Student “unimproved-street project” completed; offers tools to solve such problems

By Elizabeth Ussher Groff

The Bee, Jul 7, 2010

Standing left to right, in front of “Lake Carlton” in Woodstock – a huge pothole which may cease to exist by fall – are PSU graduate students Emily Lieb, Al Klein, Katie Lynd, Rani Boyle and Leah Hyman, holding their graduation publications, which may offer residents elsewhere the tools to tackle similar nuisances.

Elizabeth Ussher Groff / THE BEE

A canopy tent was set up beside brown and muddy neighborhood “Lake Carlton” — the huge mid-street puddle previously shown in a BEE photo, now swollen by this year’s relentless spring rains.

A small celebration was taking place.

At S.E. 45th and Carlton Street in Woodstock on June 10th,five Portland State University students from the Master of Urban and Regional Planning program — they call themselves “LARKE Planning” — proudly presented the final documents of their five-month Woodstock unimproved street project.

A group of nearby neighbors and four parents (who were in town for PSU graduation ceremonies) marveled at the students’ hard work, and the benefits of using computers in creating attractive self-publications.

Spiral-bound — and full of color sketches, color-coded chapters, maps, and demographic data — the documents, each 70 pages long, are impressively thorough in their research, and attractive in their format.

The final report was entitled “Unimproved Streets in Portland — An Exploration of Opportunities & Challenges”, and will be used throughout Portland to inform neighbors of the city’s policies concerning unimproved streets.

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