On October 30th Zidell launched another barge from their factory here in the South Waterfront.  One of the residents in the Meriwether building made a video of the launch from their balcony - excellent view point.  Check out the video on You Tube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SePwwFIW1Sc

photo by Kent Anderson

Zidell has been working hard - night and day - preparing their most recent barge for launch.  And we have just learned when they will be launching this barge….

When: Thursday October 30th - 11:30am - 12:30pm

Where: Zidell Marine Corp - South Waterfront

Be sure to come by and check this out - it only happens once a year and it’s pretty spectacular to see the barge slip into the water for the first time.

An interactive multi-media exhibit exploring Portland’s future

Are we ready for the dramatic changes coming to Portland in this new century? What shape will our city take over the next 50 or 100 years? What is essential about Portland? What do Portlander’s believe in, and what is our DNA? What are the fundamental urban patterns and design principles at work here? What are our hopes and dreams, and how can we build our city to realize them? Five designers - architects, urban designers and a landscape-architect - have been working for over a year to probe these questions. Through lively debate, discussions with invited guests and late-night design charrettes they have created compelling visions of our future. Their ideas will change the way you think about Portland.

Ticket info: Free and Open to the Public - Located at PNCA (1241 NW Johnson)

Tuesday July 8th - 6 to 9 PM - Five Designers speak on their work. Featuring Rudy Barton; Carol Mayer-Reed, FASLA; Michael McCulloch; Richard Potestio; and William Tripp.

Tuesday July 22nd - 6 to 9 PM - PNCA: Idea Studio - “In the Round: Collective Leadership.” Designers, architects, city planners, and others speak about the challenges facing Portland and their vision for the future.

On Tuesday night the 20/20 Sustainable Lifestyle and Transportation Committee had a very productive meeting that included a presentation from PDOT. It was very informative about the many upcoming transportation related projects that will be happening in the South Waterfront. For more information about the upcoming projects visit the city’s website: Portland Transportation.com.

South Waterfront has been buzzing lately with new improvement projects, from Greensways and Neighborhood parks to the ground breaking of the Mirabella. Let’s add one more to the growing list - the Gibbs St. Pedestiran Bridge, linking us to our neighbors to the West.

The firm working on this project, CH2MHILL, is asking for public input on the design options for the bridge and have a public survey posted on their site to collect our input. Here is a link to their site: www.gibbsbridge.org.

This survey is open until June 15th, so please try and add your input as soon as possible. Here is a link to the survey: Gibbs St. Survey. They will also be holding an Open House on June 25th - the location has not been solidified yet, so be sure to check back soon.

I noticed on Friday that PDOT had finally installed parking signs and meters along Bond Ave. in the South Waterfront. Most importantly, unlike Moody Ave., these metered spots are between 2 and 3 hrs:

I’ve been living and working in the South Waterfront for around 6 months now and every morning this stretch of Bond is packed with cars. I know it’s not construction workers, they have a lot, a big one. I know it’s not the retailers of South Waterfront - they are the ones who have been so supportive of abolishing the 11 hr parking in the neighborhood. Basically, all those OHSU employees have to find somewhere else to park now. Although I can’t blame them, I probably would have done the same thing in their shoes. This is a great thing for the neighborhood, now our guests won’t have to search for hours to find parking and more people can come frequent the retail shops, like Le Hana and the new Bambuza Vietnam Bistro opening next week, without getting too frustrated.

Now the city just needs to change the 11 hr parking on Moody and we’ll be all set.