Richmond
By Chris Flint Chatto
The Richmond Neighborhood Association held its monthly meeting on July 8 at Waverly Heights Church at SE 33rd and Woodward St. RNA meetings are held in the church basement; enter from the east-side door. The RNA’s website is www.richmondpdx.org.
At the recent RNA meeting, local dog owners explained the difficulties and inaccuracies with the off-leash area in Sewallcrest Park. The park is one of 32 off-leash areas in the city and has the most complicated schedule, featuring five seasons (September and October are 2 different seasons) and thirteen different hourly periods, largely a vestige of when the neighboring Edwards Elementary School was in operation and off-leash hours were scheduled around the school schedule. Edwards closed in 2007 or 2008. The city was confused as well by the complicated schedule, evidenced by Parks & Rec. posting the wrong schedule in the park. The city’s website has the correct schedule, creating the real possibility that dog owners could be cited for following the wrong set of rules. Attempts to simplify the complicated schedule have gone nowhere since there a blanket moratorium on any changes to parks (due to budget cuts in city staff). Since this is a straightforward adjustment to simplify the schedule, the RNA voted to urge the city to lift the current moratorium to reassess the hours and boundaries for the off-leash area. Interested dog-owners who want to join the newly formed Sewallcrest OLA Stewardship group can email sewallcrestdogs@gmail.com.
Local neighbors described traffic conflicts and safety issues at SE 34th and Clinton. In addition to the four-way stop, routinely ignored by drivers and bicyclists alike, 34th Ave is four feet narrower than neighboring streets, and is a north-south Greenway bike street as well. Neighbors complained about busted mirrors, damaged tree limbs, and near accidents at the intersection. Ideas discussed included a no-truck restriction and making 34th a one way street. Additional work will be done on the intersection in the future, after Division St. and sewer updates are done, including a traffic calming mandala in the intersection. The RNA will invite city representatives and neighbors to consider possible solutions.
The August meeting will have a presentation by the developer who recently purchased the Lincoln Street Baptist Church, SE 32nd Pl and Lincoln, that will be demolished.
Upcoming events include:
August 17: Sewallcrest Park free movie: “Planet of Dinosaurs,” a Filmusik Live Soundtrack event, featuring voice actors, sound effects artists, and the band Blue Cranes.
August 18: Hawthorne Street Fair, Sat 8/18
September 17: “Knock Knock its Your Neighbor”, storytelling at the Bagdad by local celebrities, politicians, and comedians.
The next RNA meeting will be Monday, August 13 at Waverly Heights Church, 7-9 pm.  Email  richmondna@yahoo.com to get on the monthly email list.