Neighborhood briefs

The Portland Tribune, Apr 3, 2007

SOUTHWEST

Weekend bus sought

The Collins View Neighborhood Association is urging TriMet to continue running buses on the Line No. 39 — the Lewis & Clark route — seven days a week.

TriMet rerouted the line between Hillsdale and Lewis & Clark College in June 2006. At the time, TriMet said it would operate the line on that schedule for six months and then decide whether to continue it.

TriMet now says that although weekday ridership exceeded its goals, Friday evening and weekend trips are well below levels needed to continue the service.

As a result, TriMet proposes dropping the Friday evening and weekend runs. The regional transit agency has scheduled a hearing on the changes from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday, April 17, at Lewis & Clark College, Templeton Student Center, Council Chambers, 0615 S.W. Palatine Hill Road.

In the meantime, the neighborhood association is arguing that TriMet and local businesses need to spend more time publicizing the new route and schedule. It is urging residents to visit its Web site, www.collinsview.org, to learn more about opposing the changes.

NORTH

City mulls bike patrols

North Portland resident and bicycling advocate Jonathan Maus says his effort to establish a system of volunteer bike patrols throughout the city is well under way.

Maus, 32, lives in the Piedmont neighborhood and runs the online cycling magazine Bikeportland.org, which he started a year and a half ago. He says the idea of bike patrols had been percolating for a while, but he decided to raise it at a public meeting recently after some acts of violence against cyclists in North Portland.

City leaders seemed supportive of the idea but wanted to hear that the bike community was behind it. Maus said he’s used his Web site to gauge interest and received more than 60 responses in favor, from all parts of Portland.

He plans to hold a citywide meeting to present his vision for the patrols in early May and before then will meet with community leaders in North and Northeast Portland to discuss issues of gentrification, violence and cycling.

“I think it’s really important that this isn’t the city and/or me saying we found this big solution (to the violence),” he said. “It’s a citzen-run thing.”

NORTHWEST

Tour Northwest bikeways

Northwest Portland bicycle riders will have an opportunity to learn firsthand about the neighborhood’s bicycle lanes and tell city officials what improvements they’d like to see at a meeting Tuesday evening.

The Portland Office of Transportation is in the process of updating its bicycle master plan, and Roger Geller, the office’s bicycle coordinator, will lead a 10-mile ride through the Northwest neighborhood’s bike lanes. Starting time is 5:15 p.m. at Terry Schrunk Plaza, Southwest Third Avenue and Main Street.

Following the ride Geller will lead a discussion at the Rogue Ales Public House, 1339 N.W. Flanders St., about bike needs. Among the issues to be discussed will be a possible bike bridge across Interstate 405.

NORTHEAST

Clinic scores two grants

The North by Northeast Community Health Center, a free clinic that has been serving a growing number of North and Northeast Portland residents since its opening seven months ago, recently has been awarded two grants that will allow it to expand its operation.

The clinic, at 4725 N. Williams Ave., has seen more than 300 patients since opening in August to treat chronic health conditions in low-income residents. Two weeks ago the clinic received a $10,000 grant from Providence Health Plans and a $5,000 grant as part of a Kaiser Foundation community service award to Jill Ginsberg, the clinic’s medical director.

Ginsberg said the money will be used to add a second night of services over the summer and to bolster current operations, including the purchase of free medications for patients.

Current clinic hours are 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Thursdays. On average the clinic sees 12 to 15 patients a night, and none has been turned away so far.

SOUTHEAST

Dining out helps schools

Lauro Kitchen, a Mediterranean restaurant at 3377 S.E. Division St., will give 20 percent of its evening proceeds the third Wednesday of each month to a Southeast Portland school.

As part of Lauro Kitchen’s “Hungry for Knowledge” program, the next school to benefit is Sunnyside Elementary and its grounds and teaching gardens, which will receive a share of the restaurant’s April 18 receipts.

“Schools have been a consistent recipient of our in-kind donations,” says owner David Machado, who decided to start Hungry for Knowledge to help provide schools with a more consistent stream of income while also serving his customers.

Future schools include Buckman and Atkinson elementaries, Hosford Middle School and Cleveland High School. For information, call 503-239-7000, or go to www.lauro kitchen.com.

EAST

Lents market wants you

Gearing up for its first full season, the Lents International Farmers Market is looking for vendors and volunteers.

From June 3 to mid-October, the market will run from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. every Sunday at Southeast Foster Road and 92nd Avenue, in the historic downtown Lents neighborhood.

The 2007 season will build on three successful events last summer that were part of a pilot program, and will include fruits, vegetables, baked goods, plants, flowers and prepared foods, many of which were grown or prepared by immigrants and refugees living in the Portland area.

International music, chef demos, ethnic-recipe cards and children’s entertainment also will be provided. To get involved, call 503-621-7655, or e-mail lentsfarm ersmarket@gmail.com.

— Tribune staff