The LUTC engaged in a great discussion regarding the SE Hawthorne Pave and Paint project. The group quickly dove into the nuts and bolts of the corridor and all the needs it must meet. Group brought up some of the following questions during our discussion (note these are paraphrased):
Q. Repaving project timeline and duration. A. Not set in stone at this time. Although the duration is expected to be about a month or less.
Q. Is any part of the project addressing sidewalks or curbs? A. Moving curbs is very expensive, and not part of this paint and repave, but PBOT is still collecting ideas and feedback about crossing, sidewalk, and curbs.
Q. Crossing types and costs. A. They vary significantly! 3 lane crossing allows for unsigned crossing which are a fraction of the cost of signaled costs which can cost up to one million dollars. For example, the crossing at (the 3-lane portion of) SE Hawthorne and 41st costs from $20,000 to 50,000. Signaled crossings get up into the million ball-park. Yikes!
Q. Will both sides of the street be closed at the same time? Unsure, but PBOT will do their best to minimize the inconvenience to users.
Q. Any parking removal? A. Some, there will be removal of parking within 20’ of curbs to create greater visibility and clearance.
The session concluded with diving into an activity laying out what a new configuration could look like. And sharing back. To share your thoughts, attend the upcoming Open Houses in March. (See more information below.)
The last 30 minutes of the meeting included community contributions about advocacy issues of interest. The
Inner SE Action
group introduced themselves, shared an update of what they are working on, and encouraged interested neighbors to participate. Next, Laurelhurst and Kerns Neighborhood Associations shared and update and their concerns about a issue that may prevent the construction of an 88-unit affordable housing project on what is now called the Mann House. Lastly, Leah shared an update on some trees in North Tabor that will be going down due to an abuse of the current Tree Code on behalf of a North Tabor neighbor. See more information below.
