September 26, 2011 to Commissioner Nick Fish from
SWTrails PDX requesting sidewalk on SW Talbot from SW Patton
to SW Fairmount Blvd
Nick and Sue,
I understand an opportunity is coming soon to select a
modesttransportation/trail project to be funded from an
upcoming round
of grants.
As I have discussed with you Nick, the 4T trail has become the
most
popular trail in the Metro list of Walk There trails, and
probably more
than any other trail other than the downtown loop on the
water.
Friends who volunteer at the Portland Travel Center also note
the high
popularity of the 4T. The total cost to the city of
Portland for the
4T to date has been $45,000. That was for my work on 4T
interpretive
signage, 4T wayfinding signs and 4T-trail.org web site.
Now it is time for the City of Portland to begin to improve
the trail
segments to make them safer for the many tourists we are
attracting to
this trail. The first priority in my mind is to put in
sidewalks along
SW Talbot from SW Patton to SW Fairmount. This is a
short segment of
sidewalk, 0.1 mile on my google map, somewhere from 400 to 700
feet in
length.
The benefits of having a sidewalk will provide a safe place
for
tourists and out of town visitors to walk along this
street. Currently
one must walk on the street. As the popularity of the 4T
grows, I
expect it will be featured in every tour book published around
the
worldthat has a section on Portland. No other place in
the world has
the 4T's diversity of transportation, view and trail
possibliites on
one loop route easily done in 1/2 a day. its popularity
will only
increases. Quite frankly, to some it is an embarassment
to have such a
premier trail going up a street with no sidewalk.
The newly reorganized SWTrails PDX, at its meeting last
Thursday moved
unanimously to request of you to obtain funding to place
sidewalks
along this very short segment of street. While it has
been discussed
as a possible candidate for the HB 2001 funds, the
beneficiaries of
having sidewalks will largely be people from outside of SW
Portland.
As a result, informed transportation advocates believe the
funds should
be requested by Parks from other sources of funds.
Please keep us fully informed of how this request is handled
in
Portland Parks.
--
Don Baack
6495 SW Burlingame Place
Portland OR 97239
503 246 2088
baack@q.com