Salem Community Vision
Active citizens supporting community involvement, prosperity, and fiscal responsibility
Projects of Salem Community Vision
Our first focus was the City of Salem's proposal for a new police facility at the Civic Center and seismic upgrades to City Hall. Now we are engaged with other projects to improve the livability and vitality of Salem in a cost-effective way. A snapshot of each is below. Click on the title or photo for more information.
Downtown streetscaping
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Salem's downtown historic district already is a great place. But it can be even better, attracting more visitors, businesses, and residents. Making downtown pleasantly walkable and bikeable is key. There are many ways this can be done. We can learn from other cities where streetscaping has made their urban core a marvelous place to live, work, play, and enjoy a revitalized "Main Street."
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Economic Improvement District renewal
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Salem used to have an independent downtown association. It administered funds that come from assessments on downtown businesses. Now the Salem City Manager has taken control of those funds, serving as a one-person "board" who is advised by a hand-picked advisory committee. This needs to change. It is undemocratic and unproductive to have the City Manager replace an independent downtown association with herself.
Maintain and improve the Marion and Center Street bridges
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The two bridges that connect West Salem with the rest of the city aren't seismically sound. Almost certainly they would be unusable when (not if) the Big One earthquake hits. Approaches to the bridges also need to be improved to improve traffic flow, in line with a 1998 Bridgehead Engineering Study. There is no need for the $400 million third bridge proposal being pushed by some elected officials and special interests. Seismic retrofitting and improvements to the current bridges can be accomplished for a fraction of the third bridge cost.
End the blight of temporary signs in the right-of-way
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Hundreds of signs in the public rights-of-way in Salem are a form of visual pollution that degrades our city and sends a message to visitors and people who might like to relocate here that we don't care about our streetscapes. These illegal signs (along with an overabundance of legal signs allowed by Salem's too-permissive sign ordinances) make streets like Lancaster, Liberty, Commercial and Market Street look tacky and trashy. Since these are major arterials, these streets leave a terrible impression that scenic parts of our city, like our historic downtown or the Capitol Mall area, cannot erase.
Save ancient trees and historic Howard Hall
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Salem Hospital wants to needlessly cut down thirty majestic White Oaks and Douglas Firs for an over-sized parking lot that exceeds City of Salem standards. The Hospital also seeks to demolish Howard Hall, the last structure remaining from the Oregon School for the Blind, a historic building designed by renowned architect John Bennes. The reality is that Salem Hospital can achieve all of its development objectives for the property while preserving a Salem Historic Landmark and most of the ancient trees on the site. Click on the photo or title above to learn how you can tell Salem Hospital and the City of Salem to preserve these treasures.