Write to our City Council

The Campaign for Sustainable Transportation and the Downtown Commons Advocates are urging our new City Council NOT to persue the current plans to construct yet another parking garage above a new library in our downtown, but instead to take the steps (WIN-WIN strategies) shown in the sample letter in the form below.

For additional information (ten reasons why we don't need a new garage), see this page. And for a thorough review about how Portland has created “gathering places”, dealt with their homeless and provided low-cost housing, see this page.

If you are supportive of any of these steps, please consider filling out the form below to send a note to our City Council. The subject line will say “Win-Win for Farmers Market AND Library”.

Your note will be most effective if you edit the “Message” that we provide in the form below so as to express your thoughts in your own words.

If you just want to say you endorse the steps provided in the “Message”, at least insert an initial sentence that says so, right after the first line of the message in the form.

We'll add your signature (and address if you provide it) after your note, which you could therefore end with "Sincerely," or "Best," (or nothing at all).

First name:

Last name:

Email:

Address:

City:

State:

Zip:

Message:

Dear Mayor Cummings and City Council members:

Please add my name to those who support the "win-win" strategies listed below.  They will result in a WIN for the Farmers Market, a WIN for the Library and a WIN for Affordable Housing Downtown.

(a) No new parking garage where the Farmers Market meets downtown.
   Parking consultant Patrick Siegman studied downtown parking and reported that in spite of anticipated development downtown, no new garage is needed.

(b) Parking funds can help renovate the Downtown Library.
   If funding beyond Measure S library funds are needed, additional funds can come from parking revenue.

(c) Offer the Farmers Market permanence at its current location.
   In addition, hire a consultant to facilitate a process to design the space as a Town Commons.

(d) Use parking funds to build affordable housing.
   Not building the garage will save the City's parking fund $87 million over a 30-year period.  Parking revenue can be used to leverage state and federal funding for housing that is truly affordable to workers downtown.  Possible locations include the Calvary Church parking lot, city parking lots on Front Street and city properties adjacent to the METRO Center.

Check to receive occasional updates from CFST:

Check to send a copy to yourself: