News from the President

Hi Sunnyside! The big news of the month concerns ongoing efforts to make SE Cesar E. Chavez Blvd. safer for all users through the neighborhood. Following the tragic death of Belmont librarian Jeannie Chavez by a drunk, reckless driver, PBOT investigators reviewed the area around SE Taylor where Diaz was killed. While they will not take any direct action at this time to address the underlying road and sidewalk design that contributed to this incident, they did determine that a step can be taken to reduce traffic-related accidents at that intersection. A PBOT engineer discovered that while only 1.7% of the vehicles entering this intersection were turning left, 25% of the accidents involved left-hand turns. To reduce this number, PBOT decided to install traffic diverters at the intersection that will prevent left-hand turns to/from Chavez at Taylor. PBOT believes that this action could have a significant effect on car crashes at this intersection. We at the SNA are not resting on this issue, nor are we satisfied with this as the sole response from PBOT. We continue to work with the city to re-envision Chavez as a street that could be safe and productive for everyone.

Our next General Meeting will be another busy one! On the agenda we will have an update from Central Precinct officers on public safety, a briefing from the Belmont Library team about the coming renovations and a presentation from Cascadia Action, who is asking the SNA to endorse other neighborhood efforts to negotiate with polluting industries, primarily in North and Northeast Portland. Hope to see you on November 9th!

October 12, 2023 SNA Board Meeting

The SNA’s July Board Meeting will be held Thursday, Octover 12, 2023, at 7:00pm.

Meeting is open to the public. 

Meeting Agenda. Times are approximate. Agenda items are subject to change.

This meeting will be held in person at SE Uplift (3534 SE Main St, Portland, OR 97214) and virtually at https://us06web.zoom.us/j/85776168096?pwd=dTU3V0wycWZxTmhSVGNjNjJxdjNldz09

 

News from the President

Hi neighbors and welcome to the spooky season! Time for pumpkin spice, kids dressed as superheroes & zombies, and the looming dread of the coming rains.

September was a busy month for the Sunnyside Neighborhood Association. We had a great time at the Belmont Street Fair seeing old friends and welcoming new ones to the neighborhood. A big shout out to everyone who volunteered to set up and staff the Sunnyside table!

September also saw the first SNA General Meeting of the season. We welcomed State Rep. Rob Nosse who spoke about transportation safety and funding, improving the operation and administration of the organizations tasked with providing detox and rehabilitation services under Measure 110, as well as other public safety & livability issues. Thank you Rep. Nosse for taking the time to join us.

We also discussed traffic safety and what SNA’s advocacy should be with PBOT. The conversation focused on César Chavez Blvd. People came with some great ideas including:

● Adding bus/bike-only lanes;

● Improving the timing of the lights at Belmont and Taylor;

● Painting crosswalks to better highlight them for drivers;

● Removing potentially unnecessary bus stops between Belmont and Hawthorne. [There are currently four on each side on this stretch.];

● Working with organizations like MADD and/or our local business associations to create banners to hang across César Chavez to disrupt the visual field and reduce speeds; and

● Widening the sidewalks by engaging with property owners whose retaining walls encroach on the public right-of-way.

Please keep your ideas coming! It was noted that, currently, PBOT’s resources are stretched extremely thin, and there are, possibly, equity issues in spending a lot of money to improve César Chavez through Sunnyside when so many neighborhoods in Portland lack basic infrastructure like sidewalks and marked crosswalks. In the meantime, members of the SNA Land Use & Transportation Committee are reaching out to PBOT leadership to ensure they have our community’s input as they move forward with near and long term upgrades to our roads.

During the Board Meeting we agreed that we need to update the SNA’s branding. We are looking for help designing a new logo and creating signage for events such as street fairs and movie nights. If you are interested in helping, please reach out to us at [email protected].

Finally, SE Uplift has opened up its grant applications for the year. They have two opportunities – Community Small Grants and IDEA Communication Grants. The Community Small Grants program awards up to $5,000 for projects that increase the number and diversity of people engaged in the broader community; that strengthen the community’s capacity to build leadership, identity, skills, and relationships; and that increase the ability for the community to impact public decisions and community life. The IDEA Communications Grants program awards up to $1,000 for eligible communications-related projects that focus on increasing Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility (IDEA) within the SE Uplift area. Applications are due October 31st. For more details visit www.seuplift.org/grants.

The SNA will not have a General Meeting in October; our next General Meeting is on November 9th. We hope to have a representative from one of our local police precincts to discuss public safety. We are also reaching out to Multnomah County to learn more about the upcoming renovation to the Belmont Library branch. In the meantime, be careful out there and watch out for little goblins and ghouls on the streets!

September 14, 2023 SNA General & Board Meeting

The SNA’s September General and Board Meeting will be held Thursday, September 14, 2023, at 7:00pm.

Meeting is open to the public. 

Meeting Agenda. Times are approximate. Agenda items are subject to change.

This meeting will be held in person at SE Uplift (3534 SE Main St, Portland, OR 97214) and virtually at https://us06web.zoom.us/j/85776168096?pwd=dTU3V0wycWZxTmhSVGNjNjJxdjNldz09