Save Ivy Island
Ivy Island is the traffic island at N. Richmond and Lombard in St Johns, (Portland), Oregon; the Eastern entrance to the business district of downtown St Johns. There is a proposal about to go before the Mayor and the Portland City Council to vacate (the city gives up ownership) of Ivy Island and the Lombard Slip Lane and giving this land to developer Farid Bolouri. If this proposal passes, the Lombard Slip will be blocked off and Ivy Island will be razed.
We want to save Ivy Island and the Slip Lane, and keep our Gateway into St Johns. Right now, as one approaches from the east, one can see through the branches of the mature trees on Ivy Island, right into the heart of the downtown business core. It is a lovely, welcoming Gateway into St Johns. And it is historical. With the many changes and developments happening in St Johns, we feel strongly about the importance of holding on to our St Johns character, and this eastern Gateway is one of the things that makes us unique and distinguishes us from every other neighborhood in Portland.
The Current Situation
The current plan is to give this land to developer Farid Bolouri in exchange for making traffic improvements at the intersection where Ivy Island currently stands. Supporters of this plan cite the 2004 St Johns Lombard Plan as justification for giving away our public land; they say that razing Ivy Island, adding a traffic signal and a right turn lane at N. Jersey/Lombard and "squaring the block" will eliminate the blind corner at N. Charleston and Lombard Streets and make the Charleston intersection safer. Where the Slip Lane and Ivy Island are currently located, Mr. Bolouri plans to build a four-story, mixed-use retail/106-unit apartment complex with an underground parking garage.
Don't Cherry Pick the Lombard Plan
While we acknowledge the need for growth and the Portland City mandate for density, there are many of us who think the SJ Lombard Plan was actually written to prevent large developments such as this one from coming into St Johns. We think proponents pick and choose arguments from the Lombard Plan to support their position, entirely ignoring the "spirit" of the SJLP. We would like to see St Johns residents and community planners revisit the St Johns Lombard Plan. Eleven years is a long time and much has changed since 2004. Development has begun in earnest in St Johns and growth has outstripped 2004 projections. Also, we are against giving away our public land. Once we "privatize the commons" there will be no getting it back.
We think there are other ways of making the intersection at N. Charleston safer. We could start by setting back the building on the corner of N. Charleston and Lombard an additional five feet beyond the twelve feet variance currently required for sidewalk widths. With this additional five feet, the corner is no longer blind. Once visibility improves, there are other means of "calming" traffic: installing speed bumps, flashing red light with a "Slow to 20 mph" sign, installing a crosswalk, etc. Taking the lead from Mark Lakeman and City Repair, we could paint colorful salmon swimming "upstream" on the road of the Slip Lane itself - paintings on the street have been proven to calm traffic! Making the Lombard/Charleston corner safe and pedestrian friendly can be done more elegantly than by destroying and changing everything.
Let’s keep what works and fix what doesn't. There’s a lot about the current easy, friendly, iconic, and lovely entrance to our business district that works.
Why We Love Ivy Island and the Lombard Slip Lane
* "Uniquity": Ivy Island is a unique, welcoming, historical gateway into St Johns.
* Easy Access: The Lombard Slip makes it easy for cars to enter the business district.
* Visibility: You can see through the trees on Ivy Island into the business district.
* Canopy: The mature trees on Ivy Island contribute to Portland's tree cover.
* Mature Trees: It takes time to grow trees. The trees on Ivy Island are already mature.
* Irreplaceability: If they raze Ivy Island and build an underground parking garage, any new trees planted there will not have the soil they need to grow taller than about sixteen-feet.
*Return of the Streetcar: One day we may wish to bring the Streetcar back to St Johns. Wouldn't the Lombard Slip Lane be the perfect place for this? One-hundred years ago, the Slip Lane was the route for the Streetcar.
*Greenspace: Ivy Island provides a welcome, greenspace break from the sea of asphalt and brick buildings on N. Lombard.
*History: Years ago, Ivy Island was covered in ivy and was an eyesore. Thanks to the effort of many volunteers over many years, Ivy Island is no longer covered in ivy, and it's beautiful. Now that Ivy Island has finally "arrived," why tear it down? We like rooting for the underdog here in St Johns!
*Gateway: Ivy Island and the Lombard Slip are a true GATEWAY into St Johns. If they go, we will have a WALL of brick instead of a gateway. Walls keep people out. Gateways welcome them in.
*Iconic: When you drive through the Gateway at Ivy Island and the Lombard Slip Lane, you know you've arrived in St Johns' Business District. This is unique to all of Portland.
Save Ivy Island, Gateway to St Johns!
Ivy Island is the traffic island at N. Richmond and Lombard in St Johns, (Portland), Oregon; the Eastern entrance to the business district of downtown St Johns. There is a proposal about to go before the Mayor and the Portland City Council to vacate (the city gives up ownership) of Ivy Island and the Lombard Slip Lane and giving this land to developer Farid Bolouri. If this proposal passes, the Lombard Slip will be blocked off and Ivy Island will be razed.
We want to save Ivy Island and the Slip Lane, and keep our Gateway into St Johns. Right now, as one approaches from the east, one can see through the branches of the mature trees on Ivy Island, right into the heart of the downtown business core. It is a lovely, welcoming Gateway into St Johns. And it is historical. With the many changes and developments happening in St Johns, we feel strongly about the importance of holding on to our St Johns character, and this eastern Gateway is one of the things that makes us unique and distinguishes us from every other neighborhood in Portland.
The Current Situation
The current plan is to give this land to developer Farid Bolouri in exchange for making traffic improvements at the intersection where Ivy Island currently stands. Supporters of this plan cite the 2004 St Johns Lombard Plan as justification for giving away our public land; they say that razing Ivy Island, adding a traffic signal and a right turn lane at N. Jersey/Lombard and "squaring the block" will eliminate the blind corner at N. Charleston and Lombard Streets and make the Charleston intersection safer. Where the Slip Lane and Ivy Island are currently located, Mr. Bolouri plans to build a four-story, mixed-use retail/106-unit apartment complex with an underground parking garage.
Don't Cherry Pick the Lombard Plan
While we acknowledge the need for growth and the Portland City mandate for density, there are many of us who think the SJ Lombard Plan was actually written to prevent large developments such as this one from coming into St Johns. We think proponents pick and choose arguments from the Lombard Plan to support their position, entirely ignoring the "spirit" of the SJLP. We would like to see St Johns residents and community planners revisit the St Johns Lombard Plan. Eleven years is a long time and much has changed since 2004. Development has begun in earnest in St Johns and growth has outstripped 2004 projections. Also, we are against giving away our public land. Once we "privatize the commons" there will be no getting it back.
We think there are other ways of making the intersection at N. Charleston safer. We could start by setting back the building on the corner of N. Charleston and Lombard an additional five feet beyond the twelve feet variance currently required for sidewalk widths. With this additional five feet, the corner is no longer blind. Once visibility improves, there are other means of "calming" traffic: installing speed bumps, flashing red light with a "Slow to 20 mph" sign, installing a crosswalk, etc. Taking the lead from Mark Lakeman and City Repair, we could paint colorful salmon swimming "upstream" on the road of the Slip Lane itself - paintings on the street have been proven to calm traffic! Making the Lombard/Charleston corner safe and pedestrian friendly can be done more elegantly than by destroying and changing everything.
Let’s keep what works and fix what doesn't. There’s a lot about the current easy, friendly, iconic, and lovely entrance to our business district that works.
Why We Love Ivy Island and the Lombard Slip Lane
* "Uniquity": Ivy Island is a unique, welcoming, historical gateway into St Johns.
* Easy Access: The Lombard Slip makes it easy for cars to enter the business district.
* Visibility: You can see through the trees on Ivy Island into the business district.
* Canopy: The mature trees on Ivy Island contribute to Portland's tree cover.
* Mature Trees: It takes time to grow trees. The trees on Ivy Island are already mature.
* Irreplaceability: If they raze Ivy Island and build an underground parking garage, any new trees planted there will not have the soil they need to grow taller than about sixteen-feet.
*Return of the Streetcar: One day we may wish to bring the Streetcar back to St Johns. Wouldn't the Lombard Slip Lane be the perfect place for this? One-hundred years ago, the Slip Lane was the route for the Streetcar.
*Greenspace: Ivy Island provides a welcome, greenspace break from the sea of asphalt and brick buildings on N. Lombard.
*History: Years ago, Ivy Island was covered in ivy and was an eyesore. Thanks to the effort of many volunteers over many years, Ivy Island is no longer covered in ivy, and it's beautiful. Now that Ivy Island has finally "arrived," why tear it down? We like rooting for the underdog here in St Johns!
*Gateway: Ivy Island and the Lombard Slip are a true GATEWAY into St Johns. If they go, we will have a WALL of brick instead of a gateway. Walls keep people out. Gateways welcome them in.
*Iconic: When you drive through the Gateway at Ivy Island and the Lombard Slip Lane, you know you've arrived in St Johns' Business District. This is unique to all of Portland.
Save Ivy Island, Gateway to St Johns!