Imagine 82nd


Portland State University
Center for Transportation Studies
Spring 2008 Transportation Seminar Series

Speaker: InSight Visioning and Planning, PSU MURP Workshop Project team

Topic: Imagine 82nd

InSight, a team of graduate students in PSU’s Master of Urban and Regional Planning program, will present their Planning Workshop project entitled “Imagine 82nd.” The project engaged residents, businesses, property owners and students along NE 82nd Avenue in Portland to develop a comprehensive vision for the future of the corridor. Imagine 82nd deals with the portion of 82nd Avenue between the Banfield Expressway and NE Sandy Boulevard, 1.3 miles in length. This particular stretch is home to many retail and service businesses that typify the rest of 82nd Avenue, but it also includes Madison High School, a major corporate headquarters, and a 20-acre vacant brownfield site. At this seminar, InSight will present the vision concepts they developed with the community, with particular emphasis on transportation and land use components.

When: Friday, May 30, 2008, 12:00-1:30pm

Where: PSU Urban Center Building, SW 6th and Mill, Room 204


0 responses to “Imagine 82nd”

  1. Isn’t this technically now “82nd Avenue of the Roses”, due to the ineffectual efforts of our Mayor-elect to transform the neighborhood by posting new street signs?

    Still looks like 82nd Avenue of Used Car Dealerships to me.

  2. The legal street name is still “82nd Avenue”. The street was not renamed, just given the nickname “Avenue of Roses”. This is a district marker similar to the signs in other parts of town that indicate “Historic Irvington” and “The Alphabet District”.

    And this one can’t be blamed on Sam. The new nickmame was the idea of the local business association.

  3. I find it rather ironic that a presentation on how to improve 82nd Avenue, which by its admission “engaged residents, businesses, property owners and students along NE 82nd Avenue” would be held in a part of town that East Portland strongly distrusts – downtown.

    One would think that to gain maximum involvement, the presentation would be held…oh, I don’t know, on 82nd Avenue? There is a PCC Campus right there on the street that seems like a much more appropriate location for a presenation. (As well as two high schools.)

    Or…are these people afraid of riding the 72 bus – TriMet’s busiest bus route, mind you?

    It’d be like ODOT holding a conference on discussing the Interstate Bridge – at ODOT Headquarters in Salem.

  4. Erik, it is part of a brownbag lunch series that happens every Friday in that room. The point of the series isn’t to actually do the project, but to discuss projects like this for the benefit of people that might do similar projects in the future. The reason it happens at PSU is because that is where all the other parts of the series are taking place, and quite frankly it is a pain to have to move the class around from week to week, especially since it only last 90 minutes, and most of the people that come to these classes are within walking distance of PSU at lunchtime already. And the reason that they aren’t discussing the Urban Center building is because they’ve already done half a dozen presentations on it, and nobody shows up anymore when they put it on the agenda. So in that regard, it is much like ODOT having a training session for all their district people at their headquarters in Salem, and discussing the interstate bridge as one of the topics…

  5. Erik,
    Total troll. You should be ashamed of yourself.

    I happen to spend a considerable portion of my class time in the same room that the PSU MURP students use as their studio, I’ve been staring at their “Imagine 82nd” poster for months. If you’d pull your head out of your —, you’d see that this is a planning workshop exercise rather than any type of actual recommendation.

  6. MRB –

    I appreciate your frustration with Erik, but just as I’ve asked Erik in another thread to not venture into personal attack territory, I must also ask you to tone it down a notch. Thanks.

  7. These presentations are also webcast and could be viewed from Addis Ababa, if one were so inclined.

  8. Erik, you should indeed be ashamed of yourself for this post. Once again, your emotion is controlling your intelligence.

    Kudos to these PSU students for focusing on an area which may be less “exciting” for a thesis than the classic urban redevelopment projects, but is very much in need of this kind of consideration.

  9. Kudos to these PSU students for focusing on an area which may be less “exciting” for a thesis than the classic urban redevelopment projects, but is very much in need of this kind of consideration.

    Why should I be ashamed of my opinions?

    That a group of people who claim that they are “in touch” with a given community, then venture to discuss this community at a location that is far removed from said community?

    I have no problem with PSU students (or anyone else) taking an interest in 82nd Avenue. In fact it’s a good thing.

    The least they could have done was moved their presentation to PCC Cascade, where members of the 82nd Avenue community could be in attendance close to their homes and workplaces.

    Why is that viewpoint something to be ashamed of? Unlike the PSU students (many of whom have no work and few time considerations), most of the people on 82nd Avenue have workplace and family considerations; travelling to downtown Portland during a weekday work day is not an option. If there is anything to be ashamed of, is that Portland’s planning discussions (whether binding or not) often exclude people who have little voice, and have the most to lose.

  10. Golly gee Erik, look what it took me 10 seconds to find using google:

    http://www.roseway.org/?p=67

    “Graduate students in Portland State University’s Master of Urban and Regional Planning program will hold a community visioning open house for NE 82nd Avenue on Thursday, April 10.

    [snip]

    The open house will be held from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m., Thursday, April 10 at the Madison South Community Room at Banfield Pet Hospital Glenhaven Corporate Headquarters, 8000 NE Tillamook Street in Portland. All area residents, students, employees and business owners are encouraged to attend.”

    Did you hear that Erik? They held an open house FOR THE COMMUNITY, IN THE COMMUNITY. And that was very likely not the only time they will present TO THE AFFECTED COMMUNITY IN THE AFFECTED COMMUNITY. (sorry about the yelling, I must be channeling you)

    Are you satisfied, or would you care to make more ignorant, arrogant, and judgmental statements?

    “the PSU students (many of whom have no work and few time considerations)”

    Oh, I didn’t realize you know these students, and are aware of their time, family and financial obligations. I didn’t realize you know how they are paying their tuition, what their employment situation is, how many other classes they are taking, and other personal details. Clearly, you are completely qualified to make judgments on the validity of these students’ work.

    Actually, you have no idea who these people are, or what the “rules” are governing their project. Until you do, please shut up.

  11. Unit, Grant –

    I appreciate your frustration with Erik, but just as I’ve asked Erik in another thread to not venture into personal attack territory, I must also ask you to tone it down a notch. Thanks.

  12. So, now that the flame wars have ended (right?), did anyone actually go to the presentation or have anything to report about the actual project?

  13. Probably not Bob, but as a member of the neighborhood association I helped develop some ideas for 82nd back in the early ’90s
    Nothing happened.
    MW

  14. Bob,

    I was working, and haven’t had a chance to watch it yet. Probably tonight, but I wanted to get through more of the CRC DEIS also.

  15. 82nd is one of those streets, that actually COULD use a streetcar throughput. Any ideas of putting one in that community? That #72 is just bombarded with people on a daily basis. It would be nice for the streetcar to be build along that line ala the Tacoma car with some clear ROW, mixed in street, etc. There is so much that could be done with that street to straighten it out and make it more pedestrian friendly.

    …this street SHOULD be a high priority compared to almost every other street I’ve seen in the Streetcar plans so far.

  16. Adron –

    The city is creating a Streetcar System Plan through a series of workshops. I have been participating in the SE District working group.

    A large number of transit corridors were evaluated on a technical level, basically asking questions like: Are there any physical barriers which prevent streetcar as a transit mode, is there enough potential ridership, is there room for development under current zoning, etc.

    Most of 82nd Ave. scored quite highly under this initial process.

    The next step is for individual communities through which various corridors travel to give feedback. This includes walking the length of corridors, canvassing local businesses and residents, reaching out to area community groups/business associations.

    The 82nd Ave corridor runs through or overlaps 3 different areas: Southeast, Northeast, and East. (There is a system advisory committee which, among other things, takes a big-picture look at what the individual districts are coming up with.)

    I’ve been attending the SE Working Group meetings because I’m interested in Hawthorne/Foster as a potential corridor. I’ve also attended one initial meeting of the NE Working Group.

    One thing which has come out of this process is public feedback expressing a need for strong North-South (crosstown) routes, looking at the whole thing as a system, and not being too downtown-centric. All of those ideas tend to help 82nd as a corridor choice.

    However, speaking only from my experience at the SE meetings so far, there hasn’t been much interest from the community in 82nd, compared to other corridors. This may be different in NE and E, and the System Advisory Committee will have to piece that together.

    The output of the Streetcar System Plan process will be a combination of technical analysis and public support for potential corridors. If you or people you know are interested in a streetcar on 82nd, RIGHT NOW is the time to get involved.

    Here is the city’s main Streetcar System Plan web site:
    http://www.portlandonline.com/transportation/index.cfm?&c=46134

  17. I’m against streetcars!

    For basically three reasons;

    1-they can’t be moved.

    2-when there is a problem the whole thing shuts down.

    3-enormous cost to put them in.

    People love them yea, the same way people want to drive a Lexus rather than a ford.

    It’s time for Americans to get off their ego trips and join the rest of the real world, the world where people get what they need without luxury.

    Al M

  18. Along the same line, I just put up with months and months of delays due to the WES station being put in at Beaverton Transit. (of course there is no room for buses now)

    How many millions got spent on that?

    Was that really necessary?

    They have 4 trains in the morning and 4 trains in the afternoon.

    Couldn’t they have just built the station at the existing track and have a bus meet the train right there and take people over to the Beaverton Transit Center to make whatever connections necessary?

    What’s the point of having the thing at all if it doesn’t run regular service, say once an hour.

    They coulda had a bus do the same thing, saved countless millions and millions and be providing service RIGHT NOW!

    This fixation with rail is ridiculous.

  19. Off topic but important.

    I hope y’all see what’s happening in our national politics, the fix is in for Mcain.

    How do I know that, well think about it.

    25% of Americans won’t vote for him because he is black.

    25% of Americans vote Christian fundamentalist.

    An unknown % won’t vote for him because his name is Obama, which sounds like Osama and his middle name is Hussein.

    You heard it hear first, on Portland Transport.

    Mark my words.

  20. Al M, so off-topic why did you have to go there? And why do I feel I have to respond…

    Your neglect in your point that the racist 25% overlaps almost entirely with the Christian Fundamentalist 25%, which also overlaps with the quivering cowards who are afraid of terrorists.

    Obama wins easily thanks to the 75% of rational Americans, a significant majority of whom will vote for Obama.

  21. OK, back on topic folks. Unless you are imagining a transit-oriented campaign office on 82nd ave., this isn’t the place to discuss the presidential campaign. Perhaps as the candidates talk more about transportation policy, we can start up a new thread to talk about that. I know the Obama people have been talking up ideas related to transit in particular. But until one of them talks about 82nd Ave., it doesn’t belong in this thread.

  22. 75% of Americans are rational?

    Have you noticed what people are watching on TV these days?

    Rational?

    Huh?

    82nd Avenue itself is a picture of what America is really like, lets take a drive up 82nd Avenue some night Bob, with our Video cams.

    Bob and Al’s great adventure part 2, does 82nd avenue need a street car or should it be demolished completely?

    Al M

Leave a Reply to Bob R. Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *