1,000-car parking garage for Tacoma Street MAX Station

By David F. Ashton

The Bee, Sep 1, 2009, Updated Oct 30, 2009

Any hopes by Ardenwald/Johnson Creek neighborhood residents for a scaled-down parking structure at the proposed Tacoma Street MAX Light Rail station evaporated at a planning workshop on Monday evening, August 3rd, at Sellwood’s SMILE Station.

“We’re going to talk about the shape of the parking garage and the open spaces around it,” is how Metro’s public involvement specialist Dana Lucero set the stage for the evening’s meeting. “We’ll discuss how people walk, bike, and take vehicles in and out of the station, and then brainstorm ideas at the TriMet design team. We will incorporate what we can into the design of the station.”

As the meeting got underway, 18 citizens, and 20 governmental representatives from Metro, TriMet, City of Portland, City of Milwaukie and ODOT, filled the meeting room.

“When we last met in Ardenwald in May, we listened to, and wrote down, the many concerns we heard,” Lucero began.

Topics she highlighted were categorized under site character, garage, bike and pedestrian access, traffic issues, safety and security, and community issues. Missing from the list was the strenuous objection to increasing the number of vehicle parking spaces to one thousand.

In answer to a question, Lucero said the vehicle ramp from S.E. Tacoma Street to the station was not wide enough to accommodate pedestrians. “It’s difficult to modify the structure because it goes over Johnson Creek.”

Design constraints discussed

The “programming” of the Tacoma Street Station was the topic taken up by Paige Schlupp, a member of the TriMet Design Team.

“We have to consider the existing railroad tracks, and how they dip under Tacoma Street,” Schlupp said. “The station is very close to Johnson Creek, and we need to protect it. We have a City of Portland requirement to have 50% ‘permeable areas’ on the site, and there may be some opportunities for restoration near Johnson Creek. There will be north and southbound platforms – and the tracks go over the north part of the site, and under the Springwater Trail footbridge.”

The site’s programming takes into account access for bicycles, pedestrians, and vehicles, Schlupp observed – as well as how the station is connected with Tacoma Street and McLoughlin Blvd.

“We’ve looked at 100 concepts that won’t work,” is how Chris Zahas, with Leland Consulting, described the quest for redeveloping the Pendleton Woolen Mills building and property. “The building really isn’t in play; there are currently no plans to redevelop it. The timing doesn’t work for it to be redesigned in a single project.”

The difficulty of using the Pendleton site for retail, he said, is that McLoughlin Boulevard drivers can only enter while traveling northbound. “But, it’s a really cool, funky building,” added Zahas, “with about 60,000 square feet under one roof. A space this size is quite rare.”

Four stories – or five?

Tom Litster, of Otak Architects, told the Sellwood meeting that his company was tasked with locating and configuring the parking garage. “It’s for a ‘set number’ of cars; 1,000 cars was the number given to us. The key thing about the configuration is the kind of spaces left on the site, other than the garage building. Are those remaining spaces usable – and for what are they suited?”

While Ardenwald/Johnson Creek neighbors have been saying they would prefer a shorter, less towering structure, Litster pointed out inherent problems. “Given the 1,000-car requirement, building it shorter could squeeze all other uses off the site. And, there may be a conflict with the 50% permeable surface requirement. We’ve settled on [a height of] four to five stories tall.”

After showing attendees at the meeting three designs for the parking garage and MAX station site, Litster was peppered with questions regarding the size of the proposed structure.

Q “Can it be lowered by providing fewer spaces?

A “It will be four or five stories tall to accommodate 1,000 spaces.”

Q “Can you build it lower by digging down – putting some of the parking in a basement?”

A “No. The high water table makes it technically difficult; it may be cost-prohibitive.”

Q How many feet high is four or five stories tall?”

A “About 45’ tall for four levels; about 55’ for five levels. In comparison, the tallest part of the Pendleton building is about 30’.”

Westmoreland resident and TriMet employee Mike Pucik asked rhetorically, “Why do we get a giant parking garage, and the City of Milwaukee gets light rail – but isn’t doesn’t have any parking garages?” [It should be noted that the site in question is entirely within the Ardenwald neighborhood, a section of which is within the City of Milwaukie.]

After the formal presentations, neighbors and government officials gathered around tables to examine closely the proposed station designs, and make suggestions by drawing them on tracing paper.

Lucero said the Tacoma Station Design Team will take the feedback gained from the planning workshop, and will use it to move the project ahead.