2012 will be the first full year in Portland’s history that we are not using the Willamette River as a default sewer. Completing the CSO Program last month should dramatically alter the way Portlanders view our river and interact with it.

summer but it requires a lot of rain to make that happen: nearly 1.2 inches in 24 hours for the river and 2.5 inches in 24 hours for the slough. The program reduced annual CSO volume to the Columbia Slough by 99% and to the Willamette River by 94%.

Work started on the CSO Cornerstone Projects in 1994 to remove as much stormwater runoff as possible from combined sewers.  This allowed engineers to design smaller, less expensive facilities to collect and convey combined sewage. Today the stream diversion, sewer separation, sump installation and downspout disconnection projects remove an average of 2.2-billion gallons of stormwater per year from the combined sewer system. Downspout disconnections alone remove an average of 1.2-billion gallons from the system annually.

Construction of larger projects began in 1996 with the Columbia Slough Big Pipe, a 3.5-mile long conduit ranging in diameter from six to 12 feet. The city completed the pipeline and projects to expand capacity at the city’s sewage treatment plant in 2000. Construction began on West Side CSO projects in 2002. They included the 3.5-mile long, 14-foot diameter West Side Big Pipe, the Swan Island CSO Pump Station, the Peninsular Force Main and the Southwest Parallel Interceptor. The city activated the West Side Big Pipe in 2006 to control CSO outfalls on the west side of the Willamette River. Also in 2006, the city broke ground on the East Side CSO Big Pipe Project, the largest public works project in Portland history. In fall 2011, the city activated the six-mile long, 22-foot diameter tunnel and completed work on the Balch Consolidation Conduit and the Sellwood CSO Pump Station to complete CSO construction.

Over 20 years, the CSO program has cost Portland sewer ratepayers an estimated $1.4-billion. That estimate includes the costs of more than 300 CSO construction projects since 1994.

2012 will be exciting and a year of even more successes. We’ll continue to invest in green infrastructure. We’ll make progress in maintaining and improving our aging infrastructure (30 % of our collection system is over 80 years old). We’ll continue our work to restore the health of our urban watersheds.

If you have not already seen the new CSO program video you can view it at http://www.portlandonline.com/bes/index.cfm?c=31030&a=375594.

-Photo courtesy of Oregonlive
-Content courtesy of BES

Questions? Contact Debbie Caselton 
Community Relations
City of Portland | Environmental Services
211 SE Caruthers Suite 200
Portland, Oregon 97214
503-823-2831
503-823-2350 fax
Debbie.Caselton@portlandoregon.gov

Content courtesy of ITegrity Solutions

Hopped on the smart phone bandwagon yet? If so, smart phone apps have been popping up right and left that can make your daily life much much simpler (or complicated, depending on whether you really need 13 apps to help you figure out your dinner).

When it comes to demystifying  how to get to work or anywhere, for that matter, smart phones have changed the commuting landscape.

Lucky for you, our friends at Portland Afoot have done their homework and reviewed 5 prominent TriMet apps for smart phones, demonstrating parity in their nod to apps for both the ubiquitous iPhone as well as its brethren. Check it out HERE

Photo courtesy of TriMet

Bussing it after hours? Biking in the driving rain? We wintertime commuters in the northern latitudes can finally herald the passing of the shortest day of the year (December 21st) and the calendar’s slow inch toward daylight.  But we’re not there yet.  This is the Pacific Northwest after all.  We fear there could be more rain…and more darkness.

But don’t despair!  We gathered a number of helpful tips to cheer up your commute.   Check out the following links to ensure your trip is not only safe but comfortable.  And remember, leave that car behind and you’ll head into the New Year healthier, richer, and, well, more relaxed!

TRANSIT TIPS 

WINTER BIKE COMMUTING TIPS

Have you been wishing your entire commuting life that someone would invent a simple ride matching service? Your dreams have been answered: it’s called Drive Less Connect.

Reduce the stress of your commute, make new friendships and reduce air pollution and traffic congestion all in one go with Oregon’s new online ride matching tool.  The equivalent of Match.com but for people looking to partner up to share the ride for work and play, Drive Less Connect registration is quick and simple.

Once registered, you can start using your account immediately.  All information is kept confidential and you get to control how your personal information is shared.

What’s more, it’s flexible– Drive Less Connect enables anything from the one-time trip to the ongoing ride share arrangement.  And the more folks who register, the better the pool of commuters.

Among the cool features:

• Match up in carpools through work and community networks (Virtually every worksite on Swan Island already is in the system)
• Connect Using your Facebook account for reward alerts, new tool features and more (not mandatory)
• Find a bike buddy to ride with you
• Track your trips–and your savings

With the help of local transportation options partners throughout Oregon, Washington and Idaho, the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) officially launched the tri-state ride share tool December 5th to an eager audience.  Why such anticipation?  Transportation experts predict that Drive Less Connect  will be a dream come true for many…

Other features include:

• Allows for future inclusion of other transit systems, such as C-TRAN and SMART
• Uses OpenStreetMap, a Wikipedia-like map, so bike routes and walking paths are up-to-date and reflect closure and construction information
• Offers bike routing based on suitability, a highly requested feature not offered by other mapping tools
• Includes car-share locations, so you can plan transit or bike trips to ZipCars.

Try the new tool and use it to plan your next adventure or just a better route to work:  Test the new regional trip planner 

TriMet would like your feedback as you use the tool. Was your itinerary accurate? Was it easy to use? What might work better?
Send feedback to TriMet  

Content Courtesy of Drive Less. Save More

Portland Parks & Recreation (PP&R) began survey and preliminary work on the new Waud Bluff Trail in North Portland during late September 2011.  Construction efforts on this long-anticipated project are now ramping up.  PP&R invited the media and public to a construction kickoff celebration on Tuesday, November 15 at 3:30pm.

Speakers at the event included City Parks Commissioner Nick Fish; Meeky Blizzard, aide to Congressman Earl Blumenauer; Lenny Anderson, Executive Director of the Swan Island Business Association; and Francie Royce of npGreenway.

The project’s location is on North Willamette Boulevard and North Harvard Street, near the southeast corner of the University of Portland where a steep bluff rises over Swan Island.  Colf Construction has been contracted to complete the project.  Work is scheduled to be finished in late summer/early fall 2012. 

This highly beneficial project will provide a vital link between North Willamette Boulevard and Swan Island and its numerous businesses.  Upon the project’s completion, commuters and other trail users will enjoy a 1,700-foot trail with improved grading and a paved trail surface.  New retaining walls will help stabilize the trail on the steep bluff, and a new bridge will allow users safer access over active Union Pacific railroad tracks.  The US Coast Guard station on Swan Island plans to use the steep trail for physical training. 

Other benefits of the Waud Bluff Trail project include the addition of native plantings, a concrete landing at the trailhead on Willamette Blvd, and creation of a pedestrian island and crosswalk on Willamette Blvd to address longstanding concerns about access to the trail and the TriMet bus stop.  During construction, the bus stop will be temporarily moved to a nearby location.

“The Waud Bluff project will provide a vital and safe connection to Swan Island, the Willamette River, and the future North Portland Greenway Trail,” says PP&R Project Manager and Landscape Architect George Lozovoy. “Without this new connector, the only safe route down the bluff for neighbors and commuters is to use North Going Street - three miles away.  We’ve gotten a lot of positive feedback on this project.”

Due to the construction, commuters to Swan Island should note that access to Swan Island will only be accessible via Going Street, a 3-mile detour (see attached map), from now through late summer/early fall 2012. 

DETOUR

Construction fencing is expected to go up in November 2011.  Once the project fencing is in place, access will be closed from Willamette Blvd to Swan Island via the Waud Bluff trail for the duration of the project (Fall 2012).

Swan Island may be accessed via Going Street during construction (see attached map). 

BACKGROUND

Work on the Waud Bluff Trail has begun after many years of working through the complicated details of engineering, property ownership, and easements.  PP&R thanks the community for their support and advocacy for this effort, and we look forward to celebrating the re-opening of this trail with you. 

PP&R recognizes its valued partners in this project: The Swan Island Business Association, UPS, the US Coast Guard and Adidas have been strong and vocal advocates of the project ever since PP&R applied for project funding.

The Waud Bluff Trail project evolved from several previous planning efforts including the North Beach Study, the North Portland Willamette Greenway Feasibility Study, and the Swan Island Trails Action Plan.  As a result, City Council approved inclusion of this trail in the Transportation System Plan.  MTIP (Metropolitan Transportation Improvement Project) funding of $1,175,376 (with $134,524 local match) was secured in 2005.

Metro provided $202,936 for the trail project via a Congressional Earmark to Metro for trail construction.  The earmark was sponsored by Representative Earl Blumenauer.  Metro is working with ODOT and PP&R to secure the funding to the City.  Metro supported PPR’s request for funding for the trail, and the Waud Bluff project could not have proceeded without the “Metro Earmark” funds.  We are pleased that Meeky Blizzard, Sustainable Cities staffer to Rep. Earl Blumenauer in Portland, will attend.  Metro Councilor Rex Burkholder has been invited. 

Portland’s Bureau of Environmental Services created a Community Benefit Opportunity (CBO) grant that helped with nearly $200,000 in funding for the Waud Bluff trail project.

The Oregon Department of Transportation and Federal Highway Administration contributed a further $1,966,950 towards the total project cost of $3,207,129.

For further information about this project, please contact:

Susan Watt, Construction Manager, Portland Parks & Recreation

503-823-5593

susan.watt@portlandoregon.gov

###

Mark Ross Public Information Officer

Portland Parks & Recreation

503-823-5300 (office); 503-823-6634 (cell)

Mark.ross@portlandoregon.gov

Healthy Parks, Healthy Portland

portlandparks.org

Nick Fish, Commissioner | Mike Abbaté, Director

Hear striking national health statistics, learn about the financial impact of
active transportation for employers and employees, and gather ideas on how your company can promote a healthy, active workforce.

This free event will be held Wednesday, Nov. 9 from 11 a.m. to noon at Daimler Trucks North America Corporate Conference Center at 4555 N. Channel Avenue, Portland. Parking is available in front of the building; follow the signs through the courtyard. Refreshments and snacks provided. Arrive early to find a seat. Please RSVP to Sarah Angell at srhangell@gmail.com.

The BCC is a free, month-long, city-wide competition to see who can bike to work most, and arguably is one of the most beloved events put on by the Bicycle Transportation Alliance.   Businesses, co-workers, friends, heck, even significant others, can challenge each other. The process is simple: register and log your bike trips on the BCC website, throw down the gauntlet to whomever you wish, watch your miles rack up then check how your stats stack up against others’.

Why is it so great?

5 REASONS TO LOVE THE BIKE COMMUTE CHALLENGE:

1.  Prolongs the summer.   Ride to work on bike and you’ve just stumbled upon the best means of denial that summer is over (It is Not).  And just because you’ve expired your summer vacations, September is the choicest month for biking.   Is there a lovelier way to start your day than drawing in the fresh Fall summer air en route to work? (Contact the Swan Island TMA to put together a scenic bike trip plan for you)

2. Flexes your Inner Competitor.  Didn’t know you had it in you, did you? You’re not supposed to care that your girlfriend/boyfriend/colleague just beat you in Scrabble or that your neighbor just got a sparkly new dog/roof/boat/girlfriend/boyfriend/colleague.  It’s ok.  The Bike Commute Challenge is a healthy outlet for these feelings.   We don’t judge. (Learn more about how exercise reduces stress)

Daimler, adidas face off in BCC kick off event

3. Camaraderie Teamwork is at the heart of out-biking challengers in the Bike Commute Challenge.

Daimler employees swap bike commute tales

Grab a bike buddy to ride in with you to work (Let the Swan Island TMA help you find a Bike Mentor). 

4. You can slack off hitting the gym.  The beauty of biking to work is that you’ve crossed “exercise” off your list before you even get home! Biking is well-known as one of the best base training forms of exercise out there (Read more about the many benefits of biking).

5. It’s fun  September in Portland is packed with entertaining, informative and downright silly events to celebrates the Bike Commute Challenge.

Take advantage of the many free bike repair stations around town, master how to change your own bike tire,  join the parties that bring together friends, co-workers and businesses around town.   The sillier, the better.

The short video provides directions and eliminates confusion with clear explanations, such as where to use crosswalks at traffic signals on Hayden Island. Hosted by experienced rider, Kathryn Sofich, the video will make you feel like you are in the rider’s seat.

http://www.cityofvancouver.us/upload/contents/738/InterstateBridgeMap.pdf

Resources courtesy of Metro