Main Street Economy
Economy
SGN’s main street is NE Broadway. The services that front NE Broadway between NE 15th Avenue and NE 37th Avenue are what make SGN a walkable neighborhood. To reach our climate action and livability goals we need a strong vibrant main street that offers a diversity of goods and services.
Of concern are the number of businesses that have closed, including the Irvington Market, Grand Central Baking, and the QFC in Grant Park. These businesses supported our “20-minute Neighborhood”. To help bolster the main street, SGN supports the addition of higher density housing in the NE Weidler and Broadway corridor. We also seek an attractive, pedestrian scale, walkable street environment, which is called for in the 1992 Broadway/Weidler Corridor Plan. Unfortunately, the City’s investment in the corridor has not advanced that vision; Broadway remains an auto-oriented commuter corridor and alternate route to I-84.
Design
Several recent developments approved in the corridor that have not provided the inviting pedestrian oriented street frontage called for in the corridor plan. Grant Park Village, while a welcome addition in terms of new housing, created a “walled-in” streetscape without enough room for pedestrians to sit and interact. It is especially disappointing because the initial site plan called for a deeper setback with room for outdoor seating, landscaping, a wider sidewalk and other amenities typical of an inviting main street.
SGN does not want the type of design that the City imposed on the south side of Broadway repeated elsewhere in the corridor. We would like to see the following design features and site planning, especially between NE 24th Avenue and NE 34th Avenue.
Main Street Goals/Actions:
SGN’s main street is NE Broadway. The services that front NE Broadway between NE 15th Avenue and NE 37th Avenue are what make SGN a walkable neighborhood. To reach our climate action and livability goals we need a strong vibrant main street that offers a diversity of goods and services.
Of concern are the number of businesses that have closed, including the Irvington Market, Grand Central Baking, and the QFC in Grant Park. These businesses supported our “20-minute Neighborhood”. To help bolster the main street, SGN supports the addition of higher density housing in the NE Weidler and Broadway corridor. We also seek an attractive, pedestrian scale, walkable street environment, which is called for in the 1992 Broadway/Weidler Corridor Plan. Unfortunately, the City’s investment in the corridor has not advanced that vision; Broadway remains an auto-oriented commuter corridor and alternate route to I-84.
Design
Several recent developments approved in the corridor that have not provided the inviting pedestrian oriented street frontage called for in the corridor plan. Grant Park Village, while a welcome addition in terms of new housing, created a “walled-in” streetscape without enough room for pedestrians to sit and interact. It is especially disappointing because the initial site plan called for a deeper setback with room for outdoor seating, landscaping, a wider sidewalk and other amenities typical of an inviting main street.
SGN does not want the type of design that the City imposed on the south side of Broadway repeated elsewhere in the corridor. We would like to see the following design features and site planning, especially between NE 24th Avenue and NE 34th Avenue.
- 10’ - 12’ Sidewalks;
- Angle building entrances at corners;
- Landscape planters or a planting strip to buffer pedestrians from the street;
- Street furnishings and seating that provide opportunities for people to stop, sit and interact;
- NE Weidler and/or NE Schuyler used as bike routes to provide access to development on Broadway west of NE 32nd Ave.
Main Street Goals/Actions:
- Work to establish a walkable pedestrian-oriented main street environment between NE 24th Avenue and NE 33rd Avenue serving Grant Park and the east-end of SGN.
- Establish a joint Grant Park/SGN sub-committee to work with BPS on design guidelines using thee Crandell/Arambula Quick Response report from the 1990s and the Division Street Design Collective for guidance.
- Seek a more cooperative and collaborative relationship with the Northeast Broadway Business Assn. and identify strategies to help the business district thrive.
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