February 2015 SW Trails meeting minutes

February 26, 2015

The Watershed Building in Hillsdale
6388 SW Capitol Hwy
Portland OR 97239

Attendance: Don Baack, Lee Buhler, Glenn Bridger, Virginia Hendrickson, Sharon Fekety, Hans Steuch, Chris Mays, Dianne Mays, Dave Manville, -Barbara Stedman, Dale Sherbourne, Doug Rogers, Rick Kappler, Barbara Bowers, Patty Barker, Al Iverson, Cole Trusty, Richard Marantz, Liz Marantz, Bob Williams. Brandon Wilson, Jennifer Devlin

The meeting was called to order at 7:00 pm.

The agenda was approved.

Doug moved that the January minutes be approved and the motion passed unanimously.

BES Update:

Jennifer talked about SW Stephenson and Hamilton Streets improvements. They have been working on the project for several years. They have also talked to neighborhood associations. They put in a perf pipe and put gravel on top of that. They had trouble with people parking on them. They plan to put in a 4′ paved shoulder. Stephenson is more complex than Hamilton. Patty asked about the gaps and Jennifer said those are a Department of Transportation responsibility. They will go into construction this spring.

Brandon went over details of the project. He said it is a water quality driven project. However, they will try to address pedestrian needs when they overlap. Drawings were handed out and Brandon described the design drawings. Brandon described where the pedestrian walkway would be. He said there will be a paved 4′ walkable shoulder between the fog line and road edge. The previous width was 6” to 3 1/2′. Don asked about he fabric and Jennifer explained it is an erosion control feature made from woven coconut fiber. It can be planted. Don said paved shoulders are key for people who use wheelchairs.

Brandon said construction will start in late spring or early summer. It should take four to six months. They will try to finish the section around the school before school starts in the fall. Glenn asked if it will be on both sides and Brandon said yes but it will switch sides. Richard asked where they would be on each side and Jennifer pointed those out on the map. Dale asked if the purpose is to protect Tryon Creek and if the City would maintain them. He asked if the pollutants would be hauled off. Jennifer said Tryon Creek has endangered species such as salmon. The water coming off the road will be slowed down which will allow sunlight and plants will break down the pollutants. She said swales do it much better than ditches as there are more diverse plants. She said the maintenance crews will clean them out. She said they have been working on this design and improving it for many years. She said she could have the stormwater team that does sampling around town come to a SW Trails meeting. Don asked about weirs and Brandon said most would have them. Brandon said with this design it will be easier to remove the pollutants. Brandon said they have gotten pretty good with their maintenance schedule. Don said they should be careful to keep the soil against the road paving to make sure the paving does not brek off because it is unsupportedBrandon said they are aware of that and have been working with PBOT on that. Patty said she was very excited about the project. She said she is very worried about pedestrian safety especially around the schools. She asked if they could identify that the shoulders are for walking on so people would not park there. Jennifer said PBOT would handle that and gave some contacts. Don said it should be posted “No Parking”. Patty also suggested that the speed limit of 35 be reduced. Don said PBOT has to do a study and then send it to the state. Patti said one student was hit. Dale said they have a project for safety and asked if they are coordinating and Jennifer said yes.

Hans talked about a meeting on the culvert across Boones Ferry. He said they would like to convene a Metro committee on the project. He said there has been a citizen’s advisory committee on the project. He said it is currently a barrier for fish. They planned to build a culvert. However, a bridge would be better for pedestrians and wildlife. A culvert would cost around $4 Million and a bridge would cost about $4.8 million. They have applied to Metro for a $750,000 grant to build a bridge instead of a culvert. Rick asked if Boones Ferry would be closed for a time and Jennifer said yes. Richard asked if Metro said when they would make a decision and Jennifer said in May.

The Professional Trail Builders Association will build a trail in Marshall Park in May. Dave said they same group is looking at improving a section of the Wildwood Trail by building a bridge across Burnside Street. He said this will be a big improvement as you have to run for your life across Burnside.

Walks: Sharon said there were 42+ people on the February hike. Pete will lead March to Riverview and Virgina will lead April.

Don said he received a strong letter in support of the SW Trails Trail Policy recommendations. He suggested people look at a website on trails in Berkeley CA. He said Laura Foster also wrote a strong letter of support. Don said we will post the letters on our website. Don said he has been in contact with people in other parts of the City about our trails policy. Patty said the deadline for submission is tomorrow.

Don talked about the TSP and Red Electric Trail. He said trails should be moved to PBOT so that one agency has responsibility. He said there has been strong support for the Red Electric Trail. He said there has been frustration and confusion on some aspects of the Red Electric Trail.

Doug said they will start construction of the Red Electric bridge in the fall. Hans said there are two contacts one for the bridge and one for landscaping.

Don talked about possible Barbur Bridge changes. No one complained about the diversion of traffic during the time it was just one lane each way. He said ODOT is looking at putting in a bike path from Miles to Capitol. This will make the Red Electric more doable as it would eliminate the need for a bridge.

Don said there has not been much progress on the Safe Route to School project on 25th. Dave said Permits have been been submitted. However, we are waiting for PBOT to schedule a meeting on it.

Don said neighbors are interested in having the gravel road south of Bertha on 21st be paved. The rain is making the road very rough.

Don said 19th and Taylor’s Ferry water has diverted to the trail. He said there has been some BES money allocated to fix these problem.

Don said there will be no Sunday Parkways in southwest this year as the Tilikum Bridge is opening and they will have a celebration. We will try to get a booth.

Bruce Murray, Don and Aimee are working on a brochure for the 4T Trail

Bob asked about the trails on Woods Park. He pointed out an area where Portland Parks has purchased land and it would be good to have a trail there. Dave said Parks has told him that this is to be a native area with no trails. He suggested some alternative routes and some possible routes that could be improved. Don said there maybe some things that can be done but it may take time. He said the 20 minute neighborhood in the comprehensive plan would help. Dave said the Marigold trail costed out at about $26,000. Don pointed out that the Raz-Baack crossing was nine years in planning.

Don said there will be a May 2nd Wilson work party. Don said they have ground some stumps were we planted natives.

Doug said the closure of Oleson Road has caused problems on Shadduck . They will open Oleson Road around April 1st and this should improve the traffic on Shadduck. Rick pointed out that the additional traffic has caused problems such as ruts in the road. Don said the Bridlemile neighborhood has been pushing for sidewalks on Shaddock and Hamilton.

Don said it is possible for some small projects from existing City funding. He said the small projects may have more bang for the buck but they tend to get lost.

Don said a Federal study says extended shoulders give 80% of the safety of a sidewalk and cost a lot less. Richard said the expense of dealing with the stormwater is much higher than the type of surface above. He said it we should not tie pedestrian improvements with stormwater. Al said that on the Huber project the stormwater cost was much higher. Doug pointed out that most streets in southwest have poor stormwater management. Don asked if we still support extended shoulders and sidewalks on one sides and people agreed. Patti said it is important to push for sidewalks around schools. Glenn said one side does not fit all and there are places for sidewalks and places for extended shoulders. He estimated that extended shoulders and sidewalks on one side would meet 80 percent of the need. Dale said extended shoulders and sidewalks cause pollutants to be introduced into the stormwater that needs to be cleaned and this will trigger stormwater clean-up. He also said that sidewalks can increase speed as people drive faster when there are sidewalks.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:37 pm
Respectfully submitted
Lee Buhler