News from October Homestead NA Meetings
- Nominations Sought for Trail Connections on Un-built rights-of-way
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Homestead Trail |
There are numerous unimproved (un-built) right-of-way connections (trails) currently being used or have the potential to be used by residents in the Homestead area. Many of these pathways (not to be confused with official designated trails) are created and used by the public in lieu of sidewalks or as short-cuts or pathways to avoid dangerous pedestrian crossings.
The City is considering a permitting process to streamline future approval for improvements to these types of un-built R.O.W. pedestrian crossings or bicycle connections making it an excellent time to begin to identify these trails within Homestead's boundaries.
On October 4, Don Baack of SW Trails gave a presentation on the successful mapping of potential trail and un-built R.O.W. improvements in the Hillsdale area. SW Trails plans to combine information from other southwest neighborhoods for inclusion in an application to improve these pedestrian connections.
Aaron Clemons from Homestead NA has agreed to lead a group to identify, map and prioritize similar pedestrian connections within the Homestead boundaries. Friends of Terwilliger (FOT) and Friends of Marquam Nature Park (FMNP) will be consulted to determine if they are interested in participating.
Preliminary trail nominations suggested at the meeting were the Whitaker Street R.O.W. from 13th down to Veteran's Hospital Rd. and Bancroft from Condor up to Terwilliger (safe travel with children up to Terwilliger). There are many other unimproved connections within our boundary.
If you would like to suggest an unbuilt R.O.W. for a trail, would like to provide information to this group, or are interested in joining, contact us at
homestead@swni.org. For nominations, please be as specific as possible concerning the location of the unbuilt R.O.W and feel free to indicate any additional information that might help convey your ideas.
After trail or pathways have been identified and prioritized they will be placed on a list as nominations for SWIM (Southwest in Motion). The SWIM project was created to identify a 5-year active transportation implementation strategy for all of SW Portland. This includes creating low-stress walking and bicycle riding conditions.
Additional information:
- Update on the Marquam Hill Connection
The Marquam Hill Connection is the SW Corridor's Plan to provide a system for moving persons to and from the proposed SW Gibbs area Light Rail Station uphill to the OHSU Campus.
The public comment period for this phase of the Project has expired. However, Homestead is still working with Metro and Tri-Met to refine the options for the Marquam Hill Connection. Most options at face value seem infeasible. However, one option, if one must be chosen, is the option now deemed (by Homestead) as the "Allway" Option.
This option's alternative concept is a small tower near Barbur, up to an area where some pedestrian mover (escalator or inclined elevator) would move pedestrians up the hill, to a tunnel under Terwilliger to OHSU property then on to OHSU's parking garage where elevators would continue to and exit within the OHSU building.
Questions continue to be asked as to the feasibility, cost and efficiency of this proposed system. Metro/Tri-Met will be at the
November 1 Association meeting to further discuss this option. Be sure to attend this meeting to get the latest information on this project.
- Expanding on the letter regarding maintenance of Condor Lane
The letter to the City discussed last month regarding the filling of the huge potholes on SW Condor Lane will now include requested maintenance on the right-of-way and removal of vegetation making the pathway safer for pedestrians as well as vehicles.
- Opportunity to lobby OHSU to improve the soil at the sloped land in front of Casey Eye Clinic
With the many construction projects happening at the lower end of OHSU, it is a good time to utilize the construction equipment and manpower to remove and improve the soils in that area that were damaged from previous projects. OHSU will inform the Neighborhood Association and the Park Bureau when this work could be done in conjunction with other projects in the area.
The City of Portland has launched a new advanced Permit Search Function. It now allows customized searches of building permit records filtered by permit type, neighborhoods and date range.
This workshop series is a FREE program to help reduce stormwater runoff from your property. Learn to build a landscape that uses soil, native plants, walkways and other methods to improve water quality.
