Urban Design with Soundscape in Mind

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On Tuesday May 19th, the Acoustical Society of America (ASA) and the City of Portland, Bureau of Development Services (via the Noise Control Office) are jointly holding a symposium entitled, Urban Design with Soundscape in Mind. The symposium will focus on what planners and the public at-large can do to address urban noise impacts in an urban setting before they occur.

The day long May 19th, 2009 symposium is the outcome of a year long Noise Control Task Force study in 2000 that led the City Council to direct the Noise Control Office to hold a symposium to explore design solutions to community noise issues and the desire within the ASA to disseminate technical information in a way that will provide a direct benefit to the public at-large. The event that is planned will be one of the first of its kind to explore noise impact solutions through a multidiscipline filter that includes urban planning, architecture, good governance, acoustical design, and environmental enforcement strategies.

The symposium will include speakers such as the author and first Noise Control Officer of the City of Portland’s Noise Ordinance, Dr. Paul Herman, Michael Mills, the City of Portland Ombudsman, Dr. Briggitte Schulte-Fortkamp from the Institute of Fluid Mechanics and Engineering in Berlin, Germany, an international leader in the topic of Soundscaping (the use of subjective and objective data about noise in addressing urban noise problems), Ken Kaliski of Resources Systems Group, Inc. of White River Junction, Vermont, an expert on the development of noise mapping in an urban setting, Gary Siebein from the University of Florida School of Architecture, another leader in the use of Soundscaping techniques to address urban noise problems, and others.

The day long symposium has been developed to include public participation at a minimal cost but it is just one part of a week long national conference that is happening in downtown Portland from May 18th to the 22nd, 2009 which is also open to the public (but at a much higher cost to attend) should there be interest.

http://asa.aip.org/portland/urban_design.pdf

Please be aware that registration must be made on-line by May 8, 2009 to obtain the lower registration rate of $25.00 for the day long event which will include lunch and beverages. Registration after that date and at the door will cost $30.00 and will be payable in cash or by check.

I look forward to seeing members of our community at this event. If you have general questions please call the Noise Control Office at the City of Portland at 503-823-5829 or call me at 503-646-4420.

Kerrie Standlee, ASA Organizer of the Urban Design with Soundscape in Mind Symposium and
the Acoustical Engineering Representative to the City of Portland Noise Review Board

Polarized or Powerful!

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Northeast Coalition of Neighborhoods will host the 3rd gathering in our series:

Polarized or Powerful: Now We’re Talking

April 30, 2009

At St Andrew’s Community Center
806 NE Alberta and 8th
6:30 pm to 8:30 pm

Join us to discuss: What are the factors we need to understand when we are talking about growth, change and development? How can we make good decisions in a climate of uncertainty? How can the community come together to support each other? How can we know that what we think is our best interest is good for our neighbors? Can we influence any of this? Please join us for this series of five community dialogues on the last Thursday each month through June.

To reserve childcare or to RSVP, 503 823-4112 judith.mowry@ci.portland.or.us.
For more information please contact

Sylvia Evans
Cross Cultural Neighborhood Organizer
Northeast Coalition of Neighborhoods
4815 NE 7th Avenue
Portland, Oregon 97217

503-823-4113 Office

Sylvia@necoalition.org

www.necoalition.org

Sponsored by Office of Neighborhood Involvement, SE Uplift, Northeast Coalition of Neighborhoods, Central Northeast Neighbors, URGE, Center for Intercultural Organizing, and Oregon Action.

Farmer’s Market to Open–Canvassers Wanted

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Portland Farmer's Market

Portland Farmer's Market

Help spread the word about our neighborhood’s newest addition and insure its success. We plan to distribute flyers throughout the area to notify everyone of this resource. If would like to get some exercise and meet some of you neighbors, contact John at : john.g.oldendorf@gmail.com to sign up! We will meet 10:00 am on Saturday, April 25th at the King Neighborhood Facility, 4815 NE 7th avenue.

Bicycle and Streetcar Open Houses start in May!

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Imagine getting around Portland twenty years from now, with streetcars serving neighborhood business districts and an extensive network of bikeways so safe, comfortable, and attractive that more than a quarter of all trips are made on a bicycle.

That’s a future that could come true if the City adopts a new Streetcar System Plan and a 2009 update to the 1996 Bicycle Master Plan.

The public is invited to help shape this transportation transformation at a series of six May open houses around the city to showcase the two long-range plans. Visit the open house event in your community to learn more about the City’s strategic investment in green transportation:

Northeast Portland
4:00 to 7:00 p.m.

Thursday, May 14, 2009
Grant High School Cafeteria,
2245 NE 36th Ave, Portland 97212

At the event, you may drop in anytime between four and seven, and there will be brief remarks by a member of Mayor Adams’s staff at 6:00 p.m. There will be bicycle parking, light refreshments, and certified childcare in English and Spanish.

The 1996 Bicycle Master Plan made Portland the top bicycling city in the nation and became recognized as a national model. Over the past dozen years, the City has successfully implemented many elements of the plan and created robust programs to encourage bicycling. The results: each year more people are choosing to bicycle! For example, in 2008, daily bicycle traffic over the Willamette River bridges was more than five times higher than in 1995, and 20% of all trips over the Hawthorne Bridge were made by bike. The Bicycle Master Plan 2009 update project is taking a fresh look at the next steps to make Portland a world-class bicycling city. The bicycle plan is expected to go to City Council in October, 2009.

The Streetcar System Plan looks at extending development-oriented transit throughout the City. Far outstripping the original ridership projections, the downtown streetcar now carries over 11,000 passengers per day, and ridership growth averages 15% per year. Construction of the Eastside Loop Streetcar will start this summer, with service beginning in 2011. Where else should streetcar service be located? The Streetcar System Plan is a big picture look at the City of Portland’s transportation network and how streetcars might fit into this network in the future. The plan identifies a citywide network of potential streetcar corridors integrated with TriMet’s existing and planned transit system. The streetcar plan is expected to go to Council in August, 2009.

According to Metro growth projections, the City of Portland’s population is expected to grow from 575,000 to approximately 725,000 by the year 2030. In that same time, the region’s population may grow from 1.9 million to 3 million people. As the City of Portland prepares for this growth, new cleaner, greener transportation and development strategies must be a part of the solution. Both the Streetcar System Plan and the Bicycle Master Plan are key elements of the transportation strategy in the proposed City-County Climate Action Plan, and are being coordinated with the Bureau of Planning and Sustainability’s Portland Plan process. In addition to proposing new networks, these two planning efforts include funding and implementation strategies.

For more information on the Bicycle Master Plan, visit http://portlandonline.com/transportation/BicycleMasterPlan, e-mail bicyclemasterplan@pdxtrans.org, or call 503-823-4638.

For more information on the Streetcar System Plan, visit http://portlandonline.com/transportation/StreetcarSystemPlan, e-mail portlandstreetcarplan@pdxtrans.org, or call 503-823-5611.