By Garlynn Woodsong | CNA LUTC Committee Chair
It’s an exciting time to be involved with the Concordia Neighborhood Association (CNA) Land Use and Transportation Committee (LUTC). That is fortuitous, because it also just so happens the committee has four current vacancies.
In May, the CNA Board approved sending another comment letter to the city of Portland concerning the Residential Infill Project (RIP). Once again, the board acted upon a recommendation from the LUTC to ask the city to make fourplexes legal within the zones covered by the project, among ot he r re commended changes to staff’s proposed plan.
The board has gone on record with letters recommended by the LUTC such as this multiple times during the past four years. The board’s position on this issue comes from a deep-seated desire for more equitable outcomes from the local housing market.
Recently, the LUTC has worked with the board to apply for a pilot program for residential parking permits to help manage parking demand adjacent to the Alberta Street commercial district.
For many years, the LUTC and board have worked to try to improve bicycling in the neighborhood –and indeed around the city and region – recognizing that bicyclists often leave neighborhood boundaries
Efforts include:
- Working with the city on the 20s Bikeway Project
- Advocating for better bicycle access from downtown through Sullivan’s Gulch to the Columbia River Gorge
- Advocating for more physical diversion to prevent automobile cut-through traffic from damaging the city’s investment in bicycle greenways to provide safe bicycle infrastructure for Portlanders of all ages.
The LUTC is now recruiting new members to bring new energy and to help share the load of working on these exciting topics and more.
If you, or somebody you know who lives, works, or owns property in Concordia – and who is interested in these or similar issues related to land use and transportation – please come to a meeting.
We meet the third Wednesday of each month from 7 to 9 p.m. in the Community Room in the southeast corner of McMenamins Kennedy School. Our next meeting is Wednesday, June 20.
Garlynn Woodsong lives on 29th Avenue, serves on the CNA Board and is an avid bicyclist. He also is a dad who is passionate about the city his son will inherit. He is the planning + development partner with Cascadia Partners LLC, a local urban planning firm. Contact him at LandUse@ConcordiaPDX.org.