[1]As the City’s new transportation commissioner, let me pull back the proverbial curtain at city hall to give you a glimpse at a smoldering internal argument that I have inherited. It is time to air it out. I want you and others to join in the discussion.
The question I must soon answer in the form of a recommendation to the City Council is whether or not to proceed with changing a portion of East and West Burnside into a Burnside/Couch “couplet.” Much like NW Everett and NW Glisan, Burnside and Couch would be complementary one-way streets from roughly NW 14th to NE 12th.
The purpose of the proposed couplet is to remove the barrier that Burnside poses for pedestrians and to provide new opportunities of redevelopment.
Research, study and planning for this project have been underway for years. The estimated cost for the entire project is $45 million.
The proposed East Burnside couplet to 12th Street seems to have universal support and I intend to move it forward to City Council soon with a recommendation for approval. While doing that, I intend to also propose that the City legalize the arcade style buildings that already exist on East Burnside; creating a unique all-weather outdoor retail district in the heart of the eastside.
The proposed West Burnside portion of the proposed couplet is why voices are being raised.
An opponent of the proposed project said if I went ahead with the West Burnside couplet project the “blood of each pedestrian hit by the increased traffic through the Brewery Blocks would be on my hands.”
An advocate of the project told me that if I didn’t move forward the proposed West Burnside couplet project he “would blow up my office” and he wasn’t smiling when he said it.
Obviously, I want to address the dangers and barriers of West Burnside but I don’t want to screw up the raging success of the Brewery Blocks or our work to improve Old Town/Chinatown.
Me? I am new to this proposal, so, I intend to dig into it and ask a lot of tough questions of all sides before I make up my own mind.
What do you think?
I am hosting an open-to-the-public “Town Hall with Commissioner Sam: the Proposed West Burnside/Couch Couplet,” on Thursday, October 20 from 6 to 9pm at the US Bancorp Tower (Big Pink), 111 SW Fifth Avenue, 43rd floor.
It will be our opportunity to get all hopes, concerns, questions and answers out on the table and give you all an opportunity to comment before I craft my recommendation on how to proceed to the City Council.
For more info about the proposed couplet, visit: http://www.portlandonline.com/transportation/index.cfm?c=39562 [2].
Using the blog tool below, tell me what you think, what question should I make sure I get answers to, what are your concerns and hopes?