depave in the streets
Depave Streets Program
Depave envisions greener, more livable cities that support more vibrant versions of humans and nature. Walking, biking, skating, rolling, are all forms of non-fossil fuel dependent transportation that are part of the future we must look towards creating in response to climate change and peak oil. Integrating nature and slower forms of transformation mean supporting life processes that are not only less dangerous than automobiles, but actually healthier and more supportive of life.
What we envision…
Our dream aims to combine traffic calming, community placemaking, and green infrastructure to an over-paved area in the Central Eastside District of Portland (CEID). We aim to create a vibrant, living, community space that creates community, celebrates arts and small business, while providing much needed stormwater management, habitat and shade from tree canopy.
The City of Portland’s 2035 Plan, anticipates that by 2035, there will be an additional 7,000 new households moving to the CEID, many of which will be low income families, creating new demand for accessible parks and open space.
Through a public imagining process of surveys and community engagement with neighborhood businesses, street users, housed and unhoused community members and conversations with local leaders, we have collected input and support for our complete cul-du-sac design at the project site (image right). To see all three orginal alignment options, check them out here: two way street, one way street, cul-du-sac.
The project
The SE 7th and Sandy Green Street project brings together a diverse group of project stakeholders, including local business/property owners, community non-profits, design professionals, and City staff to develop more than a comprehensive intersection design that manages stormwater, improves the pedestrian and bicycle connections, and enhances the aesthetics of the streetscape.
This project functions through collaborative partnerships with Portland bureaus of Transportation and Environmental Services, Portland Indigenous Marketplace, Ground Score Association, Zucker Engineering and Design, Art Heaux, and others to redevelop and re-green SE 7th Avenue between Washington and Stark into a community street plaza.
Green Streets Concepts
The project is adjacent to the Green Loop, a six-mile linear park that connects people through the heart of the city, improving access to and linking regional attractions, cultural institutions, employment centers, and shopping districts. The current CE alignment for the Green Loop is NE/SE 6th Avenue, but until recently NE/SE 6th and 7th Avenues were alternative alignments and it is possible that all or a portion will shift over to NE/SE 7th Avenue in the future. PBOT has committed to build up NE/SE 7th Avenue as a primary bike/pedestrian north-south arterial in the Central Eastside, so regardless of the ultimate location of the Green Loop there will be important safety benefits for bicyclists and pedestrians from this project.