The Gibbs St.Bridge is moving forward – getting us ever closer to construction!  A bridge type has been selected and the Open House on June 17 at Umpqua Bank in the South Waterfront attracted over 95 people.  Here is the full article:

Gibbs Street Pedestrian Bridge

August 24, 2010

Dear South Waterfront neighbor,

The Portland Bureau of Transportation’s SW Moody Project will reconstruct SW Moody Avenue from SW River Parkway to SW Gibbs Street. Design is currently underway and construction is anticipated to begin in January 2011.

The improved SW Moody Avenue will include three traffic lanes, dual streetcar tracks, and pedestrian and bicycle facilities. The roadway will be elevated with fill, allowing redevelopers of adjacent brownfields to offer “tuck under parking” without disturbing capped contaminated areas. The elevated street also integrates mixed-use developments with street-level transit facilities, encouraging transit ridership and reducing auto trips.

Notice of Nighttime Work

Next week, a private contractor will be doing work to locate underground utilities on SW Moody Avenue from below the Ross Island Bridge to SW Gibbs Street. The information that will be gathered is critical to the design and construction of the project.

The work will require lane closures on SW Moody Ave during working hours. Flaggers and signage will direct motorists around the work zone. All lanes of SW Moody will be open to traffic outside of the working hours.

The Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) has received a noise variance permit from the City’s Noise Control Office to allow this work to occur at night between 8:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. Nighttime work is expected to begin on Sunday evening, August 29th and continue through Friday morning, September 3rd.

Anticipated construction noise includes coring into the existing roadway pavement, removing the materials using a vacuum excavation truck, backfilling and compacting the hole with rock, and restoring the pavement with asphalt. Work at each coring location is expected to take one to two hours and the contractor will be completing work at approximately 20 locations.

If you have construction noise issues, please contact PBOT’s project liaison, Jean Senechal Biggs at 503-823-1872 or by email at jean.senechalbiggs@portlandoregon.gov. PBOT is required to send to the City of Portland Noise Control Officer a complaint report and log details on problem resolution. Complaints and the noise variance will be reviewed, and either a noise mitigation plan will be developed, or the noise variance will be modified. The City’s Noise Control Office can be reach at 503-823-7350.

If you have any questions or concerns about this work or the project, please don’t hesitate to contact me at 503-823-7051 or by email at chris.armes@portlandoregon.gov. For more information about the project, please visit our web site at www.swmoodyproject.com

Thank you for your patience and cooperation while we perform this work.

Chris Armes, Project Manager

Portland Bureau of Transportation

Come one come all to celebrate the River at South Waterfront with a movie in brand new Elizabeth Caruthers Park!  Activities begin at 7:00 p.m., movie begins at dusk.
Featuring:

• Live Music
• The Mayor of Hooperville with Hula Hoop Lessons
• Handmade artisan vendors
• Kids activities
• Free Ice Cream from Umpqua Bank
• Free Italian Sodas from Old Spaghetti Factory
• Free Popcorn

Movie starts at dusk, featuring “Mamma Mia!”

RiverFest Movie in the Park at South Waterfront

Saturday, August 21, 7:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m.
Elizabeth Caruthers Park
3508 SW Moody Ave., Portland, OR. Map it

FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

The South Waterfront Transportation Management Association officially begins this month and the TMA is hosting an Open House for members of the community to come and learn more about the goals of the TMA and how members can get involved.  Also many TMA partner organizations will be on hand discussing how to utilize their resources for sustainable transportation.  Partner organizations include:

Zipcar
Lloyd District TMA
Portland Streetcar
Bicycle Transportation Alliance
City of Portland
Portland Afoot

South Waterfront TMA Open House
Wednesday, July 21, 4:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Umpqua Bank
3606 SW Bond Ave., Portland, OR  Map It

RSVP: communityrelations@southwaterfront.com or call 503-972-3289

FREE OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

From Portland Parks and Recreation:

Elizabeth Caruthers Park is now open! Just over two acres in size, this much awaited new park in the heart of the South Waterfront District is located between SW Moody to the east and SW Bond to the west. A community celebration is planned for August, but you can visit the park now!

Caruthers Park offers visitors an urban garden area, featuring a community gathering area with movable tables and chairs and a built-in bocce court, a garden retreat area with granite seat walls and a historic marker honoring the site of Portland’s first cabin, and an environmental play area with a spray/play stepping stone feature and seating logs.

There is also a naturalized landscaped area, with boardwalks, naturalized plantings, undulating topography with stormwater detention, and Song Cycles public art created by Doug Hollis. In addition, an open lawn area provides space for a variety of use, including an 8′ tall sloped landform for seating, sunning, and play.

Other features of the park include a variety of trees and plantings, pathways with benches, park lighting, a festival edge on Bond, electrical infrastructure for events, bicycle racks, a drinking fountain, dog waste bag dispensers, trash receptacles, and streetscape improvements.

Contractor work on the final touches will be ongoing for the next month or so. The fence around the lawn and landform area may remain up until August 1, as we allow the lawn to establish.

PP&R looks forward to celebrating the opening of the first park in the South Waterfront neighborhood with you this summer. It’s been a long time in the works, but this breathtaking new park will provide a place of respite and recreation, a place for public gatherings and private moments, for generations to come.

A community celebration is scheduled for Thursday, August 19. In the meantime, come down this weekend and check out Portland’s newest park!

For more info, click here.

Today the DJC reported that a new child care center will be opening in the South Waterfront this fall.  Click here to read more.

Join ODOT to Learn More About the I-5 Viaduct Replacement Project at SW Iowa St.

The I-5 viaduct that crosses the ravine at SW Iowa Street must be replaced. The viaduct columns are in need of major repairs and do not meet seismic standards. The bridge deck is in poor condition, with cracks appearing faster than they can be patched. The replacement viaduct will be wider to accommodate upgraded shoulders and median and will include new retaining walls in the project area.

A contractor for the Oregon Department of Transportation is preparing to start construction on this project to replace the I-5 viaduct at SW Iowa St. (milepost 298 on I-5, just north of the Terwilliger Boulevard ramps and just south of the Corbett Avenue off-ramp). Construction on the three-year project is expected to begin as early as this summer.

Come Learn More.
A construction project on I-5 presents unique challenges, especially in areas where easy detours are not available. ODOT has already talked with a number of neighbors about construction impacts. They would like to talk to you, too!

ODOT will host an informal Open House about the project in the Portland French School Lobby on June 10. The Open House will include the most recent information about potential noise, traffic, landscaping and trail impacts. The construction manager will be on hand to talk about the contractor’s schedule.

Thursday, June 10, 5 p.m. – 7 p.m.
Portland French School Lobby
6318 SW Corbett St.

If you can’t join us at the Open House, you can check the web site for the most current information: www.oregon.gov/ODOT/HWY/REGION1/iowaviaduct/ <http://www.oregon.gov/ODOT/HWY/REGION1/iowaviaduct/>
Or call or email Mike Mason:  503.731.8246 or michael.w.mason@odot.state.or.us

We at Community Relations recently received the following letter from Portland Parks & Recreation on the status of the South Waterfront Greenway:

April 22, 2010

What is the Greenway?

The South Waterfront Greenway runs along the west side of the Willamette River, from Lane to Gibbs Streets.   The original Greenway Plan was developed in 2004 by Walker Macy and an Advisory Committee which included OHSU, area developers, city staff and residents.  The Greenway Plan created a long term vision for the Greenway.  Its primary goal was to balance environmental, recreational, fish and wildlife habitat and future resident’s needs. The vision for a developed greenway included enhanced wildlife habitat, vegetation, bike and pedestrian paths, overlooks and lawn areas.

The plan is great but its implementation has been challenging.  Key issues that have delayed development of the project include:

• permitting – habitat and related environmental requirements
• property transfer
• remediation of environmental contamination

While significant progress has been made on these issues, they are not yet fully resolved.

When will the Greenway get built?

In September 2009, we shared with the community that the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) indicated the need for the design to better accommodate fish habitat in the area of the central district.  After much discussion, we asked our consultants, Walker Macy, to develop a design approach that would balance habitat, access, and recreation considerations and meet NMFS requirements.

Following the development of design options to discuss with NMFS, including consideration of a sheet pile approach shared with the public last year, we are still working with Walker Macy to finalize the feasibility and cost of a preferred revised approach.

Once Walker Macy has completed sufficient design and estimating work, we will meet with NMFS with the updated design to proceed with permitting.  In addition to the NMFS permitting process, there is a permit process through the Bureau of Development Services.

This work is taking a long time.  Back in September we indicated that the earliest “in-water” work window was likely 2012.  That remains true, although it is possible that delays may result in construction being pushed back to 2013.

For more information contact, Liz Moorhead, Project Manager at 503-823-5883 or liz.moorhead@portlandoregon.gov