Great news for Franklin Street

Passing this news on from Markos Miller, Munjoy Hill neighborhood activist and founding member of the Franklin Reclamation Authority:

Today PACTS approved an allocation of $30,000 to continue the Revisioning Process of the Franklin Arterial. The Policy Committee was very supportive of this project. While the sum may be a shoestring budget, the important elements of land-use considerations will be included as part of this study. We've accomplished so much on a $300 budget, and I bet that with the dedication and focus of the community, we will be able to maximize the opportunity this study promises.

To think that just one year ago we were looking at the Traffic Study being adopted, and now we will be in the position to bring our vision to the Portland's Comprehensive Plan.

So Portland's well on its way towards banishing an urban freeway from its downtown and joining other successful cities like New York (which demolished its West Side Highway), San Francisco (the Embarcadero, with help from Loma Prieta), Toronto (Gardiner Expressway), and the other Portland (which demolished Harbor Drive along its waterfront and ended up with an iconic park). I'll be following up with details on how citizens can get involved in this redesign process, which ought to begin early this spring.