South West Hills Residential League

City of Portland Office of Transportation , ...

Mar 14, 2000

SWHRL representatives tried to get a pedestrian's foot in the door of the proposed Capital Improvement Program for the City of Portland at a public hearing on November 18th. Although many of our streets, including Dosch, Broadway, Humphrey, Fairmont and others are designated as City Walkways, the budget has no money to make safe walking a reality.

Knut Eie led off the SWHRL delegation with an overview of the need for road improvements for pedestrians and bicyclists. Andrew Holtz outlined the problem along Humphrey Blvd., pointing out that the lack of a safe shoulder in many spots forces pedestrians into the road, and how selected improvements might mitigate the hazards. Mark LeRoux laid out the facts of Dosch Road, including speeding cars and the lack of pedestrian refuge. Julie Nichols batted clean up, appealing to the City representatives on behalf of her children. They live only five blocks from school, but it might as well be five miles, because Dosch is too dangerous to walk on.

At the beginning of the meeting, Vic Rhodes, director of the PDOT, pointed out that not only is the current budget tight, but if the additional 5 cent per gallon state gas tax fails at the polls, the Capital Improvement Program will take a substantial cut. He pointed out that because of inflation and increased fuel efficiency, the city receives only half as much gas tax money for each mile a car drives as it did a number of years ago.

The success of the Patton Road pathway from Strohecker's to the top of the hill should be heralding a string of such innovative and cost-effective pedestrian projects. But the absence of funding in the current City budget plans means our case for safe walkways still needs to be pressed home to city planners.