![]() “We’re not talking about getting rid of all the parking. It’s apparent they’re wary of this happening again and want to get ahead of any controversy: documents outlining this plan clarify that turning some parking spaces into habitats for trees is essentially a last resort for fitting greenery into tight spots, and Gastaldi said PBOT will practice restraint with on-street parking conversion. PBOT has recently faced backlash from people threatened by their plans to reallocate on-street parking, notably on NW Overton, where the agency ended up scrapping an already-built bikeway to reinstall parking spots. To confront this challenge, PBOT’s pilot would take tree planting beyond the limited sidewalk furnishing zone and into spaces previously reserved for cars. Particularly in the most car-dominant parts of the city (which are also often the poorest), sidewalks are narrow and there often isn’t enough room for trees. ![]() This pilot plan, a collaboration between PBOT, Portland Parks & Recreation’s Urban Forestry team and the Bureau of Environmental Services, aims to “develop a framework for tree planting in the curb zone.” It will be funded through a $500,000 grant awarded to PBOT by the Bureau of Environmental Service’s Percent for Green program, which uses a percentage of development charges to fund green infrastructure projects that “provide broad benefits for watershed health and the community.” The pilot is part of the recently-updated Pedestrian Design Guide, which has a large section dedicated to improving tree canopy coverage on Portland’s streets.īut beefing up canopy coverage is more complicated than just taking a shovel to the dirt. Climate justice advocates have called on the city to make sure all Portlanders have access to trees, and planners have begun to include more greenery in their blueprints for new street designs, especially in lower-income parts of the city where concrete is king ( like 122nd Ave).Īt yesterday evening’s Portland Pedestrian Advisory Committee (PAC) meeting, PBOT’s Interim Pedestrian Coordinator Gena Gastaldi gave a rundown of a new city street tree pilot project. As climate change continues making our summers hotter and the cooling effect of urban forests becomes even more palpable, the disparity between the tree haves and have-nots will be more apparent. Tree canopy coverage is unevenly distributed across the city, with people in wealthier parts of Portland benefitting the most from dense urban forestry that lower-income neighborhoods are largely devoid of. Though many neighborhoods in Portland’s central city are as green as can be, this isn’t the case everywhere. Good news for Joni Mitchell and fans of sustainable city planning in Portland: the Portland Bureau of Transportation is considering depaving paradise and trading parking spaces for trees. “If you don’t do something like this, these trees aren’t happening.” -Gena Gastaldi, PBOT An example of trees in the street on SE Hawthorne Blvd.
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