Getting History Wrong

Example 3

In early 1971, plans for the I-505 freeway were finalized and the NWDA found itself fighting two major battles: one against Good Samaritan and one against the interstate.⁴⁷ Uniting the hospital expansion battle and the freeway protest was the fact that both represented efforts by state and local authorities to transform Northwest Portland without input from residents. The announcement of the Interstate 505 project at the beginning of the year and the hospital's failure to address citizen concerns put a damper on the hopeful feelings the neighbors felt about Goldschmidt's presence on Council. To preserve the character of their neighborhood, the NWDA approached City Council in February with recommendations for developing a multiple-use highway corridor that would feature green spaces, a depressed route, and pedestrian walkways. After several months of inaction by local government it became apparent that these proposals were being largely ignored.

On September 17, 1971 The Northwest District Association, the Willamette Heights Neighborhood Association, and the Oregon Environmental Council filed suit against the Oregon Transportation Commission in Federal District Court. The NWDA and the Willamette Heights Neighborhood Association had recently withdrawn support for the proposed Interstate 505, and now called for a complete halt to all work on both I-505 and the nearly completed Interstate 405.⁴⁸ On December 3, the Court ruled that the Highway Department could complete I-405, as it had "met all procedural requirements."⁴⁹ Work on Interstate 505, however, would have to stop until the Highway Division conducted the necessary environmental impact statement in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act,⁵⁰ "We got everything we could possibly ask for," NWDA president George Sheldon told The Oregonian. "[Judge] Goodwin has a specified timetable to the highway people, and essentially is telling them they must consider the desires of a neighborhood group." The court ruling marked a change in the I-505 freeway controversy. Prior to the decision, the NWDA had been successful only in bringing the plight of district residents to the attention of the City Council. After the ruling, the NWDA and the City Council were able to force the Transportation Commission to investigate alternative options.