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Potter Shoots Down Sauvie Bridge in NW

29 Comments

Posted By Mike Thelin on 04/07/2008

A vital artery

While I was in New York last week admiring all the pretty new star-chitecture (like this, and this, and this) in West Chelsea and the Lower East Side, Mayor Potter effectively shot down what was one of the better proposals for an urban project of our in Portland: the relocation of the old, green Sauvie Island bridge span to NW Portland where it would have been used as a pedestrian and bicycle overpass that would have connected NW Portland and the Pearl District over I-405.

Unlike many overreaching civic projects, this one is actually championed by a coalition of local businesses, had nearly secured funding, and enjoyed tremendous public support. Recently developer Gerding Edlen even announced that it had designed the entrance and courtyard to a future office building in the Pearl District to greet would-be pedestrians and cyclists who’d finally have a their own crossing at Flanders Street.

Potter appears to have killed the project for one reason: because he could. Potter, who I believe will be seen in the long-run as the Pope Benedict of Mayors (that in-between guy) called an emergency vote, which needed to be unanimous. Even though the council had supported the project on the previous day by approving the arrangement with the contractor, Saltzman and Potter voted it down.

In true Potter fashion, Potter said his reasoning was based on the needs of the children. “I’d rather invest that money in sidewalks and safe ways to get kids to school and paving our streets and reducing traffic throughout our entire city”

Two words: poopy pants.

Thankfully, this issue isn’t over. For some background on the issue, here’s what I wrote about the Sauvie Bridge relocation several weeks ago.

The most common argument against architectural greatness in Portland is that it costs too much. But if it involves recycling, the sky’s the limit. To wit: millions for a City Hall rehab, millions to turn the Oregon Armory into Gerding Theater; more millions to turn Meier & Frank into The Nines Hotel. Next up: Barging the old Sauvie Island Bridge up the Willamette River, carrying it on 36 dollies up NW 15th, and closing I-405 down for 24 hours while a crane lifts it into place as a new NW Flanders bike/pedestrian bridge linking the Pearl to Northwest.

Sound ludicrous?

Amazingly it perfectly fits: the freeway’s canyon, the Portland passion for cycling, and an Oregon yen for reuse dating to the Bottle Bill.

After this project seemed deader than Rick James (Which is why it was excluded from mine and Randy Gragg’s overview on upcoming Portland bridges in the newest issue of Portland Spaces), Todd Murphy reports in today’s Portland Tribune that the project is alive and kicking after a joint City of Portland and PDC committee has decided to allocate $2 million in funds toward the estimated $5.5 million project. Backers, who include a cadre of planners, a couple neighborhood associations, private businesses and City Commissioner and mayoral hopeful Sam Adams, expect local, state and federal transportation dollars and private fundraising will cover the rest of the tab.

While some call this project silly, I personally think it’s great idea that will pay off economically. Burnside’s river of traffic, I-405’s canyon of concrete and the pedestrian hostile one-way arterials Glisan and Everett have cut off this section of NW Portland, which links the Pearl District to the Nob Hill Neighborhood. A new pedestrian and bicycle connection could be just what’s needed to attract more businesses and residential projects into the neighborhood.

29 Comments

By ericcantonaisgod on Tuesday, March 11, 2008 at 10:27AM PDT

could be a fantastic addition to our urban fabric, but it does raise a couple of questions in my mind.

what would a reasonably attractive NEW bridge cost? not talking a Calatrava masterpiece, just something with some character. if the costs are similar then definitely use the old bridge. if there’ a significant cost difference then maybe the bridge could be put to better use elsewhere.

would it be cheaper to use a big-ass helicopter to drop this sucker into place? i seem to recall the Fremont bridge utilizing something like that for parts of the span. what’s the economic impact of shutting down 405? i’m guessing there’s an economist that could put a price on that.

By john on Tuesday, March 11, 2008 at 12:59PM PDT

I love your idea of a ‘bigass’ helicopter..although not sure if they can lift loads like this.

A new bridge could cost as much or more for a much more modest bridge. $5 million might buy a 12’ wide pedestrian bridge and even that would be a challenge. I think this bridge is a bargin if the cost is as reported.

By Jane on Tuesday, March 11, 2008 at 02:12PM PDT

http://www.djcoregon.com/articleDetail.htm?recid=32363

There’s another article on the bridge here, that mentions that Max J. Kuney Co. is the current owner of the bridge and would be doing the work, should the money be found for the project.

By pFranzen on Tuesday, March 11, 2008 at 02:34PM PDT

If only the Lair Hill pedestrian bridge were moving ahead as well as this one seems to be. A Corbett/SoWa connection would do much more for those neighborhoods than this will do for NW/Pearl.

By Jesse Beason on Tuesday, March 11, 2008 at 05:10PM PDT

A couple points:

There was always a bridge slated for Flanders. The question is width & cost.

Building a new freeway overpass is estimated at $3.5-4.0 million. Moving and renovating the Sauvie Island bridge is around $5-5.5 million.

HOWEVER, the estimate for a new bridge is based on a 12-foot span. The Sauvie Island bridge is 26 feet wide. That’s 14 feet for $1-1.5 million and a lot more pedestrian & bike activity (including retail carts, I imagine!).

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By Andrew on Tuesday, March 11, 2008 at 09:36PM PDT

We also shouldn’t forget the bike + ped bridge slated, for years now, to cross I-84 at NE 7th. Somehow it seems stuck just under the radar, a condition the new issue of Spaces reinforces. It would provide the only safe crossing between inner NE/Lloyd and inner SE/CEID for “vulnerable users” like my roommate and his 8-year-old daughter—he would ride her to school in the morning if they could safely cross 84.

I should add that I think both the Flanders and Lair Hill bridges should happen without delay as well. IMO we need to continue, even more aggressively, to re-thread the non-auto, people-connecting fabric of the city and not rest smugly on our laurels because of all the good work that has been done already.

By ben on Wednesday, March 12, 2008 at 08:28AM PDT

7th and i-84 is a great idea – i hadn’t heard that. getting across 84 by bike from the rose quarter is not safe. that’s a long span though…i’m sure much more complicated and expensive.

By Mitch on Wednesday, March 12, 2008 at 08:59AM PDT

Isn’t the Lair hill pedestrian bridge in the works?

By Mike Thelin on Wednesday, March 12, 2008 at 10:30AM PDT

Thanks for commenting everyone. Yes…Lair is in the works, but unfortunately the original steel box girder design was squelched the spiraling steel and tram costs. The design looks to be a more staid concrete box girder, but at least the neighborhoods would be linked. As for East 7th Avenue, I’ve never really seen the utility in such a project that would essentially link nothing to nothing. 11th and 12th are already great bike arterials and the Eastside Esplanade is a bike freeway.

The Sauvie Bridge would have an immediate effect. There are many underdeveloped parcels in that part of NW Portland, which is sandwiched between two of the most dense multi-use urban areas in the city.

By Mitch on Wednesday, March 12, 2008 at 04:47PM PDT

Biking down Everett, Glisan or Burnside is a terrifying experience for which this would be a remedy.

By Mitch on Wednesday, March 12, 2008 at 04:47PM PDT

Biking down Everett, Glisan or Burnside is a terrifying experience for which this would be a remedy.

By Mike Thelin on Thursday, March 13, 2008 at 09:00AM PDT

I agree Mitch. I live in the Civic and often ride my bike during the summer. Riding or walking on Burnside Everett or Glisan is decidedly unpleasant.

By Ghost on Monday, April 07, 2008 at 01:35PM PDT

Biking down Everett got me killed.

I am in heaven now.

By Leftry on Tuesday, April 08, 2008 at 05:10PM PDT

Mike – Here’s what I read about the vote: 1) It was Adams who called for the emergency ordinance, not Potter. The emergency ordinance can pass in one hearing, but needs to be unanimous and needs to have at least 4 votes. 2) Sam thought he had Saltzman’s vote, thought Potter wouldn’t show up, and had to do this before Erik’s retirement in order to get his 4 votes. 3) Dan voted against it becuase he didn’t agree with sole-sourcing a contract that big. His “no” vote would have been sufficient to prevent passage. Potter did show up and did vote against it also.

No reason to be hard on the Mayor for this one.

By Lefty on Tuesday, April 08, 2008 at 05:33PM PDT

Mike – You may not like the decision about the bridge, but it might be better to talk about the merits rather than engage in name-calling and criticizing the Mayor.

Sam called for the emergency ordinance, not Potter. An emergency ordinance can pass in one hearing, but there has to be a unanimous vote and there have to be at least 4 votes. Sam thought Tom woulnd’t show up, he thought Dan would vote “yes”, and he needed Erik there for the 4th vote.

Dan voted no because he objected to a sole-source contract for $5.5 million. His no vote was enough to prevent passage. Tom did show up and did vote no, but he didn’t stop it himself.

By Lefty on Tuesday, April 08, 2008 at 05:34PM PDT

Sorry about the repeat posting.

By Leftier on Tuesday, April 08, 2008 at 05:48PM PDT

C’mon Lefty. You sound like you know this issue, so you probably also know that if this bridge doesn’t get moved, it’s going to get scrapped. There was not time for bidding process, so Saltzman’s reasoning was absolutely bogus. Don’t play dumb.

Would Potter support anything that Sam was for? You know damn well this was about Potter trying to shoot down Sam. Sam has charisma, charm, and leadership skills. Potter is jealous. He should have at least pulled a Clinton, let it pass and taken credit for it. But instead, we have four years of Potter and not a goddamned thing to show for it. I hate George Bush, but at least he had an agenda.

By Mike Thelin on Tuesday, April 08, 2008 at 06:14PM PDT

Welcome to the forum Lefty.

You’re right to point out that it was Sam who called the session, but it was Potter who showed up specifically to vote it down. What bothers me most about this is Potter’s response. Once again, he uses a fuzzy platitude to explain his position. Now I haven’t attended many City Council hearings, but I’ve been to enough to know that Potter often justifies his ‘yes’ and ‘no’ votes to appeal to either the perceived needs of the children, the celebration of diversity or some other vague cause. In Portland, this strategy actually wins elections. I don’t believe that Potter’s vote had anything to do with the merits of this project. That is my opinion, and I could very well be wrong.

I wouldn’t go as far as Leftier in comparing Potter to Bush either. That’s sorta ridiculous.

By MarkDaMan on Tuesday, April 08, 2008 at 08:27PM PDT

I sent Potter an e-mail about my disagreement with his vote and got this back:

“Dear Mark:

Thank you for emailing about the Sauvie Island Bridge.

I understand the passion our community feels for bikes, and I remain supportive of making improvements to the City’s bike infrastructure. However, we must balance our entire community’s needs with our available resources, especially as we head into economically uncertain times, and I believe this issue is one of City priorities. Children and families in East Portland, for instance, continue to walk in the streets because the sidewalks promised by officials in the past have not been built. These funds could finally begin that construction. I believe that we must prioritize those transportation projects that will provide basic services to the greatest number of Portland’s citizens.

I am also concerned about the accuracy of estimated expenses around this project. As Commissioner Adams noted in his opening remarks in Council, the cost estimates for a new 15-foot span are closer to educated guesses. I am similarly concerned about the estimates for moving the Sauvie Island bridge, as well as why the City would issued a substantial contract to a single firm without the opportunity to bid it to other contractors. I do not want to leave the City in a position to pay far more than expected.

I appreciate your interest in this project, and I hope that Portland’s Transportation Office (PDOT) will return with a proposal that addresses Council’s concerns. Thank you, again, for emailing.

Sincerely,

Tom Potter Mayor”

So, he is off his potholes should be filled kick, and now sidewalks for east Portland. Well, I live in east Portland in an area (Parkrose) that doesn’t have sidewalks, but I fully support this project.

What I find lacking in Potter’s sincerity is the ever shifting reasons on why not to support this project. Kinda taking Saltzman’s argument, throw in the kids, mention potholes in media interviews and there you have it, the trifecta.

By Mike Thelin on Tuesday, April 08, 2008 at 09:17PM PDT

Hi Mark. Thanks for posting. I read your comments on many blogs in PDX, and I always find them insightful.

Opponents of this bridge have stated that I-405 already has two pedestrian and bicycle crossings at Glisan and Everett and presumably doesn’t need another. I walk everywhere in PDX, and I absolutely abhor crossing at either of these spots. The traffic moves way too fast, at both crossings, the cars hardly notice as they enter the freeway onramps. Plus, and I say this fully biased because I live in the neighborhood, that chunk of NW Portland is completely severed from downtown.

In the end, we’ll likely get a pedestrian bridge, but it won’t be so special. Really, 5.5 million isn’t that much money to spend on something that would instantly become an icon and that would instantly connect the Pearl District to NW Portland.

And to address Leftier’s comments: When you say the bridge will get “scrapped,” do you mean cancelled or actually sold for scrap? That would be a shame.

By Leftier on Wednesday, April 09, 2008 at 08:01AM PDT

Sold for scrap.

By Monforts on Wednesday, April 09, 2008 at 09:20AM PDT

I hear through the grapevine that the bridge will be put into storage in the Northwest Industrial area for the time being. At least until a new plan can be put into place. Is this correct? A coalition of local businesses and residents putting together additional funding along with PDC seems like a reasonable alternative.

By Monforts on Wednesday, April 09, 2008 at 09:22AM PDT

Also, isn’t the bridge now owned by the contractor in charge of the Sauvie Island project? Is that why there is a single contractor involved in the relocation?

By Skinn City Girl on Wednesday, April 09, 2008 at 03:28PM PDT

I’ll bet my brand new Hummer SUV that a 12-foot concrete pedestrian bridge will cost a lot more than $3.5 million. The design process alone will cost at least half of that.

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