Morgan Steele
Bureau of Development Services
Land Use Services
1900 SW 4th Avenue
Suite 5000
Portland OR 97201
Case File: LU 20-116560 EN
Dear Morgan Steele
Bureau of Development Services
Land Use Services:
Due to the pandemic we received your notice after the prescribed deadline. We encourage you to take into account our insights and requests anyway.
The Bridgeton Neighborhood strongly supports the Columbia Children’s Arboretum. It is a vital resource to our community. The proposed improvements to the path through the arboretum will improve access to younger families with children and our older neighbors that require surer footing.
The application provides clear evidence that responsible organizations can manage the tree canopy without being unduly limited by the tree code. The CCA has been allowed to remove trees that no longer fit their purpose and replace them with different species and locations. We urge you to consider this for non-governmental agencies as well.
The proposed changes stop short of providing better access to the arboretum for pedestrians. Neighbors in East Columbia and Bridgeton as well as Portlanders taking the bus must walk on 6th Avenue NE to reach the Arboretum. The speed limit on 6th Avenue is 40 miles per hour and there is no sidewalk. We are in support of creating a sidewalk on the eastern side of 6th Ave. NE from NE Marine Drive to the Arboretum. The improvements to the arboretum path will increase usage while simultaneously increasing the risk of pedestrian fatalities on NE 6th Ave. We request that the City of Portland accept this as a Condition of Approval and direct PBOT to construct the sidewalk.
Sincerely,
Erik Molander
Land Use Chair
Bridgeton Neighborhood Association
epmolander@gmail.com
East Columbia Neighborhood Association 