Hi everyone,
First of all, thanks so much for your interest in the potential 7th/9th Neighborhood Greenway project. Your feedback is very helpful to us as we plan our transportation system.
We wanted to let you know about some upcoming opportunities to provide public testimony on various elements of the Transportation System Plan (TSP), which sets the policy foundation for PBOT and helps guide our decisions.
First of all, the TSP Stage 2 Proposed Draft is currently being considered by Portland’s Planning and Sustainability Commission (PSC). The PSC will have an opportunity to amend the Proposed Draft before sending it to City Council. While we encourage you to provide public testimony on all parts of the Proposed Draft, the section that is probably most relevant to the 7th/9th discussion is Section 5: Bicycle Classification Maps. These maps show where we have Local Service Bikeway, City Bikeway, and Major City Bikeway classifications that provide a policy basis for emphasizing bicycle travel compared to other modes of travel. If you want to read the descriptions of these classifications, they can be found in Section 4: Bicycle Classifications and Objectives.
We apologize for the late notice, but the public testimony period for the TSP Stage 2 Proposed Draft ends today, March 22nd, 2016, at 9pm, at the end of the PSC Public Hearing. You can testify in several ways before then:
· U.S. Mail: Portland Planning and Sustainability Commission, TSP Testimony, 1900 SW 4th Ave., Suite 7100, Portland OR 97201 (include full name and mailing address)
· Email: psc@portlandoregon.gov with subject line “TSP Testimony” (include full name and mailing address)
· Testify online via the Map App. Bicycle Classifications have been posted to the Map App at www.portlandmaps.com/bps/mapapp. Click on the “comments” form to provide your testimony to the PSC. You can only click on individual street segments to make a comment, but in your comment you can describe the full street section you are commenting on.
· Testify in person at the PSC public hearing. You may speak for 2 minutes to the Commission, and your testimony will be added to the public record. The TSP Stage 2 Project Public Hearing is scheduled to be held at: 1900 SW 4th Avenue, Room 2500, Portland, OR Tuesday, March 22, 2016; 5:00 – 9:00 PM
The second upcoming opportunity to give public testimony is in regards to the TSP Major Projects List, which is currently before City Council as one element of the 2035 Comprehensive Plan. The Recommended Draft of the TSP Major Projects List contains project #40116, NE 7th/9th Bikeway, with an alignment primarily on NE 9th Ave north of the Lloyd District. In response to public feedback from neighborhood associations and individuals regarding NE 7th Ave, Commissioner Novick has offered an amendment to the TSP Major Projects List that can be found on page 105 of the Council Amendments Report. This amendment would change the project alignment to stay on NE 7th Ave up to Sumner, only then cutting over to NE 9th Ave. If you would like to offer testimony about this proposed amendment (or any other amendments to the TSP or Comp Plan), you can:
· Testify in person at a City Council public hearing
o Thursday, April 14th, 6:00 to 9:00 pm, City Council Chambers, City Hall, 1221 SW 4th Ave
o Wednesday, April 20th, 2:00 to 5:00 pm, City Council Chambers, City Hall, 1221 SW 4th Ave
· Testify in writing by mail or email directly to members of City Council before April 20th.
o Contact information can be found here
o Please copy tsp@portlandoregon.gov on any TSP-related testimony
Thanks again for your interest and engagement in this issue.
Zef Wagner
Associate Planner
Policy, Planning, & Projects Division
Portland Bureau of Transportation
Zef.Wagner@portlandoregon.gov
503-823-7164
Cevero Gonzalez
Constituent Services Coordinator
Portland Bureau of Transportation
1120 SW Fifth Ave, Suite 800
Portland, OR 97204
503.823.5080 Phone
503.823.7609 Fax
Cevero.Gonzalez@portlandoregon.gov