1) Sunday Parkways returns to North Portland in 2015 (June 21)
2) Illegal parking and vehicle break-ins
1) Sunday Parkways returns to North Portland in 2015 (June 21)
The Portland Bureau of Transportation and presenting sponsor Kaiser Permanente today announced that Sunday Parkways will return this year with five traffic-free events through Portland neighborhoods, including a new route through Southeast Portland’s Sellwood neighborhood and over the new car-free Tilikum Crossing: Bridge of the People.
Sunday Parkways is a series of free community events opening the city’s largest public space – its streets – for people to walk, bike, roll and discover active transportation. The events are hugely popular; total attendance topped 100,000 last year.
This year, organizers are emphasizing ways people can create the Sunday Parkways experience every day. All five Sunday Parkways routes showcase low-traffic streets called ‘neighborhood greenways’ as well as City parks that people can enjoy all year long for their own bicycling and walking trips. The Tilikum Crossing/Sellwood route will introduce participants to new bicycling, walking and transit improvements being made by the City and partners along the new light rail corridor that opens in September.
The North Portland Sunday Parkways will take place on June 21, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. to coincide with Father’s Day. This 9.5 mile double loop course will highlight gems across the route, such as the scenic Willamette Bluff, the Peninsula Rose Gardens, the universally accessible Harper’s Playground at Arbor Lodge, as well as the activities offered at the Kenton, Columbia Annex, and McCoy Parks.
For more information, including the dates of the other parkways, visit the official website.
2) Illegal parking and vehicle break-ins
Patrick Owen, the North Portland crime prevention coordinator, spoke at the Overlook Neighborhood Association general meeting on Tuesday. Among the topics he covered was how to deal with people parking in front of driveways. One option is to mark a driveway with the official “no parking” yellow paint. The city has instructions online, including the specific color to use. It’s significantly less expensive for neighbors to purchase “TRAFFIC LINE YELLOW” paint and do the work themselves or as part of a group than to have PBOT come out.
If visitors continue to block driveways, neighbors should contact parking enforcement or at 503-823-5195 or non-emergency at 503-823-3333 immediately. If a visitor happens to park on private property without permission (such as a driveway), the neighbor can contact parking enforcement or may arrange.
Officer Robert Foster also spoke at the meeting. He reported that there have been a rash of vehicle break-ins around the neighborhood. The best defense is to follow some common sense steps like locking cars and not leaving valuables in them. For more tips, review the city’s car prowl prevention handout.