Residents Support ‘Livable’ Plan For Freeway Corridor Through Northwest Portland
Plans for multiple use and joint development of the I-405, I-505 freeway corridor through Northwest Portland were approved in principle Wednesday by the Portland City Council.
Approval came after a lengthy, but orderly, public meeting, during which the preponderance of testimony was in favor of the freeway design prepared by the City Planning Commission.
The plan will be forwarded to the Oregon State Highway Department, which requested the city prepare the plan some months ago in compliance with recent federal environmental restrictions on freeway construction.
Dale D. Cannady, assistant city planning director, outlined the study and stressed that it was up to the state to make the final decision on corridor development and design.
Road To Be Depressed
Basically, the plan considers a corridor between NW Thurman and Vaughn streets; moving west from the Fremont Bridge to NW St. Helens Road. A portion of the study involves I-405, the Stadium Freeway, as it affects Northwest Portland.
Moving from an elevated off-ramp at the Fremont Bridge, the I-505 freeway, if plans are followed, would be depressed below ground level, most of its route through the Northwest area.
Recommendations included in the plan emphasize esthetics and livability to those residing in nearby neighborhoods. There is consideration of providing greenways, pedestrian access, bicycle paths; as well as landscaping and multiple family housing to act as a buffer between the freeway and residences to the south. Industrial development would remain concentrated north of the corridor.
The plan has received favorable response from the bulk of residential residents in Northwest Portland, who see the corridor as an effective buffer between residential and industrial areas.
Esthetics Emphasized
Members of the Northwest District Association told the council Wednesday they wanted to make sure this buffer philosophy was closely followed.
The association also stressed esthetics, adequate replacement housing for those displaced and relocation of displaced residents within the Northwest area if they desire and where they choose.
Edgar Waehrer, chairman of the group’s planning committee, said, "We’re trying to retain a density of residents. We want to emphasize the social costs of such a project."
Others in the organization supported Waerher and asked that north-south streets be maintained free of heavy traffic to preserve the district’s character and any small businesses.
390 To Be Displaced
The Rev. Peter Paul H. Paulson, director of the Northwest Portland Pilot Project, expressed concern for displacing many elderly persons in the area, saying "We have a responsibility to let these people know where they’re going. Old people shouldn't be uprooted. They're part of the community feeling and that feeling should be preserved."
It is estimated that some 390 residents would be displaced by the I-505 corridor; many of them poor, many of them elderly.
Objections to the plan came from Morton Paglin, president of the Willamette Heights Neighborhood Association and a professor of economics at Portland State University.
Sugar Coated
Paglin suggested alternate routes be explored, stressing that heavy traffic on I-505 would create unlivable sounds as well as air pollution.
He mentioned the potential effects upon the health of residents due to noise and smells, stating that providing multi-unit dwellings along the corridor was only "sugar coating."
Paglin said the Planning Commission report, with "many pretty pictures and lip service," was incomplete and not fully studied.
City Commissioner Francis J. Ivancie, who moved approval of the plan, recommended that public testimony accompany the study to the State Highway Department.
Mayor Terry Shrunk further recommended Northwest residents work with the city and state to implement the plan.