Transportation in West Salem, Setbacks in CANDO and NEN - in the Neighborhoods

The West Salem Neighborhood Association meets tonight and they have lots of transportation on the agenda, including some Third Bridgery.

CANDO and NEN also have interesting notes on building form, especially set backs and relation to the sidewalk.

West Salem

Lots of transportation items on the agenda. (The Second Street alternative could be interesting to learn about.)

[2] Police Report – Dutch Brothers & Traffic on Wallace Road;

[4] Old Business

• Update on Parking Issue around West Salem High School;
• Update from Transportation Subcommittee – Mr. Shaw’s proposed alternative to 2nd Street project;

[5] New Business

• West Salem Transportation Update and Salem Transportation Plan – Julie Warncke (Transportation Planning Manager, City of Salem), Doaks Ferry Road Changes (Polk County);
• Endorsement of a joint jurisdiction meeting regarding UGB expansion happening in West Salem

The West Salem Neighborhood Association meeting is at 7pm at Roth’s West, Mezzanine level, at 1130 Wallace Rd NW, tonight, Monday the 15th.

CANDO

You've probably seen the photos and article about the demolition of the Barrick Funeral Home over the weekend.

From the last CANDO meeting, they've got a picture of the latest plan. It is still delayed because of a traffic study, but here are a couple of observations.

An early version used a driveway off Ferry, but that is being closed and looks like it will be a walkway only. Car access will be off Church Street and the alley only.

The building will not be flush with the sidewalk, and this seems like a mistake in our zoning requirements. When buildings go in downtown and replace older buildings, in order to preserve the requirements for a lively and interesting sidewalk, they should be flush with the sidewalk and not have the bark mulch setback characteristic of suburban style development. (Hopefully we can see an elevation with more detail at some point. Maybe the setback will be paved and become an extension of the sidewalk - so it's a little ambiguous also.)

While one driveway off Ferry is closed,
the building is pulled back from the sidewalk

Finally, the ratio of building area to carspace, including parking, is so tiny. It's nearly a full quarter block, and the building plate is so paltry. This development just empties out the space and creates more of a void in downtown.

The ratio of building area/carspace is tiny!
So much wasted urban space on the quarter block
But the alley access will be convenient

CAN-DO meets Tuesday the 16th, at 6:00 p.m. at First Christian Church on 685 Marion Street NE.

NEN

In the NEN minutes there was a note on criticism of the redevelopment at the Ice Cream plant on State Street. Because the new construction was using or conformed to the old building footprint, which had only a six foot setback, the new buildings won't have a 15 foot setback, which apparently would have been required and which the City did not enforce.

Again, that seems like a feature, not a bug!

The development is also being split into two phases, and phase two seems to be envisioned for four years out. 

Because the neighborhood prevailed on the landscaping requirement for the proposed changes at the Red Lot, apparently DAS is bailing on the project and has placed it on a "bucket list" rather than proceeding.

And the footbridge across Mill Creek between 18th and 20th along Court Street will go before the Historic Landmarks Commission in September because it is in the Historic District. The bridge is also going to be eight feet wide, three feet wider than the current five-foot width, and will be two feet higher in elevation.

NEN meets Tuesday the 16th, at 6:30pm in the Salem First Church of the Nazarene, 1550 Market Street NE.