DRAFT SEIS PUBLIC COMMENT
Barbara Kerr
NE Faloma Rd., Portland, OR

Both as a resident of Portland and as a resident of the affected neighborhood, I have the following concerns about the Interstate Bridge Replacement project:

One – The design of the Interstate Bridge Replacement needs to reflect the input of the public. Its beauty needs to be a testament to the people and their values. Safety first. If we must build a new bridge, it needs to be as safe and durable as possible. A bridge built for safety and durability can be elegant and beautiful in its simplicity. It can say to those who enter our states that we value the wellbeing of people more than a monument to the designers and the political powers. Adopting a more expensive design just for aesthetics will say we are people who care more about “showing off” than taking care of people’s lives. It will reflect negatively on us for decades to come. We have so many better and urgent ways to spend money. 

Two – As has been pointed out by others, the Interstate Bridge Replacement proposed design has a glaring mistake in that the paths for walking and biking are not easily accessible to the location of the light rail. Alternate forms of transportation should be the first consideration in the design. If the bridge is to meet the needs of the future, it must take into account that there will be fewer car trips and that freight will move toward train travel. To value car/truck travel higher than coordinating walking/biking and light rail is to build in planned obsolescence. 

Three – As a publicly funded project, the IBR has a responsibility to the taxpayers to coordinate with other transportation projects in the same area or adjacent to it to maximize the public benefits and minimize the expense. Specifically, the 40-mile Loop should be incorporated into the IBR without barriers, crossings, or interruptions, and the IBR project should extend to connect to the 40-mile Loop. In doing so, IBR must coordinate also with the work on the levy being done by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Four – The local neighborhood stands to be greatly affected by the IBR and the changes to the streets that feed it. IBR would be grossly negligent if coordination with Portland Bureau of Transportation and the citizens are not highly integral in the design and planning. Decisions made now will affect the community for decades to come and corrections will not be easily made or funded. It is fiscally irresponsible for the IBR to not address these concerns. Of immediate issue is the truck traffic on Marine Drive East, which is a neighborhood street and runs on the levy. The design must direct truck traffic to Columbia Boulevard instead.