​Welcome Neighbors!

Sullivan’s Gulch is the neighborhood in Northeast Portland between I-84 ("the gulch") and NE Broadway St. and from NE 15th to 33rd Ave.  We're named after Timothy Sullivan, an early farmer in the area, who settled his donation land claim on January 27, 1851.​ The Sullivan’s Gulch Neighborhood Association works to make our neighborhood more livable through various committees, information and referral.  Meetings are open to all.

---

---

Upcoming SGNA Activities

The beginning of every SGNA meeting starts with a public comment period to share your ideas and concerns about the neighborhood or email us here.

​SGNA Land Use & Transportation Committee Meeting
February 2,  6:00 pm
via Zoom.  Agenda and info HERE

February  SGNA Board of Directors Meeting
February 2,  7:30 pm
via Zoom.  Agenda and info HERE 

1903 Panoramic Photo of NE Portland

The panoramic photograph below is of NE Portland in 1903.  It was taken just before the Sullivan's Gulch and Irvington were developed.  The view is east-northeast.    It's part of a bigger panorama of Portland taken by courtesy of local historian Doug Decker.

First a little orientation: 
​

• Point 1 is Rocky Butte
• Point 2 is on the Alameda Ridge, with just a few structures on it — probably farms
• Point 3. This open area is farm land that was on a trajectory to be part of the broader Irvinginton development, but not yet subdivided on the ground. Doug Decker says,  it's bordered by today’s NE Thompson-Fremont between 7th and 15th.  This may have been used by the Multnomah Fair Association for various activities.

A higher resolution version of the image, without the circles, can be found here.  Smaller images of the full panorama are here.

Leaf Day 2020: Friday, Dec. 4
No On Street Parking Starting 7 am

It’s that time again: neighborhood-wide leaf pickup will be Friday, Dec. 4.  This means NO ON STREET PARKING starting at 7 am or YOU WILL BE TOWED.  

Every year 10-15 people get towed because they overslept or cut it too close.  Don’t take a chance, the night before, park in your driveway, out of the neighborhood or at two locations SGNA has arranged:  Fred Meyer (outer row only) and the parking lot of Grace Memorial Episcopal Church (16th & Halsey/Weidler).  

If you park at either Fred Meyer or Grace Church please print out and display this permit on your dashboard.

As in previous years, there is no charge for this service.
​
Here’s how to get ready:

• Between now and Friday, rake your leaves into the street. Tree leaves only — use regular yard bins for twigs, branches, needles, grass clippings, and other debris.
• Leave one foot of space between your pile and the curb for storm runoff and allow plenty of clearance between your piles and any vehicle left parked on the street.
•  To locate towed vehicles, call Police Auto Records at 503-823-0044.

The exact boundaries of the leaf collection/tow zone are shown below.  Note there are a few tiny areas of Sullivan’s Gulch that won’t be towed: along the north side of Weidler and south side of Broadway.  Don't take a chance.

For information: leafday@portlandoregon.gov or call 503-865-5323

---

Neighbor to Neighbor can help make the Gulch a little safer
​and more neighborly

Would you like to get better acquainted with your neighbors?  

Would you like to make your block a little safer?

The SGNA Neighbor to Neighbor program organizes a volunteer on each block to contact everyone else on their block to collect names and phone numbers. Then the coordinator shares the information back with everyone who agrees to participate.  If you need help with something or if you are able to help, just tell the Block Coordinator and they will make a connection with someone willing to help. Or neighbors can organize with each other directly with their block phone list. There’s no big database, the information stays with the block coordinator. (Of course, we understand that not everyone will want to share their phone number or want to participate. That’s fine; it’s completely voluntary.)

If you'd like to be a Block Coordinator, we’ll provide you with introductory letters and survey form, and a form to record and share the results with your neighbors. Use the map below to identify the block or area you’d like to handle.

Here's a more complete description of what Block Coordinators do.

Here’s the sample invitation and survey form:

Here's a form to keep track of your neighbors' contact information.

If you’re ready to meet your neighbors or want to learn more, contact:

Marissa Perez, 503-901-4404,
marissaperez@gmail.com
      or
Dave Brook, SGNA Board Chair; ​503-313-1320    
dbrookportland@gmail.com

A North-South Bus on 20th-21ST?
​MAYBE  SOME DAY...

Trimet provides really good transit service to Sullivan’s Gulch.  It’s easy to get downtown, NW Portland, Hollywood and beyond. And we’ve got several lines that go north to Alberta, Woodlawn Concordia, as well as along 11th & 12th to Sellwood.

One area that’s hard to get to on public transportation is due south on 21st/20th Ave.  Imagine being able to take a bus to Revolution Hall, get to Cleveland High School (the neighborhood high school for Gulch students) without changing, eat at Castagna on Hawthorne or even go to a concert (or class) at Reed College?  That’s the possibility sketched out by Trimet — a new north-south bus line on 20th-21st — Line Y.

• North from the Gulch Line Y would travel on NE 21st and then up 24th-27th (in place of the existing #17, which would be re-routed to 33rd) all the way to Concordia College.
• South from the Gulch Line Y travels on 20th, jogs over to 26th past Cleveland High School, then past Reed College, swing thru Eastmoreland and on Bybee to 13th in Sellwood.  In the concept maps (below) the #70 would end in Lloyd District (as it used to).

 The proposed route is shown on the maps below.  Note that Line Y is shown as an orange line in the NE map and a light blue line in the SE map.  The route is easier to see in Trimet's long range Service Enhancement plan (click on North/Central and Southeast to see the maps in detail.  (Text continues below.)

Last year SGNA Land Use Chair, DJ Heffernan, and I met with the head of Trimet Service Planning to learn more about what it would take to make Line Y a reality.  We were told that even with all the expansion and improvements that Trimet is currently implementing it appears promising that Line Y could happen in the 5+ year time frame.  But we were cautioned that there are some competing interests for the estimated $4 million it would take to operate Line Y.  This includes the possible conversion to electric buses or making all of Trimet free!  Since Trimet is a public agency they have an open process in setting the priorities each year.  It’s guided by a Citizens Advisory Committee and, ultimately, the Trimet Board of Directors.

Given COVID-19, Trimet will certainly put this kind of service enhancement on hold, probably for several years.  If you think it’s a good idea and would like to spend time trying to move this forward, we need help contacting neighborhood associations along the route to alert them to the possibility of N-S bus service on 20th-21st and work together to rally support to move it up Trimet's priority list for future investments.  But it’s going to take regular attendance at the Citizens Advisory Committee and later Board meeting to move the project along.  We’ll post new information as we get it.  If you want to help out, get in touch with Dave or DJ directly or via the Contact box on this page.   

Source of information and maps 
​
North/NE
https://trimet.org/future/northcentral.htm
https://trimet.org/future/pdf/north-central-final-map.pdf

SE
https://trimet.org/future/southeast.htm
https://trimet.org/future/pdf/southeast-final-report-map.pdf

Current bus routes map
https://trimet.org/maps/img/trimetsystem.png

Join the discussions on Facebook and Nextdoor