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This month’s BAC board meeting is on Wednesday, November 11th. It will be held as a conference call, and you can join via your computer, tablet, or phone. Call-in details can be found at the event link below.
The Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) announced today that the Gideon Overcrossing is now open.
The Gideon Overcrossing is a bike and pedestrian bridge that provides a new north–south connection above the rail tracks near the Clinton St / SE 12th Ave MAX Station. It spans from SE 13th Place at Gideon Street on the south side to SE 14th Avenue on the north.
This new bridge provides an alternative to the at-grade crossing at SE Milwaukie/11th/12th Avenues, especially when trains are blocking the intersection. For more details, check out the PBOT press release.
The River Plan / South Reach project is the City of Portland’s 20-year plan for the portion of the river that flows through Brooklyn. But even though Brooklyn is bordered by the Willamette River, there is no way to access the river directly from the neighborhood. (For more background on the issue, see our River Access action page.)
We thank everyone for the comments you’ve already shared on this topic, and we encourage you to also share your own comments directly with Council! If you’d like the City to do more to re-establish river access, now is the time to tell them.
City Council will consider the River Plan / South Reach for adoption at the November 4, 2020 council hearing at 2:00 PM. If you’d like to testify via computer or phone, sign up by 3:00 PM on November 3. You can also submit written comments to cctestimony@portlandoregon.gov. The River Plan is agenda item 889.
The Brooklyn Action Corps will be testifying that the proposed plan doesn’t go far enough — it only proposes a “6 to 20 year” timeline for actions related to studying and re-establishing access. We believe that the plan should move those actions up to the “next 5 years” timeframe.
City fall budget update
City Council is currently going through the “fall budget monitoring process” which is an opportunity to adjust where the City is investing resources.
In particular, Commissioners Hardesty and Eudaly have a proposal which is up for consideration. OPB has a summary of the proposal.
If you have comments on their proposal or other budget topics, you can submit them to council via email:
- Council testimony: cctestimony@portlandoregon.gov
- Chloe Eudaly: chloe@portlandoregon.gov
- Jo Ann Hardesty: joann@portlandoregon.gov
- Amanda Fritz: amanda@portlandoregon.gov
- Dan Ryan: CommissionerRyanOffice@portlandoregon.gov
- Ted Wheeler: mayorwheeler@portlandoregon.gov
TriMet service plan proposal for 2021–2022
TriMet is sharing their proposals for service changes in 2021 and beyond. There are two open houses: one tonight in English (Oct 28, 5pm), and another tomorrow in Spanish (Oct 29, 5pm).
You can find more about those plans and the open houses at trimet.org/plan.
Of note for Brooklyn, there are some proposed changes to the #19 bus route. The route would remain as-is through Brooklyn, but they are proposing to reduce frequency on the “Rex loop” through Eastmoreland and eliminate the “Union Manor” loop in Sellwood. They are proposing these changes to reduce travel time by keeping more busses on its core route down Bybee and Woodstock Blvds.
City Charter updates
Every 10 years, a Charter Commission is appointed to review the City of Portland’s charter. If you’re interested in changing the city’s current system of government, such as the assignment of bureaus to commissioners, this is an opportunity to provide feedback.
You can send comments to Council, using the same email addresses as above.
For more information, the City Club of Portland released two reports on the current state and has recommendations on possible changes.
Categories
Vote!
Ballots are being mailed out now, and you and your neighbors may already have received them. If you have not received your ballot by October 22, call Multnomah County Elections at 503-988-VOTE (8683) for a replacement ballot.
How to vote
You can return your ballot using an official ballot dropbox anytime up through 8pm on Election Day, Nov. The nearest dropboxes to Brooklyn are:
- Multnomah County Elections Division has 3 dropboxes:
- SE 11th Ave (new location) – Official Ballot Drop Box located on the east side of SE 11th Ave, between SE Alder St. and SE Morrison St
- SE Belmont St – Official Ballot Drop Box located on the north side of SE Belmont St, between SE 10th Ave and SE 11th Ave
- 1040 SE Morrison St – Walk/bike up Official Ballot Drop Site is a slot in the building, also located at the corner of SE 11th Ave and SE Morrison St
- Sellwood Library (7860 SE 13th Ave)
- Belmont Library (1038 SE Cesar Chavez Blvd)
See multco.us/dropsites for a full list of locations.
You can also mail your ballot. The county recommends mailing no later than Oct 27th, but earlier is better to be sure it is received on time. Remember, your ballot must be received by Election Day.
You can track your ballot through the process by signing up with the County’s Track Your Ballot program. You can receive updates via email, text, or phone.
Endorsements
The Brooklyn Action Corps is endorsing Measure 26-217. The measure overhauls and replaces the existing Independent Police Review Commission with a new body with expanded powers, including subpoena power and the ability to recommend more far reaching reforms to City Council for a vote. For more background information on this measure, please see:
Today — October 15, 2020 — is your last chance to fill out your 2020 census. Census data helps determine federal funding for important programs, how many congressional representatives we get, and more. It only takes a few minutes to complete!
You can fill out the census online today at My2020Census.gov. You can also complete the census by phone at (844) 330-2020 in English or (844) 468-2020 in Spanish. (See Responding by Phone for other language options.)
This month’s BAC board meeting is on Wednesday, October 14th. It will be held as a conference call, and you can join via your computer, tablet, or phone. Call-in details can be found at the event link below.
Thank you to everyone who joined us for the BAC’s September general meeting. If you missed it, here’s a recap and links for the topics that were discussed.
Land use & transportation
The BAC’s Land Use & Transportation Committee provided updates on several initiatives:
- The City’s River Plan/South Reach project outlines the City’s 20-year plan for the Willamette River in our neighborhood. The project has now been referred from the Planning and Sustainability Commission to City Council. The Council hearing date isn’t set yet, but we expect it sometime this fall. When that happens, we encourage everyone to submit testimony on this project if you’d like to see more commitment from the City to re-establish river access for our neighborhood. Read more at the City’s River Plan / South Reach project page, and our Re-establishing neighborhood river access action plan.
- A few neighborhood developments are progressing, despite the slowdown this year due to COVID. The Brooklyn Point development (formerly “Dean River”) at 17th & Pershing is nearly completion and expects to open to tenants this fall. Additionally, a development on the former U.S. Bank site (3230 SE Milwaukie Ave) has been announced and is in the early stages of design. The developers hosted a meeting on September 10th meeting to outline the project.
- We’re also following a number of City and regional projects in progress: the Historic Resources Code Project; jurisdictional transfers for state highways (such as Powell Blvd); and the ADA transition plan.
Equity & social justice
The BAC’s Equity & Social Justice Committee also provided several updates:
- The main topic was City of Portland Measure 26-217, which would establish a new police oversight board. Darren from Real Police Accountability presented information and answered questions about the initiative. The City Auditor’s office (who oversees the current oversight board, the Independent Police Review) wasn’t able to attend, but shared links to resources from their office related to the measure: Resources to evaluate police oversight changes, Auditor Hull Caballero’s testimony.
- The ESJ Committee helped organize a yard sale on August 30th. Proceeds benefited local BIPOC organizations.
- Committee meetings are held every other week. Check the calendar for details, or follow the BAC on Instagram.
Other updates
Other topics discussed included
- Lighting in the neighborhood and in our parks — or rather, the lack thereof. If there are locations in the neighborhood where lights are lacking that you’d like to see prioritized, let us know.
- The possibility of a community bulletin board for flyers and notices. This has come up off & on over the years, and from the response, there’s still interest in it.
This month’s BAC general meeting will be held as a conference call. You can join via your computer, tablet, or phone. Call-in details can be found at the event link below.