Franklin Street Workshop

On May 31, 2007, over 70 people gathered at Franklin Towers to discuss the impacts and potential of Franklin Street Arterial. The Franklin Street Arterial Workshop was organized by members of the Munjoy Hill Neighborhood Organization and the Bayside Neighborhood Association (BNA) and sponsored by Portland Trails and Greater Portland Landmarks. The purpose of the workshop was to ask, from a decidedly neighborhood-based and pedestrian-oriented perspective, “How can we make this road better?”

Historical plans and photos were displayed. The submissions to Architalx’s “Lost Sites” exhibit were hung on the walls, showing various conceptual plans for the Franklin Street corridor. Remarks by Markos Miller, Steve Hirshon, and District 1 City Councilor Kevin Donoghue preceded the introduction by the City of Portland’s Urban Designer, Carrie Marsh, who acted as the facilitator for the evening, assisted by the City’s Senior Planner, Bill Needleman. Carrie specifically noted that a vision should include the entire corridor and not just the road itself.

The attendees broke into five groups to discuss and create group “vision statements.” These statements were then synthesized into one and edited by consensus to create the final Community Vision Statement. The same process was used to define the problem of Franklin Street Arterial, as seen by the participants.

COMMUNITY VISION STATEMENT
FRANKLIN STREET will be a beautiful and vibrant urban street in the center of a new neighborhood. It will:
• be a multi-way boulevard connecting the Waterfront to Back Cove that serves autos, existing and future transit, pedestrians, and cyclists equally.
• be designed to achieve lower speeds, pedestrian and cyclist safety, and lower exhaust levels.
• provide a positive gateway experience; connect historic neighborhoods; reconnect the street grid; provide for human-scale, pedestrian-oriented development; and allow for buildings to orient to the street.
• be redesigned to maximize the use of space and provide an environmentally friendly framework for mixed-use development and housing.
• provide connections to the multi-use trails, access to greenspace, and
opportunities for community gardens as well as add land to Lincoln Park and provide opportunities for trees and public art.
• In summary, the redesign of Franklin Arterial will reverse outdated planning assumptions and reintegrate the Portland Peninsula.

This Statement is the sentiment of the assembled group and reflects the wishes of neighbors: walkers, bicyclists, children, the elderly, the handicapped, and others. It reflects not only a desire for a safer, more pleasant interface with the road but also a sincere and well-founded belief that there is a “higher and better use” of the Franklin Street Corridor.

In September, signage on Franklin advertised the Problem and Vision Statements, garnering coverage by the Portland Press Herald and local television. The Workshop’s report was endorsed by the BNA and can be read in full on BNA’s web site (baysideneighborhood.org) as well as on portlandbikeped.org or franklinstreet.us. Plans are afoot to pursue Portland Area Comprehensive Transportation Study (PACTS) funding for a more comprehensive Franklin Street study.

The general feeling that night was an optimism that has started to grow among Portlanders that if the community comes together to present a clear, tangible vision and works together to advocate for that vision, it will result in change for the better.

-Alex Landry