Sumner Association of Neighbors (SAN)

Three visitors spoke about sidewalks, elections, and transportation at the March 18 meeting of the Sumner Association of Neighbors (SAN) in NE Portland.

Sidewalks on NE 82nd
April Bertelsen of the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBoT) posted three large planning maps and spoke about the upcoming sidewalk installation project on NE 82nd Avenue from NE Prescott Street to NE Alberta Street.

Bertelsen provided details and answered questions about the project. The sidewalks will be installed in the existing right-of-way, so no structures will need to be moved, and no property will need to be acquired. This makes working inside the right-of-way the quickest and most affordable way to do this work.

Travel lanes will be closed section by section during construction. Temporary bus stops will be marked as needed. No start date has been specified yet, because they have had a delay in filling the contract. PBoT still hopes to start this spring and finish this fall, but those dates could slip. Bertelsen also noted that, as a state highway, NE 82nd is actually maintained by ODOT. Even though this is a PBoT project, they need to coordinate ODOT for the project.

Corners will be ADA compliant for wheelchairs. The total project cost $2 million funded by Obama stimulus funds, formally known as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. But the total project includes sidewalk installation at three other locations, (parts of SE 82nd, NE Glisan near 162nd, and SW Barbur Blvd), so the cost of our portion on NE 82nd is only a fraction of that $2 million.

Bertelsen credited Portland Mayor Sam Adams for directly approving this project. Looking forward, she said Adams has preliminarily earmarked $16 million in gas taxes for additional sidewalks over the next two years. No projects have been specified for that money because (a) the funds have not yet materialized under the new gas tax (House Bill 2001) and (b) drafting of the city budget is still in progress.

For more information, see the Southwest & East Portland Sidewalk Infill Project on the PBoT website.

Ride Connection
Lydia Corran from the non-profit group Ride Connection spoke about their free service. They provide rides for the elderly and disabled, and their overall goal is to “create independence and community connectioins through the gift of mobility.” Ride Connection also provides information and assistance about how and where to use public transportation about the Portland tri-county area.

Corran said that they provided 370,000 rides last year. They are funded through state and federal special transportation funds. They have both paid drivers who are equipped with lifts and volunteer drivers. All drivers must pass a criminal background check and six hours of training.

If you need a ride, please call at least four days in advance. Their hours of operation are 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM Monday through Friday. Their phone number is 503-226-0700. For more information, visit the Ride Connection website.

Voter-owned elections
John Mulvey with Oregon Common Cause spoke briefly about voter-owned elections. Mulvey is also on the Foster-Powell neighborhood association board & sits on the Lents urban renewal advisory committee.

Oregon has no campaign finance regulation, but the city of Portland has a law up for renewal this fall that allows candidates for city office to be publicly financed if they manage to raise $5 from 1000 residents. Current city commissioner Amanda Fritz is the first city official elected under the program.

Mulvey said the “voter-owned election” measure will be referred to the ballot this fall after a five-year trial period. Funding of the program is overseen by the city auditor. Funded candidates get $150,000, which Mulvey said is about the same cost as a 4-way traffic signal. He said he was visting to raise awareness, not to ask for an endorsement from SAN.

Other stuff

• Patrol officer Ryan Mele of the Portland Police Bureau joined us. He noted the Police Bureau’s online crime reporting system has not been used much by the public, and encouraged us to use it if needed. He said that he had no word on progress on the Dotty’s robbery on Mar. 7, or whether the robbers were involved in other Dotty’s robberies around Portland. He also took requests for neighborhood locations to patrol, and noted that citizens can request extra patrols simply by dialing the precinct office.
• Neighborhood resident and defacto SAN board member Eric Wiley reported that Friends of Trees planted 150 trees on Mar. 13, including at least 20 in Sumner neighborhood. Vice chair Scott Somohano noted that they were really nice trees: apple, plum, maple, magnolia, and others. With the neighborhood discount, residents could’ve gotten trees for as little as $20 each. Both Eric and Scott want Sumner to participate next year.
• A report was made on the monthly litter patrol Feb 27. A reminder was issued about the next litter patrol on Mar 27. The litter patrols will continue on the last Saturday of each month through October.