0302newsletter

GREENWAY NEWSLETTER

March 2002 Issue 33

NEXT NAC MEETING IN APRIL

The next meeting of the Greenway NAC will be on April 18, 2002 at 7:00 PM. We will meet in the library at Conestoga Middle School. Look for the agenda flyer in the mail next month. We will have a presentation from Beaverton Code Services (These are the folks that take care of abandoned cars, illegal signs, vegetation problems and other code violations) and a presentation on the Fanno Creek Trail and the work that is in process to make it extend fifteen miles from Portland to the Tualatin River in Tigard.

HALL BOULEVARD PEDESTRIAN ISLAND

The Beaverton Traffic Commission voted by a four to three majority to put a pedestrian island in the center turn lane on Hall Boulevard at the point where the Greenway Park pedestrian path crosses Hall Boulevard. Since traffic now lines up in this lane westbound for the turn onto Greenway, traffic would be forced to line up on the westbound inner lane of Hall. Most of the commissioners voting for the median were unfamiliar with the Greenway/Hall intersection. Greenway NAC voted to appeal this decision at the January 17, 2002 meeting. This appeal is now scheduled for a public hearing before City Council on April 1, 2002. The City Council meeting starts at 6:30 pm in the Council Chambers at City Hall. You can testify regardless of whether you testified at the original hearing. You can also write a letter or send an email. If you prefer to write a letter or send an email, try to have it reach City Hall by March 22, 2002, although letters or emails sent later will still be accepted. Send letters for or against the median to: City Recorder, City of Beaverton, PO Box 4755, Beaverton, OR 97076 - 4755. The email address is
citymail@ci.beaverton.or.us. Be sure to state you are commenting on TCB Issue NO. 471 (Median Island on SW Hall Boulevard at the Fanno Creek Trail). The City Councilors would like to hear from you. Even a short email will let them know how you feel on the median. There are two criteria involved in this traffic issue and your comments should reference one or both criteria. The two criteria are criteria 1a (provide for safe vehicle, bicycle and pedestrian movements) and criteria 1g (carry anticipated traffic volumes safely). Since the NAC vote on the appeal was not unanimous, I encourage comments both for and against the median. I would like to see the Greenway area have some say on this median. The next two paragraphs are from the appeal letter and summarize the reasons for appealing the Traffic Commission decision.

The median fails to meet Criteria 1a (provide for safe vehicle, bicycle and pedestrian movements). The staff report dated November 15, 2001 states that "Trail users would still be encouraged to use the traffic signal at Greenway to cross the street. However, recognizing that some will continue take the shortest route, the goal is to improve the safety of that route". While agreeing that in most circumstances a raised median will improve pedestrian safety, this median is an exception. The median will make the crossing look safer than before and therefore encourage more people to attempt the crossing at the median instead of using the light at Greenway. Hall Boulevard is a five-lane roadway with a posted speed of 40 mph. The addition of bicycle lanes (funding is approved) will add another ten feet to the width of the highway. With a traffic count of approximately 27,000 vehicles per day, crossing anywhere except at a traffic signal should be discouraged. Additional crossing movements encouraged by the median will decrease safety more than the median will increase safety.

The median also fails to meet Criteria 1g (carry anticipated traffic volumes safely). Some people may consider the present use of the center lane misuse, but traffic does flow smoothly through the intersection of Hall and Greenway,

even with the long lines of westbound traffic wanting to go south on Greenway. While Hall Blvd can probably handle the traffic that has to relocate to the inside through lane at the median, the Albertson's driveway will cause problems. If several cars are stopped to turn left into Albertson's, traffic sometimes goes into the center lane west of the Albertson's driveway. Those cars will now be switching over two lanes to get into the center turn lane. There is also a greater chance of a rear end accident with traffic stopped in the through lane.

The median is favored by the THPRD (Tualatin Hills Park and Recreation District) and the Beaverton Bike Task Force. An email sent to the Traffic Commission members by Hal Ballard of the Bike Task Force stated "That cars line up illegally in that area to turn left on to Greenway is not the fault of anyone but those motorists". I don't mind the Bike Task Force favoring the median but Greenway residents are not responsible for the long lines of traffic. Greenway was completely built up in the late 1970's and there were no problems then. The long traffic lines are the result of construction further west and the inability of Scholls Ferry Road to handle the extra traffic. The city of Beaverton is spending around one million dollars to put bicycle lanes on Hall Boulevard between Ridgecrest Drive and Cascade Boulevard which will make Hall Boulevard even wider and harder to cross.

Please provide comments to City Council regarding the appeal!

VOTERS FORUM ON LOCAL ELECTION RACES

On Tuesday, April 9, 2002 Beaverton CCI (Committee for Citizen Involvement) will sponsor a voters forum for local races such as City Councilors. There are three City Council seats on the ballot as well as a very important Metro president election. Watch for a postcard with more information including the races covered and the location and time. Volunteers are also needed. If you can help between the hours of 6:30 pm and 9:30 pm on April 9th, please call the Beaverton Neighborhood Office at 503-526-2543

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED--BEAVERTON NEIGHBORHOOD CLEANUP DAY

The Annual Cleanup is in need of volunteers. The cleanup site is at Beaverton City Hall on Saturday, June 1, 2002. There will be three 2½ hour shifts. Shifts are 7:00 a.m. to 9:30 a.m., 9:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., and 12:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. I will have a sign up sheet at the April NAC meeting. If you can help, you can also call the Beaverton Neighborhood Office at 503-526-2543. The cleanup will be open to the public from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. All funds received from the cleanup go back to the NACs in proportion to the amount of volunteer time provided by each NAC. This is a great fund raiser for the NAC as well as a benefit to the city.

TUALATIN HILLS NATURE PARK'S NATIVE PLANT SALE

The Tualatin Hills Park and Recreation District's, "Nature Park and Nature Park Interpretive Center." puts on annual Earth Day Event and Native Plant Sale. This year's event will be held on Saturday, April 27, 2002 from 10:00 am - 1:00 pm. The plant sale goes until 1:00 pm.

GREENWAY NAC WEB PAGE

The URL for the Greenway NAC web page is http: //greenwaynac.homestead.com.

CITY OF BEAVERTON WEB PAGE

The URL for the City of Beaverton's Web Site is http://www.ci.beaverton.or.us. The entire Development Code and Comprehensive Code, agendas and minutes of City Council, Planning Commission, and Board of Design Review are available on this site.

Jim Persey

Chair, Greenway Neighborhood Association



	GREENWAY NEWSLETTER March 2002 Issue 33 NEXT NAC MEETING IN APRIL The next meeting of the Greenway NAC will be on April 18, 2002 at 7:00 PM. We will meet in the library at Conestoga Middle School. Look for the agenda flyer in the mail next month. We will have a presentation from Beaverton Code Services (These are the folks that take care of abandoned cars, illegal signs, vegetation problems and other code violations) and a presentation on the Fanno Creek Trail and the work that is in process to make it extend fifteen miles from Portland to the Tualatin River in Tigard. HALL BOULEVARD PEDESTRIAN ISLAND The Beaverton Traffic Commission voted by a four to three majority to put a pedestrian island in the center turn lane on Hall Boulevard at the point where the Greenway Park pedestrian path crosses Hall Boulevard. Since traffic now lines up in this lane westbound for the turn onto Greenway, traffic would be forced to line up on the westbound inner lane of Hall. Most of the commissioners voting for the median were unfamiliar with the Greenway/Hall intersection. Greenway NAC voted to appeal this decision at the January 17, 2002 meeting. This appeal is now scheduled for a public hearing before City Council on April 1, 2002. The City Council meeting starts at 6:30 pm in the Council Chambers at City Hall. You can testify regardless of whether you testified at the original hearing. You can also write a letter or send an email. If you prefer to write a letter or send an email, try to have it reach City Hall by March 22, 2002, although letters or emails sent later will still be accepted. Send letters for or against the median to: City Recorder, City of Beaverton, PO Box 4755, Beaverton, OR 97076 - 4755. The email address is citymail@ci.beaverton.or.us. Be sure to state you are commenting on TCB Issue NO. 471 (Median Island on SW Hall Boulevard at the Fanno Creek Trail). The City Councilors would like to hear from you. Even a short email will let them know how you feel on the median. There are two criteria involved in this traffic issue and your comments should reference one or both criteria. The two criteria are criteria 1a (provide for safe vehicle, bicycle and pedestrian movements) and criteria 1g (carry anticipated traffic volumes safely). Since the NAC vote on the appeal was not unanimous, I encourage comments both for and against the median. I would like to see the Greenway area have some say on this median. The next two paragraphs are from the appeal letter and summarize the reasons for appealing the Traffic Commission decision. The median fails to meet Criteria 1a (provide for safe vehicle, bicycle and pedestrian movements). The staff report dated November 15, 2001 states that "Trail users would still be encouraged to use the traffic signal at Greenway to cross the street. However, recognizing that some will continue take the shortest route, the goal is to improve the safety of that route". While agreeing that in most circumstances a raised median will improve pedestrian safety, this median is an exception. The median will make the crossing look safer than before and therefore encourage more people to attempt the crossing at the median instead of using the light at Greenway. Hall Boulevard is a five-lane roadway with a posted speed of 40 mph. The addition of bicycle lanes (funding is approved) will add another ten feet to the width of the highway. With a traffic count of approximately 27,000 vehicles per day, crossing anywhere except at a traffic signal should be discouraged. Additional crossing movements encouraged by the median will decrease safety more than the median will increase safety. The median also fails to meet Criteria 1g (carry anticipated traffic volumes safely). Some people may consider the present use of the center lane misuse, but traffic does flow smoothly through the intersection of Hall and Greenway, even with the long lines of westbound traffic wanting to go south on Greenway. While Hall Blvd can probably handle the traffic that has to relocate to the inside through lane at the median, the Albertson's driveway will cause problems. If several cars are stopped to turn left into Albertson's, traffic sometimes goes into the center lane west of the Albertson's driveway. Those cars will now be switching over two lanes to get into the center turn lane. There is also a greater chance of a rear end accident with traffic stopped in the through lane. The median is favored by the THPRD (Tualatin Hills Park and Recreation District) and the Beaverton Bike Task Force. An email sent to the Traffic Commission members by Hal Ballard of the Bike Task Force stated "That cars line up illegally in that area to turn left on to Greenway is not the fault of anyone but those motorists". I don't mind the Bike Task Force favoring the median but Greenway residents are not responsible for the long lines of traffic. Greenway was completely built up in the late 1970's and there were no problems then. The long traffic lines are the result of construction further west and the inability of Scholls Ferry Road to handle the extra traffic. The city of Beaverton is spending around one million dollars to put bicycle lanes on Hall Boulevard between Ridgecrest Drive and Cascade Boulevard which will make Hall Boulevard even wider and harder to cross. Please provide comments to City Council regarding the appeal! VOTERS FORUM ON LOCAL ELECTION RACES On Tuesday, April 9, 2002 Beaverton CCI (Committee for Citizen Involvement) will sponsor a voters forum for local races such as City Councilors. There are three City Council seats on the ballot as well as a very important Metro president election. Watch for a postcard with more information including the races covered and the location and time. Volunteers are also needed. If you can help between the hours of 6:30 pm and 9:30 pm on April 9th, please call the Beaverton Neighborhood Office at 503-526-2543 VOLUNTEERS NEEDED--BEAVERTON NEIGHBORHOOD CLEANUP DAY The Annual Cleanup is in need of volunteers. The cleanup site is at Beaverton City Hall on Saturday, June 1, 2002. There will be three 2½ hour shifts. Shifts are 7:00 a.m. to 9:30 a.m., 9:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., and 12:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. I will have a sign up sheet at the April NAC meeting. If you can help, you can also call the Beaverton Neighborhood Office at 503-526-2543. The cleanup will be open to the public from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. All funds received from the cleanup go back to the NACs in proportion to the amount of volunteer time provided by each NAC. This is a great fund raiser for the NAC as well as a benefit to the city. TUALATIN HILLS NATURE PARK'S NATIVE PLANT SALE The Tualatin Hills Park and Recreation District's, "Nature Park and Nature Park Interpretive Center." puts on annual Earth Day Event and Native Plant Sale. This year's event will be held on Saturday, April 27, 2002 from 10:00 am - 1:00 pm. The plant sale goes until 1:00 pm. GREENWAY NAC WEB PAGE The URL for the Greenway NAC web page is http: //greenwaynac.homestead.com. CITY OF BEAVERTON WEB PAGE The URL for the City of Beaverton's Web Site is http://www.ci.beaverton.or.us. The entire Development Code and Comprehensive Code, agendas and minutes of City Council, Planning Commission, and Board of Design Review are available on this site. Jim Persey Chair, Greenway Neighborhood Association