Category Archives: LUTC News

IMPROVEMENTS COMING TO 82ND AVENUE DOWN OUR WAY

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Presented below is a compilation of improvements that PBOT and ODOT will bring to the Brentwood-Darlington portion of 82nd Avenue.  If you have comments to make, be sure to attend the SE Uplift Land use and Transportation Committee on Monday, March 18, 2024, at 7:00pm.  

At that meeting, PBOT will present the work it will be carrying out along the full length of 82nd Avenue.  Use this Zoom link to join the meeting:  https://us06web.zoom.us/j/94658039953.

PBOT – Building a Better 82nd – Improvements on 82nd Ave in Brentwood-Darlington 

Bike-Ped Crossing.  At SE 82nd and Lambert Street, PBOT will install a new traffic signal, concrete traffic separators, curb ramps and new marked crosswalks.  For details, visit https://www.portland.gov/82nd-RTL

Street Lighting.  Construction begins in 2024.  Description:

Wide roads like 82nd Avenue benefit from closely spaced street lighting on both sides of the road to improve visibility for everyone. As part of this project, PBOT will fill the lighting gaps along the entire length of the corridor, between NE Lombard and SE Clatsop streets. 

This project will replace 245 lights with a newer LED light that has a higher lumen output and will help illuminate the entire width of 82nd Avenue, including the sidewalks. Fifty-four new light poles will also be installed and equipped with new LEDs to help fill in gaps in lighting along the corridor.

PBOT – Brentwood Darlington Multimodal Improvements (PBOT):

This sidewalks-greenway project will bring us continuous sidewalks on both sides of Duke and Flavel streets between 52nd and 82nd avenues, as well as a greenway along Ogden and Knapp between 52nd and 87th avenues.   

Bike-Ped Crossing.  At Ogden-82nd Avenue, the project will construct a new signalized ped-bike crossing.

For details and map, visit https://www.portland.gov/transportation/pbot-projects/construction/brentwood-darlington-multimodal-improvements

ODOT – Paving and Safety Improvements from Foster Rd to Thompson Rd

“Construction continues along SE 82nd Ave. Contractors working for ODOT are doing underground pipe and maintenance hole work and upgrading sidewalk curb ramps to meet Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements ​at select intersections and side streets. Current work also includes utility relocations within the project corridor by NW Natural Gas.”

Also included:  New paving from Foster to Thompson, and rectangular rapid-flashing beacons at the bike-ped crossing at Cooper Street.  

For details, visit https://www.oregon.gov/odot/projects/pages/project-details.aspx?project=21177.

Middle Housing Comes to Brentwood-Darlington – with a bang!

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Middle housing is a housing category midway between apartment building and single-family dwelling. We’re seeing instances in Brentwood-Darlington (a four-plex is shown in the photo).

The process of readying middle-housing projects for sale has been catching nearby residents unaware. 

As “by right” construction nears completion, the neighbors receive an odd notice that the developer wishes to “subdivide the subject site” into X number of lots.

The case file number looks like this:   LU 23-xxxxxx MLDS.  (The MLDS stands for Middle-housing Land Division Subdivision.)

Suddenly it becomes clear that the building is not a big house (replacing a previous house) but a set of housing units, each to be sold to one household.  The lot has no on-site parking, and little room for trees.  There can be a small common area – who will maintain it?  The structure may be incongruously tall, towering over adjacent single-story houses.

The neighbors are astounded and worried. But there’s nothing to be done.  It is fully legal to divide a lot after constructing a building.  (And residents have no say before construction over design, window placement and angle, tree removal, parking, or other matters.)  

The code governing such land-use division is being revised. Correction: Although post-construction land division is not directly addressed, the code change offers an opportunity to question planners about the MLDS process.   Public comment is being sought through December 31, 2023.  A discussion draft of the Land Division Code Update can be downloaded here.  Comments can be submitted here.  

If you’d like to speak directly to city planners, Southeast Uplift’s land-use committee has arranged for city planners to speak about the code update at 7:00pm on December 18th.  You can attend the meeting in person at 3534 SE Main Street or access it remotely at https://us06web.zoom.us/j/94658039953.

Lower Southeast Rising Project 2nd Neighborhood Walk Tuesday, June 14th

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From the Bureau of Planning and Sustainability (BPS) and the Bureau of Transportation (PBOT). 

Join us for the second neighborhood walk along SE 72nd Avenue on Tuesday, June 14th from 5:30pm – 6:45pm.  
This walk along SE 72nd Avenue will meet and end at the northwest corner of SE 72nd and Flavel in front of Three Sisters Nixtamal. We hope you will join us and invite others to participate, too. These are approximately 1.5-mile walks.

Remember to check out the Lower Southeast Rising Project online open house and survey!

Lower Southeast Rising Project Online Open House, Survey, Neighborhood Walks, and More!

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From the Bureau of Planning and Sustainability (BPS) and the Bureau of Transportation (PBOT). 

We are reaching out to you regarding the Lower Southeast Rising Project online open house and survey because we want to hear from community members in your neighborhood. You may have already heard about this project via the postcards, emails, community bike rides, or door-to-door outreach since last summer that helped to identify project area needs and issues. Now, we would like to invite you to participate in a self-guided online open house and survey as part of the next round of community feedback. 

The online open house features a welcome and introduction video, an overview of four future community development scenarios, and a synopsis of potential transportation improvements. After learning about the options, you can take an online survey to give us your feedback and preferences. You can also help us spread the word to your community to make the public outreach as robust and inclusive as possible. The online open house and a survey are available now through June 30. 

The project team is also available to present at upcoming neighborhood association meetings. Please contact us if you would like BPS and PBOT representatives to share a project overview and answer any questions or concerns that you or other community members might have. We are planning to complete the current round of public engagement by June 30. 

Additionally, two neighborhood walk events are planned in June. We hope you will join us and invite others to participate, too. These approximately 1.5-mile walks will focus on two focus areas: 

  1. SE 52nd Avenue neighborhood walk on Thursday, June 2nd from 5:30pm – 6:45pm.  
    This walk along SE 52nd Avenue will meet and end at the northwest corner of SE 52nd and Duke, across the street from ROSE CDC. 
  2. SE 72nd Avenue neighborhood walk on Tuesday, June 14th from 5:30pm – 6:45pm.   
    This walk along SE 72nd Avenue will meet and end at the northwest corner of SE 72nd and Flavel in front of Three Sisters Nixtamal. 

DELAY IN BRENTWOOD-DARLINGTON’S SIDEWALK INFILL, GREENWAY PROJECTS

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Infill of sidewalks along Duke and Flavel streets, along with installation of an east-west bicycle greenway midway between the two, has been delayed.  Unexpected difficulties with the design (including the design budget) extended design work; it should be completed before the end of this year. In addition, the project is mostly funded by the federal government, which has meant longer than usual turn-around times for approvals and right-of-way acquisition.

Finally and unsurprisingly, the pandemic has taken its toll on PBOT’s work force.  It has also reduced the downtown parking revenues that make up a large part of PBOT’s budget.  PBOT complemented our federal funding with funds of its own to make our projects possible; but revenue shortfalls mean delays.  

Barring any new issues, sidewalk infill and greenway installation should occur in late 2023.  We’re disappointed, of course, but we realize that PBOT is doing all it can, in the face of numerous stressors, to accomplish our projects – along with dozens of others all over the city.  We should keep in mind that we’re not the only neighborhoods with delayed projects – and let’s also remember that the city has invested millions of dollars in our neighborhood in recent years.

Lower SE Rising Area Plan

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BDNA Note: Please take the survey linked at the bottom before September 6th, 2021!

From Portland Bureau of Transportation:

BPS and PBOT launch latest planning effort: Lower Southeast Rising Area Plan

City bureaus to address the historic lack of infrastructure investment in this area of Southeast and East Portland; seek community input to guide healthy community development.

The Bureau of Planning and Sustainability (BPS) and Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) are collaborating with community members to assess land use and transportation issues for Brentwood-Darlington and portions of the Lents, Ardenwald-Johnson Creek, Mt Scott-Arleta, and Woodstock neighborhoods. This new planning effort is called the Lower Southeast Rising Area Plan.

The bureaus recognize the historic lack of infrastructure investment in this area of East Portland. So they are seeking community input to guide healthy community development for the area, which has many unimproved roads, sidewalk gaps, limited street networks, poor transit service, and few neighborhood commercial amenities.

An active Brentwood-Darlington road with no sidewalk. Photo by PBOT
[Image Description: A neighbor walks two dogs down the side of a street without sidewalks.]
Continue reading →

PBOT’s Transportation System Plan (TSP)

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From Portland Bureau of Transportation:

As Portland grows and changes, so does our transportation system. Learn about the fundamentals that shape the 2035 Transportation System Plan and what that could mean for how you get around Portland.

PBOT’s Transportation System Plan (TSP) Video on YouTube

What is the Transportation System Plan?

The Transportation System Plan (TSP) is the 20-year plan to guide transportation policies and investments in Portland by:

  • Supporting the City’s commitment to Vision Zero by saving lives and reducing injuries to all people using our transportation system
  • Helping transit and freight vehicles to move more reliably
  • Reducing, carbon emissions and promoting healthy lifestyles
  • Keeping more money in the local economy, as we spend less on vehicles and fuel
  • Creating great places

Ready to dig in? Explore our interactive TSP tool to find TSP policies, classifications maps and major projects maps.

PPR Survey on Outdoor Tennis Courts

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[Image Description: A map of Portland showing tennis courts marked by different colored dots, indicating the court type and service areas.]

Portland Parks and Recreation (PPR) is working on a strategic direction for the outdoor tennis courts program. Click the links to learn more, see the map of tennis courts and their current assessment, and take the survey. Please note that Brentwood Park tennis courts are listed as a potential for removal or re-use.

Survey responses due by Tuesday, September 7, 2021 at 5:00PM