningtons, please contact Don Baack.

Keith talked about the bike boulevard project. He presented the latest map and gave a history and overview of the project. Keith suggested the following priority: first fill existing gaps and then put a bike boulevard system in place. Keith also said way-finding signs in SW are very important due to the hilly terrain in SW. Also, he felt it was important to make sure the system near destination points such as community centers and schools are filled in. Don suggested picking a few east-west routes and push those first since it might look better than asking for the entire spaghetti map of routes. Chris agreed and said it was important to connect our small segments into one complete path. Don asked if there was a consensus to concentrate on several complete routes and everyone agreed that was the case. Laura said that many bike routes were focused to adults and there should be some focused on kids. Don talked about the Red Electric trail and all the efforts they had put into making that trail kid-friendly. Dale suggested putting bike lanes on one side of Barbur with barriers separating bikes from auto traffic.

Don said we should work out our priorities for the MTIP process in March. Keith suggest the Capital Hwy project first and then the Red electric. Don suggested the Barbur bridges should be the third priority. Don said PDOT has been doing some preliminary design work on the Hoot-Owl corner. We agreed our priorities will be Capitol Highway, Red Electric and Barbur.  We agreed Don  would write a letter to Zari Satner asking about the progress on the Red Electric trail project, especially the status of land acquisition in Hillsdale. 

Dale grew up in Portland and was in the scout program. His son is now in the scouts and he suggested the scouts could help SW Trails in building and maintaining trails. Don asked what we could do and Dale suggested SW Trails could coordinate the scouts on trails projects and let them know what needs to be done. Dale suggested the scouts would probably most like to work on trails in their neighborhood. Don suggested starting on one project and see how it goes. Diane suggested publishing our projects so that they could come and participate if they wanted. 

Don talked about the bridge in Marshall Park that has failed. Don went to the Marshall Park neighborhood association meeting. He felt the bridge could be made for less money than they were estimating $130,000,  and that the design needs to be done in a way to encourage volunteers in constructing the bridge. 

Don said April at PDOT looked at our sketch of the bike lanes over the Newbury bridge on Barbur,  and they (PDOT engineers)  felt there should be bike lanes on both sides of the bridge.  The problem with that may be the structure which supports Capitol Hwy.

Don said the Safe Routes to School got a grant to construct a trail on 19^th  between Spring Garden  and I-5. He said we should ask for bike lanes when they do that construction. Kieth said he would follow up on that. 

Don is looking for a designer for the 4T trail interpretive and way finding signs.  He and Bruce Murray are working on the way-finding signs.

Meeting adjourned at 9:05

Next meeting:

Thursday, March 20, 2008
St. Luke's Lutheran Church
6835 SW 46th Ave.
Portland, OR 97219

---

SW  TRAILS GROUP COMMITTEE
-----------------------
Minutes: January 24, 2008
St. Luke's Lutheran Church
6835 SW 46th Ave.
Portland, OR  97219

Attendance: Don Baack, Lee Buhler, Debby Taylor, Steve Evans, Keith Liden, Chris Mays, Phil Hamilton, Vern Krist, Nick Corrado 

The meeting was called to order at: 7:02

The agenda was accepted with the addition of a discussion of a citywide trails committee proposal.

Keith talked about the bike boulevard project and map.  Keith has talked to several people at PDOT about the project. Keith had prepared a detailed spreadsheet of the proposed routes with various criteria and comments for each route. Keith pointed out that some routes don’t need anything but signage whereas others will need more work. He suggested prioritizing routes as follows: routes that are relatively level with existing bike facilities with some gaps that needed improvement would come first. Then bike boulevards and then the steep routes that bring only the most hardy cyclists. Chris said he thought this prioritization was good  and would improve PR on the project since it would be acceptable to most people. Also, it could be combined with the Safe Routes to School program.  Don  talked further about the Safe Routes to School and some specific bike routes that would work with that program. 

Don said PDOT was about to apply for a grant from the state and would like our feedback.  PDOT had identified two choices for this money: Two crosswalks on Barbur between Lane and Hooker  or bike improvements on Vermont From 30th to 36th.   SWNI would like an opinion from SW Trails on this grant.  Don pointed out that funding for the Gibbs pedestrian bridge included a crosswalk on Barbur and Whitaker and on Naito and Barbur.  Apparently the people from PDOT who suggested the crosswalks between Lane and Hooker were not aware of that. Phil said three crosswalks on Barbur between Lane and Hooker were too many. Don said  the intersection of Capital Vermont and 30th (Hool Owl Corner) needed improvement. He also mentioned two other crossings that badly needed crosswalks: Richardson at Macadam and Barbur at Luradel.  After discussion the following was agreed to by consensus:  SW trails priorities are 1: bike improvements on Vermont  only if the intersection at 30th, Vermont and Capitol Highway (The Hoot Owl Corner including converting to a pocket park) could be fixed at the same time. 2: Signaled Crosswalks at Richardson and Macadam and at Barbur and Luradel.  The Barbur at Luradel crossing has been a high priority on Barbur for years, and has many more bus boardings than any of the spots along Barbur in South Portland.  There is a large Muslim population in this area that has received little attention in the way of improvements to the transportation system that they use. 

We discussed the bike map and spreadsheet again. Keith had prioritized the routes in one column and Don asked everyone to look at the #3 priorities carefully  to see if they should be moved up. Keith said one of the big problems with cycling in SW is the connection to downtown.  You can get close to downtown and then everything falls apart.  There was discussion about the importance of the Red Electric, at least to SW 33rd.   Steve said he liked having Barbur as a priority.  See bridge discussion below.  Don asked everyone to look at the spreadsheet thinking about where they like to bike and walk and see if we missed anything. Vern suggested adding a cost/complexity column and Don suggested adding a Safe Routes to School column. Steve said we should identify routes that would include pedestrian improvements.  In most  cases it makes sense to do bike and pedestrian improvements at the same time. It was decided to  add the pedestrian improvements comments on the first and second priority projects, we can do the third priority projects at a later date. 

Lee told the group about the city trails committee advisory group proposal.  Several people from other trail advocacy groups in Portland had come together to propose a citywide trails advisory group.  Lee went to a preliminary meeting on the proposal. Don read a proposed letter the group had made to send to City Council asking for the advisory committee. Lee read a list of advantages to forming such a committee that the group had made. Keith said, based on his experience with the Bicycle Advisory committee he thought it was  a good idea.  Phil said he thought it might drag us down since we are doing so much more than other groups.  Vern said it is hard enough to know the trails in SW let alone the whole city.  Nick said he did not see a downside to this proposal. It may help and if it doesn't we do not have anything to loose.  Chris said it might help in that  the active trail advocates such as Don could work together to influence city hall.  Don said he is happy to go along with this proposal but he suggested that the size should be limited to 12 since larger groups are harder to work with.  Don also suggested our first priority should be a citywide plan. After discussion it was agreed by consensus that SW Trails would  support a committee to do a city wide trails plan with support from Parks, PDOT and Planning.  After the master plan is completed then consider an on-going advisory committee.

Don will send out an invitation to ask our SW residents help Phil and Katurah Pennington with firewood.

Pete will lead next walk.

Don had found a source  material for steps for trails. Don asked if anyone could store  the material and Vern said he could. Don will send out an invite for people to work on  the material and hauling them to Vern's site.

Don had sent out a preliminary drawing he had made for the Newberry structure that will be built on Barbur Blvd.  (See below)  This would be part of the Red Electric trail system and would allow a good route for bikes. This is difficult terrain due to steep slopes and this proposal would be much easier for bicyclists.  The proposal was enthusiastically supported by the group.


Meeting adjourned at 8:45

Respectfully submitted

Lee Buhler

December 28th 2007 Meeting began at 7pm with introductions.  9 people present. Max Rompa is interested in finding a trail project for an eagle scout project.

Bike Boulevards:  The open house was very well attended, 41 signed in and several more came without signing in so we estimate we had 50 visitors.  Many stayed to talk til past time to shut down the affair.

We reviewed the comments given at the December 6th open house. Several related to safety of existing bike routes such as Capitol Highway from Barbur to Terwilliger both directions.  Boones Ferry Road for its entire distance in the City of Portland was cited as being very dangerous and in need of bike lanes and reduction in vehicle speeds.  We noted all the concerns on one map.  We will try to have a revised map posted on the SWNI web site by mid January.

We decided to put a modest sized grid on the maps so we can address improvements and easily find them.  Keith will put together a draft spread sheet on which we can note improvements needed on selected streets and easily reference them on the map by grid location.   We talked about but did not reach conclusions about priorities and how they would be set.  We will discuss this next month.

Don reported on a December 21st meeting with Sam Adams about the Safe and Sound streets proposal.  One of the things discussed at that meeting Sam indicated that the bike and ped plans for SW Portland put forward by staff are placeholders for the bike and ped improvements to be accomplished, and that we will be able to determine what projects should be selected and the timing of projects.  Also discussed at that meeting was the need to address vegetation management along our SW streets to improve ped, bike and car safety.  Sam indicated he was willing to talk about that.  Mark Lear, also present at the meeting mentioned that SW had tried to address this issue in the past and not been able to solve the bureaucracy maze of the city to get the issue addressed in a  comprehensive manner.

Motion: "Moved that SWTrails Group join the SWNI Transportation Committee in asking that SWNI write a letter to Sam Adams and Randy Leonard requesting a joint SW and City of Portland comprehensive effort to establish a clear process for removing the  roadside and trail side vegetation within the right of way where it is causing danger or inconvenience for pedestrians bikers, and autos."  Passed by consensus.

Summary of the history of this effort in SW Portland.  During the time when Lillie Fitzpatric was chair of the Transportation Committee, she and I rode around with the person responsible for posting overgrowth on sidewalks to understand what their process was.  It was unclear at that time who had responsibility for posting brush obstructing pedestrian/car views which poses dangerous situations.  We met with Mark lear and a group he pulled together and never got an answer until months later when it became apparent it was a person in PDOT working in the traffic section.  When contacted about certain plantings, he  indicated he could not post it for a technical reason, even though to any lay person the subject plantings were causing a problem.  There was also confusion about who was to contact PDOT, and if anything ever was posted.  To the best of my knowledge, PDOT has never posted anything in SW Portland.  In short, nothing was accomplished by our efforts at that time.

I5 structure update, ODOT does not want to meet with us to discuss the project.  Preferring to hold a hearing at some future date when everything is cast in concrete.  Tribune will have an article out soon.

Motion:  The SWTrails Group request SWNI to write a letter to ODOT and Sam Adams and Dan Saltzman requesting a meeting with ODOT  to discuss the Iowa Structure changes during the planning stage so we can understand what is being considered and provide input, including our interest in keeping the ped trail open during weekends and evenings.  We also want to discuss mitigation alternatives in the event the trail is not kept open. " Passed by consensus.

Presbyterian Church is willing to talk about what kind of an easement they can live with.  Will meet with them soon.

4T  - Funding was secured for first part of the project.

Motion:  "Don Baack is authorized to enter into contracts on behalf of SWTrails to manage the 4T project.  He will report back to the committee with monthly progress reports."  Passed by consensus.

Next walk will be the 4T  Meet 9am at Hillsdale Oak, SW Sunset and SW Capitol Hwy in the Wilson HS entrance.  We will bus downtown, do our loop from there, bus back.    Plan on 4 hours, hopefully it will take less.  Bring .85 for over 65 ticket and 1.75 for 2 zone adult ticket.  If it takes too long, we may have to buy 2 tickets. No dogs on this walk, sorry.  Kids welcome.  call Phyllis Towne 223 3723 for details.

Work Party SW 25th on east side of MJCC north of Vermont.  Park on Idaho or Nebraska near 25th, on December 29, 9 to noon if it takes that long.  Bring shovel, wheelbarrow, gloves.  Rain or shine.

Adjourned at 8:30

Don Baack
 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

SW  TRAILS GROUP COMMITTEE
-----------------------
Minutes: November 20, 2007
St. Luke's Lutheran Church
6835 SW 46th Ave.
Portland, OR  97219

Attendance: Don Baack, Lee Buhler, Arnie Panitch, Chris Mays, Diane Mays, Keith Liden, Virginia Henderson, Phyllis Towne, Michael Kisor, Vern Krist, Don Shields, Greg Raisman

The meeting was called to order at 6:57

Don handed out color SW recommended City bikeways maps and displayed a large map. Our thanks to Matt for doing the work on the maps, and to Greg for bringing them before he went for his TV show!

Phyllis talked about last months hike. There were 22 people and 1 dog Everyone made it. Next month Don will lead the hike which will follow the 4T trail route.

Don said several people will be testifying tomorrow on the 4T trail.  We are asking for $45,000.  Portland Oregon Visitors association (POVA) is very interested in the 4T trail.

Keith talked about the new bike maps They were just completed today. The map showed  bike pathways, bike lanes, bike boulevards and uphill shoulders.  All the bike routes were prioritized by year of completion.  Keith said the bike boulevards were most important and would be completed first.

Don suggested several areas for new construction: One being an addition at Custer to 4th & 5th under Terwilliger bridge. (new construction #1)

Don said Bertha from Vermont to BH hwy is a problem area.  The road needs to be widened. Don suggested a bike only signal activated left turn at Bertha Ct. Another alternative is the gully to just to the north.

Arnie asked about the salmon colored (problem) areas on the map and Keith explained why they were put in. He hopes to have a list describing each problem area and what the problems are.

Don suggested adding circling the area at the Bertha Beaverton-Hillsdale Hwy as a problem area.

Diane pointed out that the greens on the map were hard to distinguish. Don said Bertha from 19th to 33rd should be changed to purple. (It is a road and part of the Red Electric trail.)

Don suggested new construction 19th to Bertha (new construction #3) This is the Red Electric Route. 

Don read a letter from Jason Tell from ODOT about adding bike lanes to the Barbur bridges. He said they will not be scheduled for rehabilitation for many years because they are in relatively good shape. Don said he will write a reply.  Don said ODOT had cleared Slavin Road because they were doing borings in preparation for the Iowa St I-5 repair. Don will invite ODOT  ped/bike person to do walk around on Slavin Road.

Keith talked about the December 6th bike route open house. Publicity for the open house includes a front page article in the SWNI news Keith has contacted the BTA and others for further publicity.

Michael pointed out that a portion of Vermont was labeled “unknown”

Don suggested moving Hamilton form 53rd to Scholls Ferry in completion to 0 to 5 years.(Dark purple on the map.)  This will then make it on the same time schedule as TSDC funding and possible MTIP funding.  It is also a possible Halo LID. 

Don suggested building a short segment from 10th to 12th next to I-405. (new construction #2)

Lee suggested marking the planned greenway trail along South Waterfront on the map.

Keith suggested adding a route from Jefferson to the Zoo next to but separated from the Sunset highway.  Vern pointed out there was already a gravel road on the South side.

Don suggest new construction at Ralston adding a one lane bike lane from Barbur to Terwilliger (new construction #4)

Don said that 35th to Stephenson should be dark blue (0 to 5 years).

There was  a discussion about adding mountain bike trails. Chris said if people came to the open house and suggested those routes we should put the on the map. Don suggested a sign-up sheet for mountain bike routes at the open house to form a sub-committee to add mountain bike routes.

Michael suggested a route near 64th and Dolph just south of Garden Home Rd.

Don suggested a new bike path connecting to Lewis and Clark College from Macadam to Terwilliger (new construction #5)

Don suggested extending green dots (pathway) in Gabriel Park to 45th

Don said he got a new email from the Multnomah Presbyterian church saying they are willing to have the trail but they do not want to take on any liability. This is the position they have held all along.  We are not 27 months into this give and take with PDOT and the church.  It is getting pretty old. 

Don suggested adding a grid to the map with alphabetical along the top and numerical on the side so people could better identify changes at the open house.

Vern suggested adding a route near 58th and Vermont where there is an existing gravel path.

Michael said on Dolph and 49th there could be stairs with bike gutter. (new construction #6)

Don proposed a widened the sidewalk to include bike  as well as pedestrians on Taylors Ferry from Macadam to LaView

Don suggested adding a route from the beaver statue on the greenway trail to the Richardson crossing on Macadam and including a crosswalk there and then up to Corbett Ave. (New construction #7)

Don suggested 3 maps for open house by completion years to make it more clear.
Greg suggested 2 maps, 1-5 on one, longer than 5 on the other.  Greg suggested other ways to be consistent with other bike maps.

There was a discussion of paying for the room rental and refreshments for the open house, SWTrails has maintained all along that should be paid by PDOT since we are all volunteers.  We are working on city business.  Greg maintained it was a SWTrails event.  Don basically said if PDOT could not pay, we can stop right here. 

DB later—We need to get a firm commitment from PDOT about all future out of pocket expenses for the bike blvd effort.  I thought we had this from the beginning.  Our position is that PDOT pays out of pocket costs.   My message to PDOT is that there are no free rides, or free open houses.  What we are doing is saving PDOT huge amounts of time and process as volunteers.  The least they can do is cover the out of pocket costs. 

Don read the preliminary budget from the Safe roads program. 

Don read Hillsdale/SW Trails response to Metro hearing on transportation funding. 

Don said he walked around Hillsdale Park with Terry Davis of Portland Parks to look at trails there.  We do not have agreement at this time on what should be done.  The objective is to identify the routes and specify the standards the trails should be constructed to.  We can then construct the trails. 

Don said there would be a new sidewalks along 19th  at Capitol Hill School if a grant application is accepted.  In addition, NO PARKING WITHIN 8 FEET OF FENCE signs will be posted to keep cars away from the fence and give folks a place to walk.  ¾ minus gravel will be placed along there to make a better walking surface.  
SWTrails and SR2S will look at parking along 19th to see what we can do to make a place for kids to walk. 

There will be 2 work parties at Nebraska and 25th. One Saturday December 1st and one Saturday December 15h.  Both are from 8:30 to Noon   Bring wheelbarrows, gloves,

The annual Hillsdale Thanksgiving walk will start at 9:00 am at SW Capitol Hwy and SW Sunset by the Oak tree.  We will make a loop walk going over the Raz-Baack crossing at one point, look at a new green street, have a snack and return to Wilson 

Meeting adjourned at 8:40

SW  TRAILS GROUP COMMITTEE