The North Portland Neighborhood Network

Metro Council District 6 candidate Bob Stacey's answers below are in response to questions sent to candidates running for office in the City of Portland or Metro 2012 elections.  To see the original request click here. All responses from Bob Stacey are shown in there entirety:



1.Please explain your familiarity with the Willamette River Greenway Trail between the Eastbank Esplanade and the Columbia River?


On at least three occasions over the last two years I’ve met with members of the npGreenway board, including a walking tour of portions of the existing and proposed trail alignment at Swan Island, and a bike tour of the general alignment between Swan Island and Cathedral Park in the summer of 2010.  These conversations and first-hand experiences have given me a strong appreciation of the recreational, commuting, and natural area access benefits the trail will provide, and I want to do what I can to get it built.


2. What experience do you possess in working with a railroad company to procure use of or purchase of some property to place a multi-purpose trail on?


I have followed efforts in this region to reach agreements with railroads to acquire portions of rail rights of way.  What experience I have in this area indicates that railroads are not inclined to share the use of active rights of way, ordinarily will not part with portions of those rights of way, and often are reluctant to engage in  a discussion of the subject.   In some cases a railroad has sold or traded a rail corridor after determining it no longer has value to the railroad (e.g., Southern Pacific’s transfer of the Jefferson Street line between Portland and Lake Oswego to public ownership, in which I had a small role).  It’s also possible to persuade railroads to accept joint use of a ROW where the public provides substantial improvements that benefit the railroad (e.g., TriMet’s WES service along a privately owned rail line).  Any agreement for trail construction on right-of-way will have to be based on negotiations (the State of Oregon and its local governments have no power to condemn railroad property) and will have to benefit the railroad as well as the public. 

3.‘Taking’ is a concern for both the government entity and the private property owner when requiring the owner to construct a portion of a trail when development is proposed. Would you be willing to work to develop standards that would enable the trail to be constructed in exchange for requiring fewer parking spaces?


Yes, absolutely.  I’m skeptical of the value of regulations that establish minimum parking requirements for businesses in general, and would be happy to relax them in cases where public and private benefits result.

4. What funding proposals would you propose to construct the trail?


 Metro has two funding pools that can help: federal flexible transportation funds and proceeds from Metro’s parks and natural areas bond measure. Both sources are already in very high demand that exceeds their capacity.  Our region should be looking toward a future third parks, trails and natural areas bond measure that would include the npGreenway and other regional trails; there is a lot of work that must precede such a measure, including figuring out how to fund needed development and maintenance of already-acquired parks and open space.  The region should also be exploring how we might raise our own resources for funding active transportation facilities beyond the limited number of federal flexible funds we receive.  A group of private-sector community leaders calling itself the Community Investment Initiative is studying the region’s infrastructure needs and possible ways of funding some or all of those needs, with research and other support from Metro.  Their deliberations have been private, and may or may not include trails and parks funding.  They are expected to issue recommendations in mid-2012, which may serve as a starting point for widespread discussion of new infrastructure funding strategies.


5.If a bond measure were to be submitted to the public for trails would you support the Willamette River Greenway Trail being one of the trails to be constructed? If so, would you support construction of the entire trail at one time or a portion or portions of the trail?


Yes.  As I said in the answer above, I think we should include projects to expand the regional trail network, including npGreenway, in a future parks and trails bond measure.  The best package for voter consideration would probably be complete trails serving many parts of our metropolitan area.

6.How can npGreenway assist you in getting the trail constructed?


There will need to be broad-based public discussion of our region’s open space and active transportation needs, and widespread agreement on those needs, before a funding measure to meet those needs can proceed.  NpGreenway should be active in community discussions, engaged in the Intertwine alliance, and should review and respond to the Community Investment Initiative’s proposals and recommendations when they are released later this year.  If I’m elected, I’ll look forward to working with you to get this and other needed trails developed.



Contact information for Bob Stacey:
bob@bobstacey.com  
http://www.bobstacey.com 
3140 SE Hawthorne Blvd, Suite 200
Portland, OR 97214  
(503) 232-3255


----------------------- from the esplanade to the columbia [http://www.npgreenway.org] [voice mail: 503.823.4524 x6] npGREENWAY envisions a trail system providing access to and along the Willamette River enveloping the north riverfront from the Steel Bridge in downtown Portland through Cathedral Park near the St. John’s Bridge.

Mayoral candidate Charlie Hales' answers below are in response to questions sent to candidates running for office in the City of Portland or Metro 2012 elections.  To see the original request click here. All responses from Charlie Hales are shown in there entirety:

1. Please explain your familiarity with the Willamette River Greenway Trail
between the Eastbank Esplanade and the Columbia River?
I was personally involved as Commissioner-in-Charge of Transportation and
Parks in the development of the Eastbank Esplanade, and I'm very proud of
that.  I have been briefed on the current state of your effort and I find it
VERY exciting - I can't wait to help with the next chapter!

2. What experience do you possess in working with a railroad company
to procure use of or purchase of some property to place a multi-purpose
trail on?
While I served as Commissioner-in-Charge of Transportation, we worked at
length to secure the right to extend a waterfront trail connection across
the lower level of the Steel Bridge - it required a long and difficult
negotiation with the railroad, up to and including multiple trips to Omaha
by then PDOT Director Vic Rhodes.

While I served as Commissioner-in-Charge of Parks, Zari Santner and I helped
lead the development of the Springwater Corridor trail...this also required
extensive negotiation with Bob Samuels, the owner of the short line railroad
that operates alongside it.

I'm the only candidate running for Mayor with any local government
experience and this is precisely the kind of challenge that makes in-depth
local government, land use and transportation experience essential for
GETTING THINGS DONE while in office!

3. 'Taking' is a concern for both the government entity and the private
property owner when requiring the owner to construct a portion of a trail
when development is proposed. Would you be willing to work to develop
standards that would enable the trail to be constructed in exchange for
requiring fewer parking spaces?
 ...or anything else we can use in the negotiation, that maintains the
purpose and effect of our policies while "getting to yes" on expanding the
trail network.

4. What funding proposals would you propose to construct the trail?
I plan to propose some specific local funding tools for transportation in
the course of this campaign, since state and federal sources are constrained
and likely to continue in that condition, or worse.

5. If a bond measure were to be submitted to the public for trails
would you support the Willamette River Greenway Trail being one of the
trails to be constructed? If so, would you support construction of the
entire trail at one time or a portion or portions of the trail?
Yes!  And as I mentioned in my Bike Portland interview (in which I mentioned
your specific project as an example), we need some compelling Big Idea
projects to inspire support for such a measure.  I employed this samejavascript:void(0)
strategy in composing the first successful Parks Bond Measure in fifty
years:  we included several spectacular new community centers in the mix of
projects...114 projects, mostly relatively modest improvements to
neighborhood parks, but three Big Ones to capture the imagination.

6. How can npGreenway assist you in getting the trail constructed?
You can help by informing your members about my passion for this agenda and
my eagerness to be your effective partner as the next Mayor of Portland!  I
can help a little as a private citizen; I can help a LOT MORE if...with your
members' involvement and support...my campaign succeeds and I win this
election!

Contact information for Charlie Hales:
charliehalesformayor@gmail.com
www.charliehales.com
1220 SE Grand Avenue
Portland, OR 97214
campaign office: 503-567-9430----------------------- from the esplanade to the columbia [http://www.npgreenway.org] [voice mail: 503.823.4524 x6] npGREENWAY envisions a trail system providing access to and along the Willamette River enveloping the north riverfront from the Steel Bridge in downtown Portland through Cathedral Park near the St. John’s Bridge.

The 2012 elections are not far off. There are a number of Council positions at the city of Portland, Mayor of Portland and Metro Council that are open and have drawn considerable interest. Of significance for the construction of the Willamette River Greenway Trail is how these candidates view the trail and what kind of support will they provide in seeing that it will get constructed. The npGreenway Core Group has not and does not intend on formulating a position on these candidates. We felt it most important for our followers and supporters to formulate their own positions based on information they can gather.

Accordingly, the npGreenway Core Group (Board) developed six questions that were emailed to each of the candidates below and asked them to respond to them. We offered to meet with them and some, at this writing, have taken us up on the offer. Included is an offer to tour the proposed route. We will post the responses as they are received.

Below are the questions along with the candidate’s responses.

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• Please explain your familiarity with the Willamette River Greenway Trail between the Eastbank Esplanade and the Columbia River?
• What experience do you possess in working with a railroad company to procure use of or purchase of some property to place a multi-purpose trail on?
• ‘Taking’ is a concern for both the government entity and the private property owner when requiring the owner to construct a portion of a trail when development is proposed. Would you be willing to work to develop standards that would enable the trail to be constructed in exchange for requiring fewer parking spaces?
• What funding proposals would you propose to construct the trail?
• If a bond measure were to be submitted to the public for trails would you support the Willamette River Greenway Trail being one of the trails to be constructed? If so, would you support construction of the entire trail at one time or a portion or portions of the trail?
• How can npGreenway assist you in getting the trail constructed?

Charlie Hales response

----------------------- from the esplanade to the columbia [http://www.npgreenway.org] [voice mail: 503.823.4524 x6] npGREENWAY envisions a trail system providing access to and along the Willamette River enveloping the north riverfront from the Steel Bridge in downtown Portland through Cathedral Park near the St. John’s Bridge.

From the Desk of PBOT: 
TRAFFIC ADVISORYNorth Lombard Street – North Marine Drive re-opens after bridge construction  (Portland, Ore.) – The Portland Bureau of Transportation advises the traveling public that the bridge which carries traffic on North Lombard Street over the Columbia Slough near Kelley Point Park has re-opened after an extended closure since mid-April for bridge deck replacement. The Columbia Slough Bridge is now open all hours, all days to all traffic.  The majority of the work to replace the deck, install the curb and upgrade the guardrails is complete. However, single lane closures will be necessary during daytime hours through the end of the year for structural steel sidewalk installation to connect pedestrian and bicycle traffic to existing trails on each side of the bridge.
The public is advised that Kelley Point Park will remain open with no restrictions for access due to the project.
The Columbia Slough Bridge deck was deteriorated and needed to be replaced. Signs of distress due to heavy freight traffic were evident in structural cracks that were visible in the old concrete deck and approach slabs. Failure to replace the deck would have resulted in weight restriction of the bridge, which would have limited traffic movement at the crossing.
The project included replacing the bridge deck to carry increasingly heavy freight loads and upgrading bridge rails to meet current safety standards. Additionally, the new cantilevered sidewalk for bicycle and pedestrian use will connect approximately nine miles of previously isolated off-street trails and increase pedestrian and bicycle safety and mobility in the area.----------------------- from the esplanade to the columbia [http://www.npgreenway.org] [voice mail: 503.823.4524 x6] npGREENWAY envisions a trail system providing access to and along the Willamette River enveloping the north riverfront from the Steel Bridge in downtown Portland through Cathedral Park near the St. John’s Bridge.

For those traveling through by car, bike or on foot please slow down around the construction zone at the top of the Waud Bluff trail on Willamette Blvd.  Its going to be a bit of a tight squeeze for a few months.  See the trail here http://g.co/maps/5fu85 along with an Oregonian article.----------------------- from the esplanade to the columbia [http://www.npgreenway.org] [voice mail: 503.823.4524 x6] npGREENWAY envisions a trail system providing access to and along the Willamette River enveloping the north riverfront from the Steel Bridge in downtown Portland through Cathedral Park near the St. John’s Bridge.

 The Oregonian recently provided an overview of the upcoming work on the Waud Bluff trail.  See it here:
http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2011/10/waud_bluff_trail_starts_to_tak.html

The Portland Tribune wrote about an aquisition in Baltimore Woods:
http://www.portlandtribune.com/news/story.php?story_id=128262419782201200

----------------------- from the esplanade to the columbia [http://www.npgreenway.org] [voice mail: 503.823.4524 x6] npGREENWAY envisions a trail system providing access to and along the Willamette River enveloping the north riverfront from the Steel Bridge in downtown Portland through Cathedral Park near the St. John’s Bridge.

 The Oregonian recently provided an overview of the upcoming work on the Waud Bluff trail.  See it here:

http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2011/10/waud_bluff_trail_starts_to_tak.html----------------------- from the esplanade to the columbia [http://www.npgreenway.org] [voice mail: 503.823.4524 x6] npGREENWAY envisions a trail system providing access to and along the Willamette River enveloping the north riverfront from the Steel Bridge in downtown Portland through Cathedral Park near the St. John’s Bridge.