Placing of Powell bridge highlights Gresham’s push to ‘connect’

Gresham’s first bicycle-pedestrian bridge was set in place by cranes over W. Powell Boulevard Aug. 10. The new 177-foot bridge (not yet open to the public) was trucked in by eight semis each carrying an 88-foot concrete beam weighing 50,000 pounds.

The bridge marks another milestone in Gresham’s efforts complete bike lanes and trails that connect the city’s businesses and neighborhoods together, and the city to the region.

The bridge work is part of the City’s 2-mile extension of the Gresham-Fairview Trail from Burnside Road south to the Springwater Trail. When the extension opens for public use this winter, people will be able to walk, jog and bicycle 3.29 miles from Halsey Street at 201st Avenue south to the Springwater Trail.

New Bicycle Links

 “We’ve finished major bicycle links this summer that make cycling in Gresham easier, safer, and that connect major trails,” said John Dorst, deputy director for the Department of Environmental Services. “It’s great to be connected and see people recreating and exploring the businesses, restaurants and parks in Gresham,” he added.

This spring the City also installed more than 100 bicycle wayfinding signs and produced an updated Gresham Bicycle Guide available at local bike shops, Gresham City Hall and the Gresham Area Chamber of Commerce.

New bicycle links in Gresham include:

• 257th/Kane Drive from S.E. Powell Valley Road to NE 8th Street completes the eastern segment of the 40 Mile Loop.
• Halsey Street bike lanes from 162nd to 181st complete bike lanes through Halsey in Gresham; connects riders to the northern edge of the Gresham-Fairview Trail, which connects to the soon-to-be completed section to the Springwater Trail.
• Glisan Street bike lanes from 182nd to just east of 201st connect the last missing bicycle links on Glisan in the city, and connects riders to the Gresham-Fairview-Trail.
• Hogan Drive/242nd bike lanes from N.E. Glisan to S.E. Stark features new bike lanes and sidewalk; connects riders to the Springwater Trail’s Hogan Road trailhead to the south.

Future links include:

• A paved trail following the MAX tracks from the Ruby Junction/E197th station to the Cleveland MAX station; the trail will connect to the Gresham-Fairview Trail, with options to continue south to the Springwater Trail or north to the Marine Drive Trail.
• Gresham-Fairview Trail Phases IV and V, which will extend the trail from 201st at Halsey to Marine Drive at Interlachen Lane.

More Information

New Bicycle Wayfinding Signs and Gresham Bicycle Guide

Gresham SmartTrips - Summer Bicycle Rides

Bicycling and Walking

Transportation Division  

• OregonLive - News

• Your comments: Story about gang shootings in Portland and Gresham arouses concern

  A story posted this morning about gang violence in Gresham and Portland has drawn a number of comments in the past hour or so:                what about our rights, what about our liberties? they my friend are gone as long as these pukes cruise our streets, steal our children, and kill our families. no they...

  
  A story posted this morning about gang violence in Gresham and Portland has drawn a number of comments in the past hour or so:
      
       
      what about our rights, what about our liberties? they my friend are
  gone as long as these pukes cruise our streets, steal our children, and
  kill our families. no they have given up their rights simply by virtue
  of the fact that they couldn't care less about this country or the
  citizens in it. all they care about is power and money and they don't
  care how they get it or who they have to eliminate to get it. no i say
  get rid of them and continue to do so as long as they move here or pop
  up. our constitution should not be used to protect the rights of those
  that have no loyalties at all to the country.
       
      Commenter name: tomthefrog
       
      You can never give up the constitution, no matter what. If you do, you
  are an extremist liberal, and look what that has gotten us.
       
      If the people who in these neighborhoods refuse to cooperate with
  investigations, refuse to be witnesses, and refuse to step up to the
  bangers in some way, then they in turn deserve the misery that gangs
  create. Its time to stop whining about getting someone to change
  things and to start changing them for yourself.
       
      Commenter name: spe1446 
       
      Years ago during the 90's escalation, I worked with an old
  self-admitted racist who suggested we take all the gang members and put
  them in a large enclosed area and let the gangs shoot it out; whoever
  was left would claim all the territory. At the time I felt this was
  ignorant and bigoted. Now it kinda makes sense. That's what they are
  doing, only they also take innocent lives and are too cowardly to do it
  face to face. They truly believe that when they get much older they'll
  have the rapper lifestyle, all the women and job security. No one has
  job security.
       
      Commenter name: CaptainK
  
  What about DISARMING the gangs ????  No sane person would argue for
  their "right" to own/possess/carry/discharge a firearm, except perhaps
  the gun zealots who think any type of legislation that affects firearms
  is an affront to their liberty.
  
  
  Commenter name: EffBeeEye
   
   
• Sandy dry cleaners receives sustainability award from Clackamas County

  The business earned a BRAG Award by setting a mixed-materials recycling program and working to reduce packaging.

  Sandy's Mt. Hood Cleaners, 38862 Proctor Blvd., was recognized last month for overhauling its waste prevention and recycling systems to create a more sustainable business.
  
  The second-generation, family-owned business received the Clackamas County Office of Sustainability's BRAG Award after working with sustainability analyst Shannon Martin to upgrade environmental practices in its three locations.
  
  Mt. Hood Cleaners, which already used organic products for laundry and dry cleaning, set up a complete mixed-materials recycling program and worked to reduce packaging, Martin said.
  
  The thin plastic bags used to protect freshly cleaned clothes can't be recycled at the curb, Martin said, but the business is collecting and compressing them into larger bags that it delivers to a recycling facility.
  
  What really impressed Martin: The business was willing to go station by station in looking at ways to become more sustainable, he said.
  
  BRAG awards go to businesses that recycle materials, prevent waste with at least six activities, buy recycled products and commit to continual improvements.
  
  --Holly Goodman
  
• Sandy Oktoberfest books American-style bands

  Johnny Limbo and the Lugnuts and the Country Rock Association will take the stage at the annual German festival.

  The Sandy Oktoberfest has booked for the Biergarten main stage two American music bands for Sept. 10 and 11 to add a bit of the good old USA to the traditional German festival.
  
  On Sept. 10 from 7:30 to 10:30 p.m., the '50s and '60s rock-and-roll band Johnny Limbo and the Lugnuts will perform. Tickets are $10 in advance and $12 at the door. Advance tickets can be purchased at Bi-Mart east county locations and Clackamas County Bank branches or by contacting buda@sandyoktoberfest.net.
  
  Seating is not reserved, so come early to get the best seats and have dinner from our 15-plus food vendors. Personal chairs are allowed.
  
  On Sept. 11 from 7 to 11 p.m., the Country Rock Association from Seattle will perform. Tickets are available at the door for $5.
  
  No minors or pets are allowed in the Biergarten after 6 p.m.
  
  -- Bud Abraham, Sandy Oktoberfest
   
• Oregon City golf tournament will benefit Police Activities League programs in three counties

  Spend the day on the golf course and help kids involved in Police Activities League programs.

  OREGON CITY – The Police Activities League (PAL) of Greater Portland will host a golf tournament Sept. 24 at the Stone Creek Golf Club.
  
  PAL youth programs in Beaverton, Gresham, Molalla, Portland and Troutdale will benefit from the ninth annual Golf Invitational Tournament at 14603 S. Stoneridge Drive.
  
  The tournament, sponsored by West Coast Bank, is a four-person scramble with an 8 a.m. shotgun start. The cost is $125, which includes 18 holes of golf, a golf cart, range balls, a goody bag, refreshments, lunch, and door prizes.
  
  PAL is a nonprofit juvenile crime prevention program that provides opportunities to youth through athletics, education, cultural enrichment and job opportunities. About $10,000 was raised at last year's fundraiser.
  
  "One of the most important things an officer can do is to be a positive influence on the life of a youth who may be straddling the fence between what's right and wrong," said youth center program director Britt Fredrickson in a news release. "You never know when that one positive thing you do or say will pull them in the right direction for good, and that is the really rewarding part of the job."
  
  To register, visit the website or contact Kyrsten Crowe at 503-823-0250 or by email.
  
  -- Vickie Kavanagh
  
   
• Reynolds High School focuses on specific deficiencies, and state reading test success jumps

  Some students needed help with taking standardized exams, but others had much more serious problems. So students were grouped with others with the same deficiency, whether it was comprehension, vocabulary or other skills.

  
  
  Last year, Reynolds High School took a new approach to boosting 10th-grade scores on Oregon’s reading test: The school chose a teacher to focus on students who had struggled on previous tests.
  
  Some students needed help with taking standardized exams, but others had much more serious problems. So students were grouped with others with the same deficiency, whether it was comprehension, vocabulary or other skills.
  
  Administrators at Reynolds credit the program with a major jump in the percentage of students who passed the state reading exam during the last school year: 65 percent of the school’s sophomores passed the test, compared with 52 percent in the 2008-09 school year. The jump was among the biggest for a metro-area high school.
  
  The test is important for two reasons: First, it measures a crucial life skill. And second, starting with the class of 2012, students must pass the reading exam by their senior year to graduate.
  
  “If you don’t know how to read, the doors are closed to you,” Reynolds Principal Jeff Gilbert said. “First off, you’re not going to graduate from high school. But No. 2, what are you going to do in life?”
  
  Despite the gains, Reynolds maintains one of the metro area’s lowest rates of students who passed the exam. Out of 800 tested, 224 didn’t meet the requirement. Students can take the reading test three times as juniors and three more times as seniors.
  
  The metro area’s top high schools were West Linn, with 93 percent of sophomores passing the reading test, and Lakeridge at 93 percent. Both schools had just 26 students fail to pass.
  
  Still, the improvement at Reynolds comes after dramatic cuts in the district forced the high school to lay off 28 teachers before classes started last year. “It’s pretty remarkable with all of that cutting that we were still able to” raise scores, Gilbert said.
  
  In addition, because of the cuts, schools in the district have been able to hire new teachers this summer. That will enable Reynolds High to expand its reading program from one teacher working with about 120 students to five teachers working with 600 kids, Gilbert said.
  
  The school has also added a new reading curriculum, and other programs will provide guidance counseling, additional tutoring and a focus on college preparedness.
  
  Gilbert and Alice DeWittie, the vice principal who oversees Reynolds’ reading program, expect the measures to produce more gains this school year.
  
  DeWittie also credits prayer and teachers’ hard work for boosting test scores. In addition, the school made a concerted effort to let students know they have to pass the test to graduate, she said.
  
  “And we’re doing it all again over this year,” she said. “Just in case they forgot over the summer.”
  
  --Stephen Beaven
  

• The Gresham Outlook - News

• You already knew this: Summer was coldest in 17 years
  Summer’s over, right? You mean we actually had a summer? We did, but according to meteorologists, it was the coldest Portland-area summer in 17 years. “This was also the first summer since summer of 1976 that all three summer months (June, July and August) recorded back-to-back below ...
• Swimmer sends message as she crosses open waters
  When Karen Gaffney was 9 months old, her father, Jim, started teaching her to swim in the family’s backyard pool in Sunnyvale, Calif. More than three decades later, she’s still wet behind the ears. That’s because Gaffney swam in a relay across the English Channel and solo across ...
• Gresham police officer involved in a traffic crash
  Gresham resident Katina Marrapodi, 30, was injured when she and Gresham Police Officer Don Gibson collided on 182nd Avenue while he was on the way to help a Multnomah County sheriff’s deputy at about 1:53 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 31. Gibson was heading south on Southeast 182nd Avenue with his ...
• Gresham, Fairview police plan child seat belt enforcement blitz
  Local law enforcement agencies, including the Fairview and Gresham police departments and the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office, will participate in a nationwide “Click It or Ticket” enforcement blitz through Sunday, Sept. 12. The focus is on educating the public regarding child ...
• Local briefs for Sept. 1
  Gresham police officer involved in traffic crash Gresham resident Katina Marrapodi, 30, was injured when she and Gresham Police Officer Don Gibson collided on 182nd Avenue while he was on the way to help a Multnomah County sheriff’s deputy at about 1:53 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 31. Gibson was ...

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