The city transportation department has secured a permit to close part of SW Ankeny to car traffic all summer long, according to a report today in the Oregonian.
The alley-like stretch of SW Ankeny between 2nd Avenue and 3rd Avenue is always busy with pedestrians (it’s where the VooDoo Donuts line merges with the people smoking outside Valentine’s) and the city and bike/ped advocates have long discussed how to turn it carfree—it went carless for a weekend back in 2006.
But what’s exciting about this closure, which will run June 21st through October 21st if city council signs off on the permit, is that it’s businesses, not transportation wonks who are pushing to open up the street. According to the O article, each of seven businesses on the block are ponying up $200 during every summer month to compensate the city for the parking revenue that will be lost from Ankeny’s spots. It’s good to see businesses get it that more parking does not always equal more business, that they can likely get more customers by making their block nicer for people to actually walk around on.
Here’s the list of businesses pitching in: Via Tribunali/Caffe Vita, VooDoo Doughnut, Berbati’s, Dan & Louis Oyster Bar, Valentine’s, Shanghai Tunnel, and Perierra Creperie/Central bar.
Our bike issue last year focused on some of the 157 bike-centric businesses in Portland and some that use bikes to get work done just because it’s the most cost-efficient and effective option for them (like Swan Island boilermakers). But these businesses on Ankeny aren’t “bike businesses”… they’re just regular businesses that understand opening up space on the street for bikes and pedestrians can improve their business overall.
This is rad. But why stop with summer? Put a permanent 2 story canopy over the street and make it all pedestrian, all the time. Part can be a bike corral. With 2 stories, it could be a great outdoor movie theater with the screen at one end. Widen the sidewalk outside the Brit tavern to the oyster bar on 2nd so cars in the left lane don’t come up blind on taxis and pedestrians in front of Shanghai, Berbatis and XV.
R’s got a kickass idea, there. A covered alley there should be a cool landmark for that part of town.
R has the right idea. Put in the removable posts so the businesses can get goods in/trash out in the wee hours of the morning. The street is utterly worthless for traffic and the 12 parking spots aren’t really that essential.
The summer close off is temporary. It is being used as a way to understand what sorts of things need to be tweaked with for the future. Throughout the months, many things will be discussed as to what needs to be done for a permanent closing. So dontcha fret!
Sell the street vacation to the businesses for $750,000 I think that is about market.
This proves that business can pay $9000 each for their bike corals.
Actually Rosy, street vacations are free, not sold. Though there would probably be hella fees. But the city hates to do them. I’m thinking something like this: http://cdn.sheknows.com/articles/2010/04/k… at the Smithsonian or http://onewaystreet.typepad.com/.a/6a00d83…
That is 0.2 acres of land in downtown Portland worth $750,000 so free street vacation is theft of public property.
The street right of way is deeded from the adjacent property to the city. If the street is vacated, it reverts to the adjacent property. You can check into it if you like.
Carefree streets for all!
@Rosy – And it might still be public property. You’d still be allowed to walk and bike down it; it could be a big sidewalk instead of a small street, with no loss of public property.