March 26, 2015
The Watershed Building in Hillsdale
6388 SW Capitol Hwy
Portland OR 97239
DRAFT
Attendance: Don Baack, Lee Buhler, Glenn Bridger, Virginia Hendrickson, Sharon Fekety, Hans Steuch, Keturah Pennington, Doug Rogers, Rick Kappler, Barbara Bowers, Patty Barker, Bob Williams.
The meeting was called to order at 7:02 pm.
Don said the draft trails policy for the Comprehensive Plan was released today. He went over the history of development of the policy. He said SW Trails will meet with PBOT and Parks to discuss the policy.
Don said he went to a meeting of the Disability Trails Group. They have filmed Stephens Creek and it turned out very will.
Hikes: Sharon said the March hike went well despite the rain. There were 13 people. Virginia will lead in April Rick, Dave will lead May and Pete will lead June.
Don talked about fairs we should have a booth for including Hillsdale Health Fair, Community Partners for Affordable Housing, Hillsdale Farmers Market and the South Portland Health Fair. Don will look into the Tilikum Crossing opening celebration.
Membership: Barbara said last month there were 3 renewals, 1 sponsorship
Don said he went to several SWNI neighborhoods association meetings. He said said South Portland and Homestead wrote a letter in support of connections between Barbur and Terwilliger. OHSU is also supportive. He said several neighborhoods and Friends of Terwilliger wrote letters in support of extended shoulders.
Rick asked about extended shoulders on Shaddock and Don said that may come in the future.
Doug said Dave Manville went to the Hayhurst Neighborhood Association meeting and did a good presentation that was well received. Dave pointed out a section of the Red Electric Trail that could be completed in the near future. Keturah asked about the nursery that is next to Shaddock and Doug said they are using a public right-of-way. Dave also suggested some Safe Route to Schools trails that could use some work.
Don said the long tunnel for the Southwest Corridor is unlikely. He said it may be decided by July. Glenn said the route or routes chosen will go the Environmental Impact Study.
Don talked about the trail construction on SW 25th. He said we will need to come up with the cost estimate for the bridge. We need to know what the 100 year flood mark would be. The bridge will have to be two feet above that point. PBOT will get back to SW Trails on the steps and permit cost. Doug pointed out that it is a very short watershed. Don said there are also pipes to drain water in the event of a flood. Glenn said we should avoid having to get permits from the Core of Engineers. Rick asked who owned the right-of-way and Don said PBOT.
Don said he talked to Chris Smith who is on the Planning & Sustainability Commission about the encroachment issue.
We took time to read the draft trails policy for the Comprehensive Plan.
Don said the policy was done by Parks, PBOT and the Planning Bureau. Don suggested changing Portlander to Portlanders and visitors. Patty suggested saying adding “may be” to the “component of larger networks” and add a “key local connection”. Glenn said he did not think that this will be read in a narrow sense. Don suggested add “retain” to plan and improve the citywide trail system. Don suggested adding and “any other trails similarly designated” to section 8.50.
Don said Denver Igarta of PBOT will be working on the next step of the plan.
Don suggested adding the following sentence to section 8.51: develop a method to incorporate pedestrians into the city neighborhood greenway network.
Glenn said section 8.52 should incorporate the endangered species act. Patty suggested defining trails as urban trails and traditional trails as people do not understand the concept of urban trails. Don suggested defining trails as regional trails, multi-modal and pedestrian trails, urban trails and local trails. Glenn said this level of detail will not be in the Comprehensive Plan. He said it is a high level plan. He said the details will be handled in other plans. Glenn said the policy is a big step forward.
Don said there will be a May 2nd work party at plantings at Wilson High. Unfortunately, it is the same day as the SWNI clean-up. Don said Dave may have some work parties coming up as well.
Astrid Dragoy sent a response to the meeting at the trail on Wood St. and it seemed to be positive. They want to work on a stewardship agreement with SW Trails. They hope to finish Wood St. trail this summer.
Barbara said there has been some activity on the Red Electric bridge. She saw workers with chainsaws and other equipment in the area. Hans said geotechnical work is being done for the footings of the bridge. Hans got a copy of the contract with the bridge builder. He said it is very specific and there will be public meetings for comments on the design. Roger said they are working on the design for the bridge and they need to do preliminary work. We talked about making a flyer to pass out on the progress. Hans has been working on the Red Electric website. Don suggested talking to Barbara Stedman about posting to social media.
Don said he will send the name of a city auditor who is doing a performance review of bureaus in southwest.
Lee said neighbors are gathering signatures of adjacent neighbors in support of a trail from Seymour Ct. to Corbett Ave. in the South Portland neighborhood. He said the South Portland Neighborhood Association voted unanimously to support the trails as well.
Hans asked about the new parks property just south of Riverview cemetery and the ban on mountain bikers. Don said the mountain bikers have filed a lawsuit against the City and ban.
Glenn said Barbara has been doing well with the Facebook page and it is important to get our name out.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:39 pm
Respectfully submitted
Lee Buhler
SW Trails on Facebook
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