Portland Plan Fair March 10th

Portlanders have an opportunity to shape the City’s strategies for the future at the upcoming Portland Plan Fairs.

The Portland Plan Fairs will offer residents a range of experiences and opportunities to learn about and comment on three integrated strategies and an Equity Initiative. In addition to breakout discussions for each one, the fairs will feature local food, music, booths, presentations, and community exhibitors. Childcare will be provided at all locations.

The Portland Plan is a long-range plan for the city’s future, ensuring that Portland is a thriving and sustainable city, with health and opportunity for all. Portlanders say that equity, living wage jobs, student success and a healthy environment are their top concerns. In response to this community input, the Portland Plan combines these priorities with extensive research and national best practices to develop an overarching Equity Initiative and three draft strategies for Portland’s future:

1. Education
2. Economic Prosperity and Affordability
3. Healthy Connected Neighborhoods

The Portland Plan Fair–North

Thursday, March 10, 6:30 – 9 p.m.
De La Salle North Catholic High School
7528 N Fenwick Avenue
TriMet #4, #6, #75; MAX Yellow
En Espanol, tambien!

Community public engagement is especially critical at this point in the Portland Plan process. After the fairs and follow-up outreach efforts, the draft strategies will be revised based on input from the community, Portland Plan partners and national experts. These revised strategies will be the core of the City’s strategic plan, which will be available for comment and review this summer and will be presented to the Planning and Sustainability Commission this fall.

About the Portland Plan

The Portland Plan will be a 25-year strategic plan for the City, and the direction it sets will touch every neighborhood, district and resident of Portland as it grows. The plan will help to define priorities, guide investment of public dollars and set the course for Portland for the next quarter of a century. For more information or to fill out a survey please go to: www.pdxplan.com

CRC Forum at Concordia University

Crossing the Columbia: How should we spend $3 to $10 billion? Does the I-5 Bridge really need to be replaced? Will the Columbia River Crossing improve the region’s livability? How much will it really cost and how else could that money be used? Make your voice heard to elected officials! Please join neighbors in voicing questions & comments about the Columbia River Crossing directly to elected officials!

What: Public Forum on the Columbia River Crossing (CRC). Co-sponsored by the Northeast
Coalition of Neighborhoods (NECN) & the Concordia Neighborhood Association
When: Monday, March 7th, 7pm to 9pm
Where: Concordia University’s Luther Hall -Room 121 (NE Holman btwn NE 27th & NE 29th)

Agenda:

1. Mara Gross of Coalition for Livable Future & Joe Cortright of Impresa & CEOs for Cities
2. Statements from Neighborhood Associations & Neighbors
3. Feedback from elected officials including: Tom Hughes, Rex Burkholder,
Tina Kotek, Lew Frederick and Chip Shields.

More info: Contact the NECN at 503.823.4570 or visit www.NECoalition.org

NECN Opposes Rose Quarter’s Inclusion in ICURA

Reflecting the dissatisfaction many North and Northeast residents feel with the incomplete urban renewal that has resulted from the Interstate Corridor Urban Renewal Area, the NECN Board of Directors has taken the position that the inclusion of the Rose Quarter district in the URA would siphon off remaining funds to projects that would have little benefit to N/NE residents.

“The NECN Board feels strongly that Rose Quarter projects, which are large and discontinuous with the North/Northeast community, will pull resources away from more community-based projects within the ICURA boundaries. For the first ten years of ICURA, the majority of the funding went to two large projects, the Interstate Light Rail project and the New Columbia project. Now that there is additional funding available, it should be spent on neighborhood level projects that benefit existing North and Northeast residents.”

Read the full letter here: NECN Position on ICURA-RoseQuarterJan 2011

Citywide Tree Project Open House on Wednesday, January 19

From the Bureau of Planning and Sustainabillity:

Residents invited to talk with City staff and Urban Forestry Commissioners about the upcoming proposal to City Council

Open house about the Citywide Tree Project, a citywide project to enhance Portland’s urban forest through regulatory improvement and improved customer service

Wednesday, Jan. 19, 2011, 4:30 – 7 p.m.
1900 SW 4th Ave., Suite 2500A
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CRC Update

From the Columbia River Crossing:

Portland Working Group recommends elevated Hayden Island light rail station

The Portland Working Group (PWG) has recommended an elevated station for the new light rail stop on Hayden Island.

PWG members and CRC staff discussed both elevated and street level options late last year at an open house with 85 attendees. An online survey was also used to gather input on the design of the Hayden Island station.

The PWG and project staff are now moving forward with discussion and design detail of the elevated station, connections to local businesses and the local street network. Check the CRC website for future meeting materials and agendas. PWG next meets Jan. 12 at the Jantzen Beach SuperCenter from 4 to 6 p.m..

Project Sponsors Council receives update on Bridge Expert Review Panel work

CRC Bridge Expert Review Panel chair, Tom Warne provided an overview of the panel’s work at the Dec. 10 meeting of the Project Sponsors Council. The panel was convened by the Oregon and Washington departments of transportation to re-evaluate river bridge types and configurations for the CRC in response to a recommendation made by the CRC Independent Review Panel.

The panel will analyze all applicable river crossing options, including those that may have been dropped from consideration in the past and re-evaluate project constraints. The panel is expected to have a final report in January 2011. Additional information on the bridge panel is available online.

In-water soil study concludes in North Portland Harbor and Columbia River

The Columbia River Crossing project recently finished drilling work in North Portland Harbor and the Columbia River to gather additional information on soil type and stability to help advance bridge foundation designs.

Since beginning in November, drilling work was conducted at about 20 sites. The CRC project includes a replacement crossing for the Interstate Bridge over the Columbia River and new bridge structures between Hayden Island and Marine Drive. Supports for the structures are being designed to extend through the sandy river bed to solid ground or rock.

Additional information is available online.

Columbia River Crossing contact information

Email: feedback@columbiarivercrossing.orgMail: 700 Washington St., Suite 300
Vancouver, WA 98660
Phone: 360-737-2726 or 503-256-2726
Fax: 360-737-0294

www.ColumbiaRiverCrossing.org