Street Wonk is Taking a Pause...
Housing Regulatory Relief... Earl Blumenauer Retires... More Bike Lanes Under Threat... Oregon's Homelessness Crisis... See you in December...
Dear Readers,
I’m dealing with some major and ongoing life stuff and have decided to take a break from Street Wonk until the end of the month. I’ve paused subscriptions, so you won’t receive additional charges until I resume, and paid subscribers will receive an extra month of Street Wonk to make up for the four weeks that I’ve already missed. In the meantime, you’ll find some handy links below to keep track of what’s going on with local policymaking. But first…
WON’T SOMEBODY THINK OF THE POOR DEVELOPERS?!
I want to thank Portland Audubon, Willamette Riverkeeper, Bob Sallinger, and other local environmental advocates for their efforts to fight Portland City Council’s proposal to suspend the green roof and bird-friendly building requirements in our 2035 Comprehensive Plan to make life easier (i.e., more profitable) for developers. My office worked closely with GrIT and other advocates to develop our green roof requirements, which, at the time, set the highest standards in the country.
Housing regulatory relief, bike parking, and a blow to transparency? (BikePortland)
Portland eco-roof map (GrIT)
THANKS, EARL!
I received a mysterious invitation announcing a special get-together with Congressman Earl Blumenauer last week. Around 200 people gathered at Polaris Hall to witness what turned out to be his retirement announcement after over 50 years of service. Earl still has a year left in DC, but he promised to come home to keep working on behalf of Portland when he’s done.
Rep. Earl Blumenauer, a Portland Democrat, announces retirement from Congress (OPB)
In Search of Earl: What Makes Blumenauer Tick? (Willamette Week)
WHAT THE TRUCK?!
On the heels of the Broadway Bike Lane Debacle, Portlanders stand in front of truck to prevent bike lane removal (Bike Portland). PBOT needs to stop piecemealing bike infrastructure neighborhood by neighborhood. A safe, connected bike infrastructure for Portland is a citywide issue and not one that individual neighborhoods should block.
HOMELESSNESS—IT’S NOT JUST A PORTLAND PROBLEM
In case you missed it, Alex Zelinski did an excellent two-part series on Oregon’s homelessness crisis last month:
Also, make this make sense:
Small Donor Elections: 2024 Election
Save this link to check out the growing list of candidates for Portland City Council and the Mayoral election in 2024. A few more promising candidates have thrown their hats in the ring since my last round-up.