Hayhurst Neighborhood Association

Author: Hayhurst Neighborhood Assn. Board

  •  SW Shattuck at Illinois and 60th: Advocacy for Intersection Safety

     SW Shattuck at Illinois and 60th: Advocacy for Intersection Safety

    The intersection of three roads: SW Shattuck Road, SW Illinois Street and SW 60th Avenue, has long been a confusing and dangerous place to navigate. With hundreds of new residents arriving soon at Raleigh Crest, traffic in the area will increase. Recently, Hayhurst Neighborhood Association board members and others have advocated for a safer situation at this multi-access corner.

    Background

    In 2024, Raleigh Crest submitted an application to build 263 new homes on the former Alpenrose Farm site. The traffic study for the application identified speeding as an issue on SW Shattuck Road and estimated that there would be 2,200 more daily vehicle trips on SW Shattuck. The development’s main entrance would be a westbound extension of SW Illinois Street. During the Land Use review, Hayhurst neighbors advocated for needed safety improvements to surrounding roads, especially to the SW Shattuck/Illinois/60th intersection. This included stop signs on Shattuck at the new crossing, improving Shattuck north to Beaverton-Hillsdale Hwy (BHH), a flashing beacon marked crosswalk, and  speed cushions on SW Shattuck. 

    As those improvements were not approved in the City of Portland’s November 2024 land use decision, ongoing concerns about the safety of the SW Illinois/60th/Shattuck intersection, especially for schoolchildren crossing to Hayhurst Elementary School and catching the bus, led neighbors to propose that SW 60th be converted to a one-way street southbound to help with safety concerns and relieve some of the intersection congestion.

    Outreach

    The Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) approved the proposal subject to outreach to the neighbors in the affected area. Volunteers prepared and distributed 177 letters supported by PBOT to all neighbors on SW 60th Ave, SW Idaho St (50th to 60th), SW Nebraska St (50th to 60th), SW 55th Dr (Illinois to Idaho) and SW Illinois St (55th to 60th) in early September 2026 asking for feedback by September 30th. Seven people responded to HNA by email, with two in support and five opposed to the change. Two more emails addressed traffic on SW Nebraska, but did not take a position on the change. All feedback was forwarded to PBOT. Additionally, some neighbors wrote directly to PBOT, and some posted on Facebook and Nextdoor.

    Neighborhood Association Meeting September 2026

    Hayhurst Neighborhood Association invited neighbors and Portland Bureau of Transportation to the monthly meeting on September 14th to discuss the proposal. PBOT representatives Carlos Hernandez and Matthew Machado attended the meeting to listen to neighbors’ concerns and talk about ideas and plans to improve traffic safety. . Nine neighbors living in the affected area joined to share their concerns and suggestions. 
    You can watch the meeting recording here. The discussion starts at 17:00.

    Portland Bureau of Transportation Presentation

    At the September meeting, PBOT representatives provided the following information about the status of the intersection:

    • They will request traffic counts on SW 60th between SW Nebraska and SW Illinois to provide data on numbers and types of vehicles and their speeds to help them evaluate the intersection.
    • The Raleigh Crest Public Works permit for Stage 1 is final so any changes to the intersection would need to be considered as part of Stage 2 or a separate work order.
    • The Stage 1 permit calls for extensions to tighten the intersection for crosswalk safety.
    • According to traffic engineering rules, stop sign installation on Shattuck would require 200 cars per hour. An unwarranted stop sign could contribute to more speeding.
    • The Oregon DMV data through 2024 does not show any reported crashes for the intersection. However, a crash at the intersection in March 2025 was reported to them by the neighborhood.
    • Portland Fire Bureau is still evaluating whether speed cushions can be added to SW Shattuck Road. PBOT noted at the meeting that Shattuck is a Major Emergency Route south of BHH, but not north of BHH which is why that section has speed cushions. However, per the Southwest In Motion Plan (SWIM), all of Shattuck is a Major Emergency Response Route and eligible for speed cushions. PBOT submitted a plan for speed cushions between Vermont and BHH to the Fire Bureau.
    • The planned traffic study that Hayhurst is holding funds for will help identify what changes may be needed, e.g. stop signs on Shattuck.

    Neighbors’ Issues

    Neighbors reported the following concerns about the intersection and SW Shattuck Road:

    • Vehicles entering the intersection northbound from SW 60th need to swing across Illinois to see out and make a turn onto Shattuck. School buses have to swing out across both lanes of Shattuck to turn right onto Shattuck from Illinois.
    • It’s an awkward wide open intersection and there is poor visibility at the intersection,It’s made worse by excess vegetation in the right-of-way.
    • The existing stop signs on 60th and Illinois are too far back to be effective.
    • Traffic using the intersection is uncontrolled by the existing layout.
    • Excessive speeding on SW Shattuck
    • The SW Illinois Greenway already has too much traffic for safe walking and biking, but the speed bumps help slow vehicles down.
    • There is speeding on SW 60th, which could get worse if made one-way.
    • Vehicles coming up 60th have nearly t-boned vehicles driving west on Illinois at the intersection.                                      
    • Drivers will likely cut through the neighborhood due to increasing traffic on Shattuck.
    • Traffic is increasing on SW Nebraska possibly due to drivers avoiding the speed cushions on SW Illinois.
    • The SW 55th and Illinois intersection is unsafe.

    Neighbors’ Suggestions

    In addition to converting SW 60th to one-way, Hayhurst neighbors made the following suggestions to help improve safety at the intersection and on Shattuck:

    • Completely close off SW 60th vehicle access to the intersection, turning it into a walk/bike way.
    • Better position the stop signs for SW 60th and Illinois.
    • Cut back vegetation on both the north and south sides of the intersection.
    • Separate the intersection into four lanes — two for SW 60th and two for Illinois.
    • Add a median or planter to separate the traffic in the intersection.
    • Add stop signs to SW Shattuck to protect the new crossing.
    • Add speed cushions to SW Shattuck to reduce speeding.
    • Add speed cushions to SW 60th.
    • Add speed cushions to SW Nebraska.
    • Wait until Raleigh Crest homes for Stage 1 are built to better identify the solution(s).
    • Improve SW Shattuck for walking and biking north of Raleigh Crest to BHH.
    • Make the intersection a roundabout.

    Follow-up

    After the meeting, PBOT contacted the Raleigh Crest developer to remove the one-way striping and signs from the intersection plans but the striping had already been done. PBOT then requested that they paint over it. More intersection striping and wands were added to tighten the intersection, and neighbors started reporting on October 12 that they cannot safely turn onto Shattuck from SW Illinois Street. PBOT’s Matthew Machado visited the intersection the next day to determine what corrections are needed. He has submitted revised intersection plans including relocating some of the white curbing and modifying some of the striping. A revised plan has been sent over to Public Works Construction to send to the contractor. He will be meeting with the contractor on site early the week of October 20 to walk them through the changes, and will know when the changes can be made after the meeting.

    Here are some images of the intersection (photos by Alissa Cattone):

    SW Shattuck Road at SW Illinois Street intersection in SW Portland Oregon
  • Hayhurst Garden Work Party on August 15

    Hayhurst Garden Work Party on August 15

    by Tom Powers

    Please join your neighbors and fellow school community members and volunteer at the Community Care Day work party at Hayhurst School on Saturday, August 15, from 8 am to 12 noon.

    Hayhurst School Unity Garden

    With a little bit of work, we can have the school grounds in great shape to welcome our students and families back for the new school year. Community Care Day is a districtwide event, and our best way to make our school look amazing is through volunteers coming to put in some work and some fun!


    Please note the slightly earlier start time of 8 am, which aligns with the districtwide time for this event.


    What we need folks to bring (if you have them):

    • gardening gloves
    • pruners, shovels, weeders, rakes, etc.
    • Wheelbarrow

    Bring a friend or two. Kids are welcome to join and help. The Hayhurst Garden Committee will provide water and snacks.

    For more information, contact Tom Powers at tlanepowers@gmail.com or (503) 936-7456. Hayhurst Garden Committee is affiliated with Friends of Hayhurst www.friendsofhayhurst.org


  • Our “Hayhurst Neighborhood OWL Watch”

    Our “Hayhurst Neighborhood OWL Watch”

    by Douglas Rogers, Hayhurst NA Treasurer

    This spring several neighborhood folks gathered regularly along SW 45th Avenue around sunset, to watch a pair of screech owls nest and raise their young owlets. This all started back in late March 2026 when the female owl was seen perched in an open cavity 15 feet up on the side of a large, old, maple tree on the west side of SW 45th Avenue. Of course, our neighbors out walking their dogs and watching the sunset were curious about why we were all staring up into that old maple tree on the side of the street, asking, “What are you all looking at?!”

    Owl babies
    Owl mother
    Owl babies four

    photos by Kristin Hiatt

    The male and female owls had nested in this same location last year and had four little owlets to show off to their gawking human neighbors staring up at them from our neighbor Rachel’s driveway. So, we had hopes they would choose this same nest cavity again this year and had been watching for them – and, yes!, they again chose this same tree cavity for this year (we’ve seen this same owl pair nesting for five years now).  

    The female laid her eggs in early April, and we had this year’s three owlets peeking over the edge of the nest cavity at the end of May. June was our busy month to watch when the young owlets were growing their feathers, getting stronger, and perching on the edge of their cavity.  Soon they were big enough to fly short distances away from the nest cavity and into the upper tree limbs, where we got to watch them huddled together waiting for their parents to bring them food (mostly mice and an occasional small bird or snake – free “pest control” for their human neighbors!).  

    Finally, toward the last half of June our family of owls moved away from our neighbor Rachel’s front yard.  We lost sight of them as they began exploring the neighborhood trees and the other good places to find their food. That makes them hard to see, but they will stay nearby all year, and hopefully they’ll choose that same old maple tree next year to have some more baby owls!

  • What’s up with the Trail at Pendleton Creek Headwaters?

    What’s up with the Trail at Pendleton Creek Headwaters?

    by Barbara Linssen

    If you’ve used the shortcut behind the baseball field at Hayhurst School, gone out the fence and down a path, across a rickety bridge to the a dead end of SW 48th Street then you’ve been in the headwaters of Pendleton Creek.

    Technically, it starts about 400 feet east on 48th Ave. where new homes surround a preserved wetland. Pendleton Creek makes its way west through our neighborhood and the Cedar Sinai Woods (west of SW Shattuck) eventually meeting up with Fanno Creek near the intersection of Beaverton-Hillsdale Highway and SW Oleson. You can enjoy Pendleton Creek gurgling or gushing by after a rain along the lovely creekside foot path (labeled as Kanan street on some maps) that runs between SW 50th south of Cameron to SW 54th, where sadly the public pathway ends. The creek is dry much of the Summer but carries a lot of water in the rainy season.

    Hayhurst Neighborhood Association, with support from Seth Healy from the Westside Watershed Resource Center and the City of Portland’s Bureau of Environmental Services, has been working to improve the wetland and water quality at the headwaters of the creek. Two fourth grade classrooms at Hayhurst School (Ms. MacDonald and Ms. Vallance’s classes) provided enthusiastic help during the last school year.

    Students help restore Pendleton Creek behind Hayhurst School.
    Students help restore Pendleton Creek behind Hayhurst School. Credit Barbara Linssen.

    We first met the classes in October to discuss native versus invasive plants, habitat, water quality and local wildlife. This spring, we got dirty pulling out invasive English Ivy. Concentrating on the slope leading up to the northeast corner of the school property students made pretty quick work of the ivy. Once that ground was clear we came back a few weeks later and planted appropriate native plants supplied by the Portland Bureau of Environmental Services. Oregon Grape, ferns, ocean spray, fringe cup flowers and more are now getting established. The students had such a great time that they want to continue taking care of the area. 

    This first summer will be the biggest challenge for these new plants. If they can avoid drought, being accidentally cut down or crushed by adventurers, they are very likely to survive once fall rains arrive. Volunteers from the neighborhood will continue to weed carefully around the plants. Eventually competing invasive plants will be crowded and shaded out by the natives

    Some of your neighbors will be hauling water to the site this July and August to keep the young plants going. If you’d like to help please let us know by emailing hayhurstna@gmail.com. Even one hour of your time would be a big help, and students can earn community service credits.

  • Raleigh Crest / Alpenrose site updates

    Raleigh Crest / Alpenrose site updates

    Drive down Shattuck Road, and you’ll see the landscape changing at the old Alpenrose Dairy site, almost by the hour. Gone are all of the dairy buildings, and the open fields are dotted with mounds of dirt and heavy equipment. Over the last month, excavators and graders have been leveling out roadways, and diggers have been carving trenches for sewer and utility lines for the new Raleigh Crest development.

    At the monthly “Good Neighbor” meeting on June 3, development managers from AKS Engineering reported on the construction schedule updates for this summer:

    Utilities and curbs

    Stormwater and utility conduits will be installed on SW Shattuck Road the week of June 8. Traffic control will run along Shattuck and will be needed at times near SW Pendleton Court during that week.

    The stormwater connection across SW Dover Street will be installed between June 18 and 26.

    Construction of onsite curbs will also begin in June.

    The City of Portland will be connecting the water main at SW Illinois, which will require a road closure.This should be a one-day project—the exact date is not yet known.

    Home construction is expected to begin in early fall.

    Raleigh Crest construction on the old Alpenrose Dairy site, SW Shattuck Road at SW Illinois St.

    View of the Raleigh Crest Site from the corner of SW Illinois and SW Shattuck June 8, 2026

    Construction vehicles at SW 60th near Shattuck Road, near Raleigh Crest development at the Alpenrose Dairy site
    credit: Beth Blenz-Clucas

    Red ElectricTrail and Shattuck pathway

    The foundation is in place for the new Red Electric Trail. The Holt Homes landscaping team will design the transition from Shattuck to the trail. 

    The multi-use pathway along Shattuck will no longer have the two-foot landscape buffer between the walkway and bikeway due to future maintenance needs. The current plan is to create a wider buffer of street trees and water catchment planted with the City of Portland’s choice of native plants between Shattuck traffic lanes and the path.

    Shattuck Road speed cushions

    Meanwhile, Hayhurst Neighborhood Association is still advocating with the City of Portland to install speed cushions along SW Shattuck Road. Board members are communicating with Portland Fire Chief Lauren Johnson, who expressed reservations about adding the bumps, due to Shattuck’s status as a Major Emergency Response Route. Chief Johnson stated, “Installing speed cushions on a Major Emergency Response Route that only has one lane each way, no improved shoulders, and no room for cars to pull off onto a shoulder can really slow Fire responses.This area of Portland already experiences longer response times and I am concerned about additional delays.” The city’s transportation bureau will continue to look for ways to make the street and intersections safer for pedestrians and bicyclists, and they are making plans for crosswalk striping and sidewalks at the intersection of Shattuck and SW Illinois. Read the Fire Chief’s letter to Hayhurst N.A. here.

    But, as Hayhurst Neighborhood Association Board member Alissa Cattone noted in a response to the Chief, “These updates don’t appear to go far enough, particularly to keep children safe. We are very concerned about the currently perilous conditions on SW Shattuck Road, and at the SW 60th/Illinois/Shattuck intersection in the Hayhurst neighborhood that aren’t adequately being addressed.” Cattone and other neighbors point to the existing Shattuck Road speed cushions to the north of Hayhurst in the Bridlemile neighborhood between Beaverton-Hillsdale Highway and SW Patton Road, which were constructed with gaps to ease emergency vehicle travel.


    Here is the current intersection crosswalk plan at SW Shattuck and Illinois/ 60th:

    Map of crosswoalk ar SW Shattuck Road at SW Illinois Street.
    Source: Portland Bureau of Transportation 2026

    Note: Hayhurst Neighborhood Association holds a reserve fund to conduct a traffic study of the area surrounding Raleigh Crest development. The study will be done once Phase 1 of the development is occupied and a real-time assessment of actual increased traffic is possible. Neighbors are invited to participate in discussions about SW transportation issues at the monthly Hayhurst N.A. meetings.

    Submit your thoughts about the SW Shattuck Road traffic developments to Marita Ingalsbe, Hayhurst N.A. Chair, at hayhurstna@gmail.com. 

    Alissa Cattone, Marita Ingalsbe and Beth Blenz-Clucas contributed to this article.

  • See Us at Sunday Parkways May 17

    See Us at Sunday Parkways May 17

    Hayhurst will again be an“Intersection Hero” at the corner of SW 34th and Vermont for Sunday Parkways in Southwest Portland on Sunday, May 17th .

    Stop by the Hayhurst NA table there to chat with neighbors and grab a snack as you walk or roll, plus you can sign up to volunteer for a morning or afternoon shift here.

    Visit our Events page for more information.

    Sunday Parkways
    Hayhurst neighbors Lorraine and Kendal enjoy the Hayhurst intersection work at Sunday Parkways 2025.