Neighborhood Association
Representing the Lair Hill, South Waterfront, Corbett, Johns Landing, Terwilliger and Fulton neighborhoods
Summer Concerts


Thank you to all those who attended one of our summer events in Willamette Park and the South Portland businesses who made it possible:
Bamboo Grove Hawaiian Grille, BohNel Hair Salon, Clyde Lewis, Food Front, Food Services of America, Great Northwest Bookstore, Groundspring Healing Center, Habanero Mexican Restaurant, Helser's on Alberta, Jimmy's Smoke House, Johns Landing Automotive, Lorentz Bruun Co., Macadam Bar and Grill, National College of Natural Medicine, Portland Parks & Rec., Portland Water Bureau, Quiznos, Renner's Bar & Grill, Ross Island Grocery & Cafe, Soter Vineyards, South Portland Business Association, SWNI & ONI, The Portland French School, Umqua Bank

A SPECIAL THANKS to the South Portland Business Association for all their terrific help and support.


South Portland Business Association
The South Portland Bussiness Association has only been around for a year or so but they are going great guns.  We are lucky to have so many teriffic businesses in our neighborhood and through the business association proprietors are working hard to help each other in these tough times and serve residents better. For more information click here for the South Portland Business Association website. (www.southportlandba.com)


Click here for the historic Lair Hill walking tour guide

About 10 years ago volunteers organized by the neighborhood association and assisted by Portland Parks started meeting every so often on weekends to pull invasive plants out of Butterfly Park.  That project has mushroomed to include a much expanded area and many partners.  We are extremely grateful to every person and organization that helped out. Click here for more information.


















Neighborhood News

 
Powers Marine Park

The SPNA Board is considering the possibility of expanding our neighborhood association borders to include Powers Marine Park which is on the Willamette south of the Sellwood bridge. This park is not in any neighborhood association and many feel we should have a say on the area. Let us know what you think.


Gibbs Street Pedestrian Bridge



Above: box girder bridge example

Thank you to Jody Yates of the Portland Bureau of Transportation for coming to our December neighborhood meeting to update us on the pedestrian bridge. As you know, the bridge project ran into a snag as construction bids came in much higher than expected. Most of the overage was due to higher labor costs in the constraints of working over I-5.  Contractors were concerned that they would spend a lot of time getting set up each day and then have only about a four hour work window. Jody said Mayor Adams is committed to having the bridge and they are working hard to get it under budget. They are cosidering going to the box girder type design rather than the extrodosed design as it will be less expensive to build.  People at the meeting expressed the strong desire to have a bridge and that it does not have to be the fanciest bridge.


Iowa Viaduct replacement

The Oregon Department of Transportation will soon start construction on a project that will have substantial impact on our neighborhood. The bridge on I-5 over the gulch above Iowa street will be replaced at a cost of about $42 million. Actually, the bridge structure is in good shape. However, the bridge decking has been patched and patched and now need a total replacement. In order to do this, traffic must be diverted off I-5 and that is where the major cost is. As long as the traffic is diverted replacing the entire structure is not that much more expensive and will bring it up to modern seismic requirements. To divert the traffic ODOT will excavate the adjacent hill and build a temporary road and bridge. They looked at re-routing traffic on to Barbur but quickly rejected the idea as Barbur is near capacity and adding the 145,000 cars per day would be a nightmare.

For more information from ODOT click below.




Portland to Lake Oswego Transit

     For several years we have been working with Metro and other agencies on a plan to put a streetcar line to Lake Oswego. Metro Counciler Robert Liberty came to our January SPNA board meeting to discuss the streetcar expansion. Several people said they hope the streetcar could follow the Macadam alignment as long as possible to help businesses at the south end and Councilor Liberty said he would look into it. Bob has been to our meetings several times and we really appreciate the one-on-one communication.

For more information from Metro click here.

Sellwood Bridge replacement

Another project we have been working on is the replacement of the Sellwood Bridge.

Click here for the latest.

Milwaukie light rail bridge

The Portland to Milwaukie light rail project will include a new bridge in our neighborhood.  The bridge will be for light rail, buses, bikes and pedestrians.
Click here for details. 

Urban renewal

The Portland Development Commission is in the process of re-evaluating urban renewal districts in downtown Portland. This will affect our neighborhood as they are considering expanding one of the districts into the north part of Lair Hill.

For more information from PDC click here.


Portland Plan

The Portland Plan is an important process where all aspects of city development wll be reviewed and updated.  This could have a big impact on our neighborhood so we are hoping to get as many people from South Portland involved as possible.  Here is a link to the Portland Bureau of Planning web page on the plan: www.portlandonline.com/portlandplan/



Ken Love
President, SPNA
ken@southportlandna.org