City Council, May 29th - Bike/Ped Grants Notice of Intent

With the holiday Council meets on Tuesday.

Most significant on the agenda is information about the "notice of intent" for the combined Transportation Enhancement and Bicycle-Pedestrian grant programs. The State of Oregon administers these funds (TE dollars come from the Feds, and Bike/Ped from the State gas tax), and as part of the streamlining involved in creating the "active transportation section," these two funding sources are being combined in order to achieve efficiencies in leveraging, coordinating, and administering.

The City has chosen to proceed with three projects:

1. Minto Island Trail Connection (jointly with the Urban Renewal Agency)
2. Brown Road NE (Carolina Avenue NE to San Francisco Drive NE)
3. Orchard Heights Park Pedestrian Access.

TE funding has provided for a large portion of the Union Street Railroad Bridge work, and all of the projects look like the kinds of things that have been funded before.

Yes, but. This list is nibbling around the edges.

A commenter pointed out last week that one of the great virtues of the new bike map is that it really shows the disconnected archipelago we have created - islands of facilities that are separated. On key routes through town, our bike system lacks continuous connections, and only skilled and confident people are able to forge across the moats and barriers.  The map shows how we have stranded the Union St. RR Bridge, orphaned it from connections to downtown and west Salem.

In the News: Cemeteries and a Hoyt-Rural Connection

Not real excited about the framing in the SJ today. It's Memorial Day Weekend, after all. (Is it even possible to write a neutral and even-handed piece given the nature of the weekend's obsequies?)

The frame could be the way that the existing Cemetery Master Plan already encourages casual recreational use of the cemetery, and the way that more eyeballs and ears could provide enhanced security. It could be about honoring history by making it more accessible.

Public Works Day offers Chance to Talk Thrift and Cost-Effective Mobility

Public Works Day is coming up on June 14th. With an educational component that needs to be accessible for families with kids, there's always more than a little of "Bob the Builder" about it.

That's great an all, but the emphasis is on cars, and gas- and diesel-fired heavy equipment - big toys and the infrastructure they build and maintain.

These are important things, of course, but as the City announces over-and-over new rounds of budget cuts, maybe it's time to talk about low-cost forms of infrastructure and maintenance? You know, with the TSP updates for walking and biking, public works can talk more about how cost-efficient are forms of mobility other than the drive-alone trip. Let's talk about the price of gas and of asphalt! And talk about studded tires and resurfacing schedules.

You're already talking about salmon and zero waste.

Public Works Day offers a chance to frame some new messages about efficiency and economy. What do you say?

City Creates Fairview Refinement Plan Portal Site

(Fairview Master Plan, top; Simpson Hills Refinement Plan, bottom)

This is genuinely helpful! The City has created a portal site for documents related to the Fairview Master Plan and the Simpson Hills Refinement Plan.

So now the relevant docs are at hand. There's still lots to go through, but at least now it's not all secret voodoo insider lore.

Thanks, City of Salem!

(Here are notes on the last hearing as well as a discussion of the edge conditions on Pringle/Battle Creek and Reed Roads.)

Visit Wine Country by Bike!

This weekend is the 22st annual Memorial Weekend in the Wine Country.

Most wineries are open and there's no better way to visit than by bike! (Most of the wineries do have a tasting fee, but often refund it with a wine purchase.)

The south end of the Eola Hills are picturesque and offer a good number of wineries.

There's also a bunch of wineries in the Waldo Hills and out south towards Ankeny. For a short-hop, Willamette Valley Vineyards is probably the closest to downtown Salem.

Buildings in Profile:The New 90 Degree Angle

Is this a thing, a new thing? Three recent buildings designed by CB|Two, one a small strip mall, the others medical clinics, share the same basic site plan, a 90 degree turn from the street.

Most suburban style development in Salem places a large parking lot along the street and the mass of the building parallel to the street in back. Newer development like that on north Broadway, as well as older development like our historic downtown, places the building on the sidewalk and any parking in back.

This move splits the difference so you get a profile view - a jolt in the streetscape, a little hip-check and elbow?

So first off, what is its name? I can't even figure out how to google for this! (Any architect readers know?)

And does it work?  Does it liven things up?

Breakfast this Friday - New Bike Maps and other Stuff

Though it's a State Furlough day, and the start to the long weekend, there's still much to talk about at Breakfast on Bikes this Friday.

We will be at 12th & Chemeketa on the Promenade just east of the railroad tracks on Friday, May 25th. We'll have free coffee, pastries, and fruit for people who bike between 7am and 9am.

If you haven't commented on the Salem River Crossing, we'll have some information on it - public comment closes June 18th.

We'll also have copies of the new Salem bike map - free!

Other topics include next steps for the Bike Plan. Some time in July City Council will hold its hearing and it will be important to have a good turn-out! The proposed connection between Hoyt and Rural and the matter of the Alley Vacation are also on the horizon. The railroad quiet zone and changes coming to 12th & Chemeketa.

Maybe other stuff too.

Please support our generous sponsors!
Cascade Baking Company
Governor's Cup Coffee Roasters
LifeSource Natural Foods
Salem Bicycle Club
Willamette University.


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