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Dec 29,2008

Snowpocalypse 2008 - The Movie

by shooter
northwest-district-snow-2008-011 I thought everyone might enjoy reminiscing about Snowpocalypse 2008, so I put together this video from the bits I shot during the storm.  I've been experimenting with the FlipVideo camera and the storm provided the perfect reason for further experimentation.  As I reviewed what I shot, I thought it would be fun to piece the segments together.  Here's the result.  I hope you enjoy it.    
Snowpocalypse 2008 - The Movie from Neighborhood Notes on Vimeo .

I like this camera. FlipVideo is a cheap and easy way to capture video for the web.  The camera can easily be carried in your pocket or added to a camera bag. I chose the Ultra because it uses AA batteries.  Since I always have rechargeable AA batteries in my camera bag power is never a problem.  It will capture and store about 60 minutes of video, and has a built in USB plug that makes downloading very easy.

The picture quality is pre
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posted at 10:29 AM 0 comments comments
categories: arts+entertainment
neighborhoods: downtown pearl district
Dec 17,2008

Notes of Interest » December 16, 2008

by shooter
broken water pipe Here is our daily selection of interesting news for you.  Be sure to read the story “Don’t let cold weather burst your pipes” and read the post below from the Portland Water Bureau.  A pipe burst is the last thing you want in this weather. (photo: Brent Fisher via flickr)
Dec 15,2008

Notes of Interest » Dec 12 - 14

by shooter
candy-house Here are stories you may have missed over the weekend while you were trying to stay warm. (photo: Portland Mercury)
Dec 1,2008

King Neighborhood November Meeting Minutes

by Trace
Meeting Below is a draft of the minutes from the November 12 meeting of the King Neighborhood Association. Please come to the next meeting on December 10 and be prepared to vote on adopting the minutes. If you have comments or suggestions for the minutes, please let  Gabrielle Foulkes  know so that she can incorporate them prior to the December 10 meeting.  If your name is misspelled, please let us know that too. Revised 11/23/08 King Neighborhood Association Minutes from Board Meeting November 12, 2008 List of attendees (at end of minutes) Quorum met.   Agenda    (Exhibit 1)   Minutes from October meeting The minutes from October 8, 2008 were approved without changes.   Standing reports Update from Portland Police Officer Brian Sims summarized several areas that he's focusing on in the neighborhood. Shootings at 9 th and Alberta Increase in pedestrian robberies, especially near 9 th and Sumn
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posted at 08:02 PM 1 comments comments
neighborhoods: Alberta Street king
Oct 7,2008

Amber, Aqua, and the Streetcar?

by shooter
streecar named desire No, it's not porno version of " A Streetcar Named Desire ".  These will be the names for the streetcar lines once the eastside alignment is operating.  The existing South Waterfront to NW 23rd alignment will be named "Amber", and the new eastside alignment will be named "Aqua", according to PortlandTransport . 

Supposedly, the general family of colors is based on the colors of precious stones.  I'm more of a primary color man myself.

PortlandTransport also reports that summer weekday ridership on the "Amber" line was up about 25% over last year.  Saturday and Sunday also had record ridership.  It amazing what people will do when fuel prices are so high.  They'll even take Amber for a ride... Related links: PDOT Extends the Streetcar Survey PDC to Spend $5M for Streetcar Engineering City Council Approves Final Engineering for Eastside Streetcar Loop
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Sep 26,2008

PDOT Extends Street Car Survey

by pearlgirl
streetcar At the request of Neighborhood Associations from East Portland, the Portland Office of Transportation (PDOT) has extended the timeline for the Streetcar System Plan District Surveys from September 15 to October 31, 2008. Surveys for North Portland, Northeast Portland, East Portland, and Southeast Portland are available online . Printed copies of the surveys may be picked up or dropped off at Neighborhood Coalition offices. North Portland Neighborhood Services (NPNS) 2209 N. Schofield, 97217 Central Northeast Neighbors (CNN)
4415 NE 87th, 97220 Northeast Coalition of Neighborhoods (NECN)
4815 NE 7th Ave., 97211 Southeast Uplift (SEUL)
3534 SE Main, 97214 East Portland Neighborhood Office (EPNO)
1017 NE 117th Ave, 97220 Survey translations are available upon request. Completed surveys may also be mailed back to PDOT at the address below: Portland Office of Transportation
1120 SW 5th Ave, #800
Portland, OR 97204
Attn:
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Sep 9,2008

No Streetcar for North Portland?

by shooter
draft transit map This article from The Sentinel questions if a streetcar will be coming to North Portland.  A "discussion" draft map of Metro's High Capacity Transit Plan does not include any high-capacity routes in North or Northeast Portland.  This draft was released before PDOT's District Working Groups have completed their neighborhood surveys.

Does this mean there will be no streetcar for North Portland?  According to the article, PDOT says the map is an early part of a process that is just starting.  PDOT and Metro are developing a long range-plan that will take into consideration the Portland Streetcar Plan.  The final recommendations could be different depending on the work of the District Working Groups.

If you are interested in the future of public transit, in particular the streetcar in North Portland, you should attend the District Working Groups Presentations Sept. 15th, 7PM at the Kenton Firehouse , 8105 N Brandon Ave.
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Aug 29,2008

Take the Streetcar Survey

by Trace
streetcar The Portland Office of Transportation (PDOT) is currently drafting a Streetcar System Plan, with the intent of creating a citywide network. The purpose of the Streetcar System Plan (SSP) District Working Group process that is currently underway is to engage the public in the beginning of a long-range planning effort that will identify future streetcar corridors with the highest potential in a long-term implementation strategy. Specifically, the goal of the NE District Working Group process is to identify where community support for potential streetcar corridors is located in NE Portland. Currently, volunteers like us are doing community outreach to gauge the level of support in Northeast Portland along various corridors such as Broadway/Weidler, MLK Blvd, Alberta St, and 82nd Ave. The city has stated that new streetcar corridors will be prioritized in areas where community support exists.

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=7QjGufQZvkQ5cFawdRA6CA_3d_3d
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Aug 27,2008

PDC to spend $5M for Streetcar Engineering

by shooter
streetcar-on-11th The PDC is expected to approve $5M for final engineering of the eastside streetcar extension, even though the Federal government hasn't approved the money to build it.

This article from the Oregonian gives some details of the politics involved in getting the Feds to approve $75M for the project. At present, it's held up because the Bush Administration favors buses. In February , the Administration gave tentative approval for $50M, but its uncertain when delivery will occur, possibly after the new administration takes office.

The reason for moving forward without receiving the federal money is to prevent cost increase due to automatic inflation adjustments in the contract. At present, every month of delay costs the city $500K in automatic inflation adjustments.

The project is expected to be completed in 2011.


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posted at 07:53 AM 0 comments comments
categories: transportation
tags: streetcar
Aug 22,2008

Forced into a better solution

by shooter
steel-bridge-max-const The Steel Bridge should open next week after the completion of construction that links the new MAX green line into the existing routes. The Steel Bridge connection was the trickiest part, given the age of the bridge and the original design for the job.

This story from the Daily Journal of Commerce describes how a creative solution was needed to get the job done.

As it turns out, no structural contractor would take the job because of the risk involved in working over a railroad. The industry had numerous highway projects from which to choose, so contractors didn't want to take the risk.

Faced with no contractor, the civil engineers redesigned the project so the risk of the railroad was eliminated—and in the process saved about $1M in construction costs and cut the bridge closure time in half!

They hope to use the same design when the streetcar line is extended over the Broadway Bridge to the east side.

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posted at 10:41 AM 0 comments comments
categories: transportation
tags: MAX streetcar
neighborhoods: old town chinatown
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