Happy Sunday Folks!
On Feb 19th our City Council will likely pass a resolution which outlines their goals for the coming year. This set of goals will direct the actions of the city staff. We made some progress, as Council did include the Monroe Street Bike Boulevard (also called a Neighborhood Greenway) project on their goals at their last work session; however we feel that the wording of the goal is not clear or direct enough. So, we are asking you once again to write to the council, or better yet, show up at the council meeting on Feb 19th at 7pm and testify.
#6c of their goal list says 'Consider making Monroe Street a bike boulevard'. Monroe has already been 'considered' in our 2007 Transportation System Plan (TSP), and it stands out as the top priority of the many residents who worked on the bike chapter of the TSP. We want Council to decide that it is a priority on their agenda moving forward. Unfortunately, there are many other pressing issues in town, and it seems that only 2 of the 5 Councilors are currently interested in pursuing the Monroe project. To get this project done, it is going to take as many people as possible providing testimony in City Council meetings, writing letters, and sharing the idea with our community members (so that everyone understands how the project will help to make neighborhoods along this corridor nicer places to live and increase safety for pedestrians, cyclists, and automobiles). We need all of the City Councilors and the City Manager to understand why this project is important and to commit to moving the project forward.
We ask you to encourage City Council to direct City Staff to actively prepare for, and apply for grants that will allow Milwaukie to complete projects (like Monroe) that we would otherwise be unable to do on our own due to lack of funds. We have missed, and will continue to miss grant opportunities, unless and until City Council allows City Staff to allocate time to seeking out these opportunities. Here is the email address for City Council: ocr@ci.milwaukie.or.us. Please send them a message and ask them not just to 'consider' the Monroe project, but instead to 'direct staff to actively pursue funding for the Monroe project'. Speak from your personal experience as a pedestrian or cyclist in Milwaukie and how these kinds of projects will directly affect you. Thank you for working together to make our neighborhoods more livable and increasing bicycling accessibility in Milwaukie!
If you are not up to speed on what the Monroe project could look like, here is a short video showing an example in SE Portland.
http://www.streetfilms.org/portland-or-bicycle-boulevards/
Thanks for your time and consideration!
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Greg Baartz-Bowman & Matt Menely
Bike Milwaukie Co-Organizers
Building community and encouraging advocacy in Milwaukie on self propelled wheels.
We have monthly or semi-monthly rides in and around Milwaukie.
Keep informed about Bike Milwaukie events on Facebook
