SW Trails PDX
June 28, 2012

Attendance: Don Baack, Sharon Fekety, Katurah Pennington, Cole Trusty, Virginia Hendrickson, Arnie Panitch, Glenn Bridger, Dianne Mays, Chris Mays, Lee Buhler,  Robert Spurlock,  Barbara Stedman, Al Iverson,

Don called the meeting to order at 7:00

Don said Doug Rogers is willing to do a talk on Oregon Railroads at a Trails meeting. He will point out evidence on the ground of SW rail lines that can still be seen today. Don asked the group when would be a good time for this.  Most people thought September would be a good month. Glenn said it was important to get publicity on it. Don said we might want to add a geo-caching feature. He suggested publishing a location with coordinates that people with GPS can find if they desire.  We have tentatively schedules this for the September 2012 meeting.

Sharon asked for volunteers for Sunday Parkways and several people volunteered. (Great job Sharon, she recruited over 18 volunteers)

The agenda was approved by consensus with the addition of a trivia contest by Arnie.

Arnie asked people people to spell “Siskiyou” Don was not permitted to participate since that was the name of his dog, and the mascot of SWTrails for years until she died in 2008.  Two people were actually able to do it.  Siskiyou is the name of a mountain range in Southern Oregon, My Ashland is the highest peak in the range.  Siskiyou County California was so named in 1852.  One story has it that is is s Chinook name for a “bob tailed horse”.

Don talked about Sunday Parkways.  He and Arnie went to NE to check out how it was done.

Hikes: Don will lead July and it will be on the 4T route. Sharon said she was told by some workers that the Gibbs Bridge will be open next week.  Don said there will be a party for Phyllis at the next hike. On Saturday July 21st Sharon will lead a hike for the Terwilliger celebration. Chris and Diane will lead August. Don talked about the party for Phyllis. Phyllis was a founding member of SW trails and has been the hike coordinator since 1998. Don suggested a potluck. Glenn suggested we also provide some food.  Don will ask the board to approve some money for food.

Don said Glenn will speak at the Gibbs Pedestrian grand opening whenever that happens. Sharon said we could also have a booth at the opening.  Glenn was out of town so Don spoke instead.  Used the new Red Electric Map to illustrate how the bridge connected to the rest of the SW community via Trail 1 and the Red Electric Trail.

Don said Metro did some preliminary modeling on the Red Electric trail to show traffic on the trail using census tracts. They want to come up with some numbers to see how much it would be used.  Don suggested they do it on Barbur as well. Glenn said it would be very helpful to have a bike shed plan as it helps people grasp the bike issue as a whole.

Don displayed a drawing of what Multnomah Blvd. will look like when construction is done. He then showed a crosswalk.  Pedestrians will be encouraged to use the sidewalk, bicyclists will have lanes on both sides.  The bikes will share the pathway with pedestrians on the south side.  Don said it will happen soon. Al asked if it had been bid yet and Don said not yet.

Don asked people what they thought of the green bike box at the intersection of Barbur and Capital. Several people thought it worked well.  Glenn said it is important for bikers to not get too overconfident and this was a good middle ground.  Arnie said his wife uses it and likes it but does not trust it. Sharon said comments on bikeportland.org were favorable. Virginia said it does make a difference. Barbara agreed that it is good to have but should not be trusted. Don said one issue is that people sometimes come out into the traffic rather than go on the bridge.

Don said Trudie Raz Frengel will man a booth in front of her house during Sunday Parkways with information on SW Trails.  Sharon showed a map of the Sunday Parkways hiking route.  Don and others will man a booth in the Hillsdale Shopping Center.

Don said there is a little work to be done on some of the route and asked people when a good time would be. Al will help get gravel. Don said there are areas we can scrounge some gravel.  Don suggested a work party during the week after the 6th. He will send out a notice with several days to see what would work best.  No work was done because we have not got the process for securing supplies from the city worked out yet.  We hope to have it done in the next month.

Cole said they have been a lot of work on the map. Parametrix has done a great job.  They will have a final draft in the next few days. Cole will email it out to get comments. Don said Parks wanted all alternatives and Don suggested elevations.  He said he hoped to have it by July 22nd. Cole asked people to email him if they wanted a draft. Cole is working to complete the brochure in the next few weeks, hopefully before Multnomah Days.

Glenn said they are set up to interview Earl Blumenauer. They are discussing what questions should be asked. Glen asked people to let him know what questions they would like.  Cole said he heard an interview of  congressman Blumenaur  on KBOO radio and it was very good. Several people gave suggestions for questions.

Al talked about some improvements to the Hoot Owl corner that he was suggesting. He was suggesting a pedestrian safety island. He said PBOT is going through tough times and may not have money but it is good to have it on the list. Glenn said the SWNI Transportation Committee passed a resolution in support of the project. Glenn said although the funding may not be there at this time but this will put a place-maker in for when the money is available. He said it has a good chance for funding as it is a less expensive option than earlier proposal. He said there was some concern at the SWNI Board meeting for businesses using the public right-of-way for parking.

Don said SWTrails is near sixty members.  Chris said there is $785 in the bank account.

Glenn said we should talk to candidates for city and state elections on trail issues.  He said volunteers for candidates will give more attention if it is election season. He said he was not suggesting a particular candidate. He said it was important to get involved.

Don said bus passes for youth were cut in the budget. Don said it was important to reinstate those passes. Arnie said he thought was important not to depend on school buses and  this will create a school bus system. He said there was an editorial in the Oregonian suggesting the cost be spread between the City, Metro and the public. He said we have a good bus system and it should be used. Don suggested a letter to TriMet, the school board and the city supporting free school passes. Chris said it was important and it will result in more cuts because ridership will go down. Lee made a motion to write a letter in support of reinstating the youth bus passes. Chris seconded the motion and the motion passed unanimously. ( As a result of Mayor Adams actions, the youth passes were reinstated before our letter went out.  So we changed it to a thank you letter.)

Don said at the last SWNI Transportation committee several people came to object to the bike-way in Maplewood due to speed bumps. He asked people to speak up in favor of the program at an open house on July 9th.

The meeting was adjourned at: 8:11pm

Respectfully submitted

Lee Buhler

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