RE: PBOT Portland in the Streets Community Grant

To Whom It May Concern,

The Cully Blvd Alliance with support of Cully Association of Neighbors is applying for a Portland in the Streets Community Grant to create a more welcoming, safe and accessible community space within the pedestrian right of way located at the “five corners” intersection of Cully Boulevard, 60^th Avenue, and Prescott Street. The location is at Prescott & Cully Blvd where there is a small “island” in the public right of way (photo attached) and will consist of a community bulletin board/kiosk and community designed ground mural that will be maintained by CAN and CBA.

The Cully community has expressed concerns about the pedestrian island creating a false sense of safety for pedestrians ever since it was installed in 2012. It also causes accidents and vehicle damage due to it not being very visible to drivers. The project will serve two purposes: to improve safety and to create a more welcoming public space by making the island more visible through creative application of a community designed & painted mural on the right of way and an artistically designed community kiosk for neighbors to share information and publicly gather.

The Cully Blvd Alliance and Cully Association of neighbors frequently work collaboratively with community partner organizations such as NAYA, Hacienda, Verde NE Emergency Food Pantry and Trinity Lutheran School, and Cully Blvd business owners and City bureaus among many others on community driven priorities and projects including projects like this one. Other collaborative Cully projects include neighborhood livability projects such as the Cully Clean Up (the largest neighborhood cleanup in Oregon), and community driven development projects such as Living Cully Plaza (a mixed-use, mixed-income affordable and market-rate commercial and housing development), Cully Park, Khunamokwst Park, PBOT’s Connected Cully project (a community-wide pedestrian access improvement project) and the Cully Blvd Green Street project.

The project being proposed by Cully Blvd Alliance with support of Cully Association of Neighbors for the Portland in the Streets Community Grant is an important community livability priority due to 1) pedestrian safety concerns at the 60^th Avenue crossing of the five corners intersection and 2) the need for creating a more welcoming public space for community members accessing the new food cart pod businesses being developed at the five corners triangle (4579 NE Cully Blvd) and surrounding businesses. The food carts are predominantly minority owned businesses, comprised of lower income sole proprietors and emerging entrepreneurs. These improvements will be a strongly supported and welcome change from the chronic blight resulting from the multiple iterations of strip clubs, pipe & tobacco shops and the grungy old nefarious bars they are replacing.

Finally, the Cully community, the only minority majority neighborhood in the city and one of the most ethnically diverse in the entire state of Oregon, is in dire need of infrastructure support, economic development and accessible, welcoming and safe community gathering spaces. This project will support the development of inclusive and accessible public space and provide much needed infrastructure support for predominantly minority and woman owned businesses in the heart of the Cully business district.

 

Sincerely,

 

Cully Association of Neighbors