Meeting #2 Minutes: December 17, 2008

Franklin Street Arterial Study Team
Meeting #2, Dec. 17, 2008

Notes

Com. members present: Alex Landry, Bob Stevens, Greg Martin, Liz Hoglund, Jaime Parker, Boyd Marley, Markos Miller, Katie Brown, Laura Thibideau, Ethan Boxer-Macomber, Mark Adelson
Staff: Mike Bobinsky, Kathy Earley, Bille Neddelman, Carl Eppich

Decision made not to take site tour due to weather. Committee expressed interest in having more information about geometry of site prior to taking a site tour. It was also suggested that we schedule a day-light time for the site tour.
1. Discussion of CSS Case Studies: Highlights include Octavia Blvd in San Francisco- a raised hwy removed and converted to an at-grade multi-lane boulevard. Traffic ‘gridlock’ that was predicted did not occurr. Rt 64 in Louisville.
2. Review of Multi-lane Boulevards (MLB): Discussion points included: this is an intentional roadway design that has a unique identity, creating an urban focal point; not sure if this is appropriate for Franklin; is Franklin to become a focal point of the city?; MLB may result in further expansion of roadway; MLB does produce kind of development that is desireable; MLB incorporates many desireable design elements; flexible model. Need to know what future capacity will be desired/needed.

Discussion of Hwy classification: limited access to/from private parcels. We may want to consider rear-access to buildings. Need to preserve Franklin’s function as an access point into town; need to consider creative solutions like counter flow lanes. All these need not be mutually exclusive; we can have a road that carries a lot of people and have development and pedestrian amenities.
3. Follow up on Background Information

• Traffic Counts , Crash Counts, Bike /Ped incidents, Peak hour- tabled until next meeting
• Housing Plan: calls for human scaled, pedestrian friendly development that is welcoming. Calls for proximity of commercial and residential development, accessibility. Clarifies that Portland ‘aspires’ to be a small city with a dynamic downtown and mixed-use development. Calls for ‘bold initiatives’ to improve quality of life and develop solutions. Also calls for a variety of transportation options and strengthening alternative transportation.

Discussion of PHA parcels and federal ‘attachements’ that dictate their use. Reference to federal “Hope 6′ monies for public housing renewal/street grid reconnection.

• Open Space Plan: Franklin median is listed as ‘open space’, but not a park. Bayside Trail is a factor. Calls for open space downtown. Key feature here is ‘enclosed open space’. Open space + roads= high speeds, open space + enclosure = slower speeds.

4. Discussion of Stakeholder groups and how to engage.

• Ideas: survey employers
• How do we find out who uses Franklin?

Reach out to:

• India St. corridor, businesses around Congress and India St.,
• East Marginal Way businesses
• Washington Ave businesses
• Abutting property owners
• Kennedy Park residents -
• Franklin Tower residents
• Multi-cultural community- start with leadership- contact Rachel Talbot Ross, PPS Multi-Lingual program, Cultivating Community
• Tourists (Industry?, Tourist center?)
• Downtown businesses-Brown Bag lunch?
• Bayside Trail folks
• Neighborhood organizations
• get Economic Development Director to these meetings

5. What is good about Franklin

roadway function/buildings and other assetts postponed
6. Comments:

• How will we make sure we don’t lose all these ideas?
• Alex Landry has 10 yrs of crash data available
• Can we get geometry info: lane widths, curb ro curb, etc.
• Take a virtual tour with Google Earth
• Can we get overlay maps with parcel lines, roadway, buildings, etc- have these on boards at every meeting
• Think of ways to cross peninsula other than cars
• Have the civic/social character of what was lost inform study work