Seattle city officials taking cues from Portland

BY Jamie Skorheim  on March 9, 2011 @ 11:57 am (Updated: 1:30 pm - 3/28/11 )

Mayor Mike McGinn
Mayor Mike McGinn shared a picture of himself in front of a Portland Street Car on his blog. (Photo courtesy Mayor McGinn's blog) | Zoom
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By JAMIE GRISWOLD
MyNorthwest.com

A crew of Seattle officials made their way down to the Rose City to take some notes on how Portland does things.

A few Portland projects that have the Seattle Mayor and the City Council's attention are Portland's Neighborhood Greenways, Portland's homeless camp, dubbed Dignity Village, and what Mayor McGinn calls a "rail renaissance."

Mayor Mike McGinn says the group immediately noticed all the rail tracks traversing the town.

"All along the streetcar and Max lines, rail has had a positive impact on development patterns, with new growth following the route and station areas," said a post in the Mayor's blog. "Portland's transit system does a great job of moving people. It also does a great job of saving money and creating new economic activity."

City Councilmember Sally Bagshaw seemed taken with Portland's Dignity Village. According to Bagshaw, Dignity Village is a city-recognized homeless encampment that houses about 60 people. Bagshaw posted photos of the encampment that has no tents, but instead houses residents in small 10 x 20 wood shelters that are built by camp residents and volunteers.

City Councilmember Mike O'Brien posted in his blog saying "Portland's Greenways are worth emulating." O'Brien says the Greenways are streets used by cyclists and pedestrians where most traffic is rerouted and only open to residents. Speeds on these street are kept under 25 mph and frequent bumps on the roadway remind drivers to keep speeds safe.

Bagshaw and O'Brien say beyond concrete project ideas, they can learn a lot from how Portland funds and organizes projects.

"We can take a page out of Portland's book where departments including transportation, utilities, parks, nonprofits, community groups and businesses pooled their resources - and the result is clearly better than the sum of its parts."

Jamie Skorheim, MyNorthwest.com Editor
Whether it's floating on Green Lake, eating shrimp tacos at Agua Verde, or taking weekend drives out to the Cascades, she loves to enjoy the Pacific Northwest lifestyle as much as humanly possible.
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Comments (19)


  • Add A Comment

  • Weiser Postban wrote...
    Ideas from Portland?
    March 9, 2011 12:52 pm
    Oh Geesus... we really are hopeless. LIBS WIN!
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • earl247 wrote...
    I am sorry, but....
    March 9, 2011 1:01 pm
    ....Portland has turned into a garbage-laden crap hole, where you can't walk 10 meters without tripping over a drugged-out teenager begging for money. Please, Mr. Mayor, aim higher.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • jpmarine wrote...
    This is aiming higher for Mcginn
    March 9, 2011 1:19 pm
    And the libs like him. Portland, although a crap hole, is the liberal dream city. Soon enough, the libs will have their way and keep as many people and business' out of their city. Mcginn is the ultimate example of the ultimate worthless liberal male. I use male because liberal man is an oxymoron. Until the city is free of cars and full of homeless encampments and bike lanes, the libs won;t be happy. Best part is, they still won't be happy when they get their way. A content liberal is something that truly does not exist.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • LGW wrote...
    Maybe the mayor
    March 9, 2011 1:36 pm
    and his cronies should move to Portland, since they love it so much.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • 77SunSetStrip wrote...
    I wonder
    March 9, 2011 1:45 pm
    How many strip clubs da Mayor and his entourage visited while in Portland?
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • jpetro wrote...
    Help
    March 9, 2011 1:46 pm
    us all
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • C"mon Man wrote...
    No thanks
    March 9, 2011 1:49 pm
    We will take Paul Allen's Blazers though, other than that,forget it!
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Fuego wrote...
    They can't spell...
    March 9, 2011 1:54 pm
    The sign on the bus spell McGinn but it's really McSchwinn. I wonder if Portland would just keep him and we'll do without a mayor for a while?
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • HPD 5-0 wrote...
    LGW wrote:
    March 9, 2011 1:58 pm
    "Maybe the mayor and his cronies should move to Portland, since they love it so much." Heck, I'll DRIVE THEM MYSELF.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • d1rtd1ver wrote...
    you obviously didn't drive I-5 during their rushhour
    March 9, 2011 2:11 pm
    No carpool lane and only 2 lanes. Yeah we should take a page from them. My arse!!

    Their downtown area is good but the rest of their are is not really transit friendly let alone commuter friendly.

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }