Eliot Neighborhood Association

Land Use Committee

Minutes for September 2017

We had two presenters come and talk to us. Dan Bower from Portland Streetcar Inc (PSI) came to talk about expansion plans.  It is not expected that a line through Eliot would be the next line.  This seems to be due to a few factors.  One is that funding for the line would need to come from the city, not from local businesses.  Other lines are capable of getting their own funding.  It is quite arguable that the money that was “stolen” for the Oregon Convention Center could be repaid through building a MLK streetcar.  If it was built, it would go up MLK and then turn west towards PCC, or possibly Interstate Ave to connect with MAX. (Est. Cost $80M – $40M per mile roughly).  For what it is worth, this line is projected to have good ridership.

Transit Prioritization – Portland Bureau Of Transportation (PBOT) to talk about speeding up some bus lines, including #6 MLK.  The #6 between Holliday (the MAX) and Lombard is being seen as one of the “pilot” or early lines to look at transit prioritization.  What that will mean is up in the air.  We should know more in the next 3-6 months

We also discussed the I-5 widening project which appears to be heading forward at full speed despite not providing any congestion relief and having a huge price tag.  It is expected that this would have substantial construction impacts for Eliot.

Meeting ended around 8:40pm