Gateway Green supporters gather at the north end of the property during a site visit in February.(Photo © J. Maus)

The folks behind an effort to transform a 35-acre parcel of land between the I-84 and I-205 freeways in East Portland into an urban, off-road biking oasis called Gateway Green, will unveil a “Bicycle Concept Plan” [...]

Commissioner Adams during an interview in October 2007.(Photo © J. Maus)

In a letter sent out this morning to subscribers of his email newsletter, City Commissioner Sam Adams summed up PDOT’s budget woes and made some final statements on the defunct Sauvie Island Bridge re-use plan (I think the statement will also be published as [...]

“If I was not running for Mayor and challenging City Hall’s spending, my opponent would have continued to ram-rod this pet project through”–Sho Dozono

Not surprisingly, Commissioners Adams’ opponent in the race for mayor, Sho Dozono, has issued a statement in response to Adams’ decision to pull the plug on the plan to re-use the Sauvie [...]

Adams addressed the media in his office this morning.(Photos © J. Maus)

In a cramped meeting room in his office a few minutes ago, Commissioner Adams explained how rising gas prices have impacted PDOT’s transportation budget and that the Sauvie Island Bridge span reuse project is the first casualty.
Standing next to PDOT Director Sue Keil, Adams [...]

“I don’t feel comfortable moving forward at this point.”–Commissioner Sam Adams

City of Portland Commissioner Sam Adams will announce tomorrow (5/7) that he will pull the plug on a plan to re-use the Sauvie Island Bridge span as a bicycle and pedestrian crossing over I-405 in Northwest Portland.

[Update: Download the presentation given by Commissioner Adams today at City Council (6MB, PDF)...or watch it on YouTube.]

Adams making his case to City Council.(Bad phone photo)

City Council is poised to hear an ordinance this morning that will authorize PDOT to “enter into a contract with Max J. Kuney Construction, owner of the old Sauvie Island [...]

New logo unveiled today

Commissioner Sam Adams held a press conference today to officially launch Flanders Crossing: Sauvie Island Bridge Relocation Project.
The event was an attempt to clarify the proposal for the project that will be voted on by City Council next week, to outline why the the project is necessary, and to demonstrate [...]

Looking across NW Flanders over I-405 — not quite an intersection, yet.(Photo © J. Maus)

Portland Mayor Tom Potter has issued a statement clarifying his opposition to the plan to re-use the Sauvie Island Bridge span as a human-powered vehicle crossing over I-405 in Northwest Portland.
Perhaps wanting to build some momentum for his position [...]

PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release Contact: Tom Miller, 503-823-1121
April 23, 2008 Or: Shoshanah Oppenheim, 503-823-1125
ADAMS, LEONARD, AND SALTZMAN FILE ORDINANCE TO ACQUIRE AND RELOCATE SAUVIE ISLAND BRIDGE
(PORTLAND, OR) – The Portland Office of Transportation (PDOT) announced today that City Commissioners Sam Adams, Randy [...]

The Sauvie Island Bridge span — which now sits 11 miles north of downtown Portland and connects Highway 30 to Sauvie Island — is headed to Northwest Portland.(Photo © J. Maus)

In a press release from City Hall this afternoon, PDOT announced that City Commissioners Sam Adams, Dan Saltzman, and Randy Leonard have agreed on [...]

This just in from PDOT:
COMMISSIONERS ADAMS, LEONARD, AND SALTZMAN ANNOUNCE NEW APPROACH TO ACQUIRE AND RELOCATE SAUVIE ISLAND BRIDGE
(PORTLAND, OR) - A press conference to announce the City’s new approach to acquire the center span of the Sauvie Island Bridge and relocate it from its current location to NW Flanders Street over I-405 will be [...]

The City Club of Portland hosted a mayoral debate on Friday between the two leading candidates — City Commissioner Sam Adams and Portland business owner Sho Dozono.

Sho Dozono(Photo © J. Maus)

Sam Adams(Photo © J. Maus)

KGW-TV broadcasted live from the rally.(Photos © J. Maus)

Last night, a group of Northwest Portland neighborhood leaders, grassroots activists and bike advocates met on NW Flanders Blvd. for a rally to demonstrate support for re-using the Sauvie Island Bridge span over I-405.
Also joining the crowd of about 100 were city council candidates Jim Middaugh, Jeff [...]

Below is the full text of the press release from Commissioner Dan Saltzman’s office regarding his support of moving the Sauvie Island Bridge span and re-using it as a bicycle and pedestrian bridge over I-405 in Northwest Portland. Full story here.
April 18, 2008
For Immediate Release
Contact: Brendan Finn 503-823-3110 or 503-313-0246
Commissioner Saltzman supports move of [...]

Sauvie span supporters gathered in Northwest Portland earlier tonight.(Photo © J. Maus)

While supporters of moving the old Sauvie Island Bridge span to downtown Portland gathered for a rally tonight, Commissioner Dan Saltzman issued a press release stating his support for the plan.
Saltzman voted against the project back on April 2nd when it came up for [...]

A group of Portlanders stare longingly at what will someday be a new bike and pedestrian bridge over I-405 at NW Flanders.(Photo © J. Maus)

A group of concerned citizens look out over I-405 at the future location of a Flanders Street overpass.(Photos © J. Maus)

A group of citizens and advocates led by the Willamette Pedestrian Coalition and the Bicycle Transportation Alliance will host a rally and walking tours of the area around the proposed location of a new I-405 [...]

PRESS RELEASE
What: Rally to support the Sauvie Island Bridge relocation, followed by foot and bicycle tours of the proposed relocation site
When: Thursday, April 17. Press event at 5:00, tours leaving at 5:15 and 5:30.
Where: NW 15th and Flanders, Portland, Ore.
Who: Concerned citizens, northwest Portland residents, transportation and neighborhood advocates
Why:
The community will rally to support [...]

“It’s nice spin… but it’s flat out wrong.” –Portland Mercury News Editor Amy Ruiz, on Mayor Potter’s comments about the funding for the Sauvie Island Bridge re-use plan

The situation with the effort to re-use the Sauvie Island Bridge span in Northwest Portland is changing by the hour.
The two late developments of the day are an [...]

Mayor Potter listening to testimony in support of the Sauvie span at City Hall last week.(Photos © J. Maus)

Mayor Potter has issued a statement to help further clarify his decision to vote against a proposal that would have allowed PDOT to turn the old Sauvie Island Bridge span into a new crossing of I-405 [...]

“We intend to demonstrate to elected officials that there’s huge support for re-using the Sauvie span.”–the BTA’s Karl Rohde

While City Hall tries to work out its differences on the effort to move the old Sauvie Island Bridge span to NW Flanders street, bike advocates and citizen activists are moving forward in a push to raise [...]

Max J. Kuney at City Hall a few hours ago.(Photo © J. Maus)

Max J. Kuney, of Kuney Construction, flew into Portland today to help save the Sauvie Island Bridge span.
Sensing that the project was on life-support after yesterday’s setback at City Council, Kuney paid his own way to fly to City Hall from his Spokane [...]

“We’re open to moving the project forward. We think it’s a neat project and we don’t want to see the project die.”–Max J. Kuney, Kuney Construction

With City Council unable to reach the required unanimous support for an emergency proposal that would have brought the Sauvie Island Bridge span to NW Flanders Street, all eyes [...]

Commissioner Adams (L) and Mayor Potter (R) listen to testimony in Council Chambers this morning.(Photo © J. Maus)

[Read updates at bottom of story.]
Mayor Potter, who was supposed to be tied up all this week in the labor arbitration hearing of a police lieutenant he fired, has decided to show up at the City Council meeting this morning.
Besides perhaps wanting to be present at the last City Council meeting of Commissioner Erik Sten, [...]

“This project would cost a little more but would deliver huge returns.”–from a BTA blog post

In the wake of Mayor Potter’s memo and with a looming City Council vote that could kill the plan to bring the Sauvie Island Bridge span to Northwest Portland, the Bicycle Transportation Alliance is sounding the alarm to its 5,000+ [...]

Download memo (130K, PDF)

I’ve finally obtained the memo from Mayor Potter that I referred to in my story about the Sauvie Island Bridge re-use plan I published earlier today.
The memo outlines Potter’s concerns about the plan and was sent to all four Commissioners and the City Auditor. Potter’s seeming lack of support for the [...]

Tomorrow, Portland City Council will decide whether or not the City will re-use the Sauvie Island Bridge span for a bicycle and pedestrian-only crossing of I-405 at Northwest Flanders street.
The owner of the span, Kuney Construction, is currently under contract with ODOT to demolish the bridge. Therefore, if PDOT wants to continue their effort [...]

Organizers of the second annual Pinot Pedal will donate registration proceeds and a percentage of sales from a Pearl District wine retailer to help raise funds for a bicycle and pedestrian bridge over Interstate 405.

[NOTE: *I have updated this post at 12:30pm on 3/12 to correct my errors in the funding numbers and sources for the project.]
The effort to re-use the old Sauvie Island bridge span for a bike and pedestrian-only bridge over the 405 freeway at NW Flanders has been renewed and backers of the project say they’ve [...]