PDOT items for SOTR draft1
PDOT River Connections
SmartTrips is a comprehensive approach to reduce drive-alone trips and increase biking, walking, public transit ridership, carpooling, car sharing and combining trips. Key components include biking and walking maps and organized activities which get people out in their neighborhoods to shop, work, and discover how many trips they can easily, conveniently and safely make without using a car. As described below, a key feature of many SmartTrips programs is the experiences they offer along our rivers and streams.
The Ten Toe Express program includes a series of guided walks and a walking kit, distributed to residents of the SmartTrips Southwest Target Area (see map) who place an order. This novel walking program offers an intimate means of getting to know the river, with routes that take participants along the Willamette Greenway, from South Waterfront to Council Crest, and from Hillsdale down to the river.
Senior Strolls is a program designed to offer seniors an easy, pleasant, social walking experience, and to give them the confidence to consider walking as a transportation option. Strolls range from 1 to 2 miles in length and often involve river-related destinations, such as Willamette Park, South Waterfront, and both Fanno and Stevens Creeks.
Portland By Cycle Rides and Classes offer information and a supportive setting for adults new to cycling or just getting back on the bike. The Portland By Cycle campaign encourages people to use a bike more often - for fun, exercise, shopping, or even commuting to work. The rides often take participants by the River or into the City’s watersheds, as shown by the following routes: Waterfront to Greenway, Electric Fanno Creek Ramble, Stormwater Gardens and Swales, Southwest Parks and Neighborhoods, Heritage Trees, Ride to the Waterfront, and Tabor to the River Bike Tour.
Women on Bikes is a women-only series of clinics and fun rides where participants learn about basic riding skills, basic maintenance and flat repair, bike fit, bicyclists’ rights and responsibilities, and route planning. Women on Bikes also offers a chance to connect with other women on beginners' 10-12 mile bike rides that feature close-up look at our rivers and streams, as shown by the following routes: Willamette Park, Springwater on the Willamette, Columbia Slough, Willamette Park/Tram, Springwater Trail, Waterfront Park.
Gibbs Pedestrian Bridge
The City of Portland is designing a new bike and pedestrian bridge that will span I-5 and connect the historic Lair Hill neighborhood with South Waterfront and the river. The bridge will be adjacent to the aerial tram and will include improvements to some pedestrian crossings in the area. The project’s design and construction costs are funded by the Federal Highway Administration with a local match. The first concepts for the pedestrian bridge were identified by participants in an international competition to design the Portland Aerial Tram. In 2006, the City hired a consulting firm to refine the bridge design. This process gathered more input from the public on aesthetics and concluded with the identification of a bridge concept that was acceptable to the community and the City, but that probably could not be constructed within the $7 million construction budget. In 2008, the City hired a consulting team headed by CH2M HILL to build upon the previous work and collaborate with the community to design a bridge that meets the project’s requirements and can be constructed within budget. After a concept is selected, the team will complete detailed design and engineering work, and obtain environmental permits to prepare for construction, which is expected to begin in fall 2009.
http://www.gibbsbridge.org/ProjectBackground.aspx
Tram
Portland’s Aerial Tram, which connects South Waterfront and the river with the Oregon Health Sciences University campus on Marquam Hill, carried its one millionth passenger in October 2007. It is estimated that the three-minute ride eliminates 2 million vehicle miles annually, saving 93,000 gallons of gas per year and reducing greenhouse gases by more than 1,000 tons.
http://www.ohsu.edu/ohsuedu/newspub/releases/101707tram.cfm
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check with Courtney
Willamette River Crossing—Portland to Milwaukie Light Rail
The Portland - Milwaukie Light Rail Project is the latest undertaking to connect the region through high capacity transit. It is a part of Metro’s regional transportation system planning dating from the 1980s. The Portland-Milwaukie Light Rail Project is a partnership among Metro, TriMet, City of Portland, City of Milwaukie, City of Oregon City, Clackamas County, Multnomah County, and the Oregon Department of Transportation.
The project was originally conceived as part of the Vancouver to Oregon City corridor proposed in the 1990s. The northern portion became the Interstate line, which opened in 2004. The southern portion was studied in the South Corridor Project and adopted in 2003 by all local jurisdictions and the Metro Council. Phase I of the South Corridor Project is I-205 or the Green line, which is expected to open in Fall 2009. Phase II will connect downtown Portland to Milwaukie through a 7.4 mile rail line—and require the construction of a new bridge over the Willamette (bringing the total number of spans in Portland to an even dozen).
In addition to the MAX line, the new bridge will carry pedestrians, bicycles, and streetcars—but not automobiles. Portland Mayor Tom Potter and Mayor-elect Sam Adams assembled a group of property owners and neighborhood representatives from both sides of the river to study possible locations for the new bridge. Called the Willamette River Crossing Partnership and chaired by Portland’s former mayor Vera Katz, this group reviewed the benefits and impacts of each river crossing option.
The Federal Transit Administration approved the official release of a Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement in May 2008. This document presents details of the project alternatives and their environmental and transportation impacts. Also in May, the Willamette River Crossing Partnership recommended a crossing that would serve Oregon Museum of Science and Industry while complementing Oregon Health and Science University, the Greenway and South Waterfront area. In July, the Metro Council unanimously adopted a route for the rail line, including termini, stations. and the river crossing. This route was endorsed by all jurisdictions along the alignment, including Portland, Milwaukie, Oregon City, Clackamas County and TriMet.
http://www.oregonmetro.gov/files/planning/pmlrt_newletter2.pdf