City unveils 11 winners of $100,000 in placemaking grants

Remember that grant program we told you about back in June? The one where the Bureau of Transportation was giving free money to anyone with a great idea on making streets better?

They received 63 applications and decided to award 11 of them.

Here are the winners (with project descriptions via PBOT):

Bridlemile Walkway $3,368

This project will transform a walkway in the Bridlemile neighborhood of SW Portland. The walkway is used by neighbors to access area schools, bus stops and grocery stores and is a part of the SW Trails network.

“Dia de las Niñas y los Niños” Parade and Celebration $3,625

This community event is hosted annually by the Rigler Elementary School PTA to celebrate the Latin American holiday. This year’s event will include a Safe Routes to School theme and promote active transportation options for students and families in the Cully neighborhood.

Heritage Tree Trail $1,200

The University of Portland Neighborhood Association will use this project to promote the use of urban trails and neighborhood greenways, while also increasing awareness of the heritage trees network in their North Portland community.

Lents Green Ring Wayfinding Project $16,000

Green Lents and NAYA Generations, along with other community partners, will utilize these resources to engage community members on the development of a “Green Ring” in Southeast Portland. The “Green Ring” will promote active transportation, incorporate placemaking infrastructure and address safety concerns that have been a barrier to pedestrians and cyclists.

Living Cully Community Wayfinding Project $16,000

This project, led by Verde and Living Cully community partners, will complete a bilingual wayfinding system that will encourage pedestrian and bicycle access to six green spaces in the Cully community, including Thomas Cully Park scheduled to open in 2018.

NE 85th Street Community Greenspace and Intersection Repair $3,675

Neighbors in the Beech Milton community (near Madison High School) will utilize these funds to address pedestrian safety concerns and revive two intersection paintings, with a special focus on engaging diverse community members and local schools.

Painted Curb in Sullivan’s Gulch $8,550

This project seeks to address pedestrian safety concerns at the intersection of NE 21st Avenue and NE Clackamas Street. The rapidly growing Sullivan’s Gulch community has identified this as a problematic area for pedestrians seeking to access neighborhood grocery stores and transit.

Rosewood Center Parklet $9,785

The Rosewood Initiative will utilize these resources to facilitate the development of community identity markers and wayfinding signage that promotes the use of neighborhood greenways, highlights community spaces, and directs pedestrians to transit stops in Outer East Portland.

Safety Corridor for Deaf Children $16,000

Tucker Maxon School for the deaf will utilize these resources to address safety concerns near their school at SE Holgate and SE 28th. Their project vision includes speed bumps, maintenance of a gravel road and artistic placemaking.

ULPDX Williams Ave & Russell St Project $16,000

Led by the Urban League of Portland, and in partnership with Portland Community Reinvestment Initiative, this project will facilitate community beautification with the implementation of creative placemaking that celebrates the rich history of this intersection and community.

Urban Trails Maintenance and Construction in Southwest $5,500

SW Trails PDX will utilize these funds to improve community connectivity with an urban trail maintenance project of steps on SW Trail #1 from SW Twombly Ave to SW Melville Ave.

The applications were scored on four criteria: project feasibility; community partnerships and equity; transportation and safety benefit; and livability and community placemaking. From here, the winners will receive support from PBOT staff to implement the projects according to “the priorities of the Livable Streets Strategy and Vision Zero, as well as other areas of PBOT work.” The Portland in the Streets program was a one-year program and now PBOT will seek City Council authorization to keep it going.

— Jonathan Maus: (503) 706-8804, @jonathan_maus on Twitter and jonathan@bikeportland.org

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