Palisades Neighborhood Association

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Slower Streets make for Stronger Community

Published September 5, 2025

On September 2, 2025, the Lake Oswego City Council voted 5–2 to adopt an ordinance lowering the speed limit on local residential streets and neighborhood collectors from 25 MPH to 20 MPH. During the meeting, Chris Durkee, Chair of the Palisades Neighborhood Association, testified that the PNA Board supported the initiative.

Photo Courtesy: City of Lake Oswego

Durkee said, “One of the cherished characteristics of my neighborhood is folks walking – with friends, with their kids, with their dog, or just their thoughts.  This contributes so much to building a cohesive – and safe – community.  But safe communities need safe streets – a challenge in our town with so many narrow streets, many without sidewalks…This policy is consistent with other ongoing programs such as the sidewalks and pathways projects that also contribute to safer neighborhoods.”

This marks an important step in the ongoing effort to slow traffic on our neighborhood streets. The PNA will continue supporting the City Council’s initiatives in Palisades, with particular attention to streets that lack sidewalks. Lowering the speed limit is one of several tools we can use to encourage safe pedestrian activity—whether walking, running, or biking—and contributes to the broader citywide effort to make our neighborhoods safer.

See Chris Durkee’s City Council testimony here (link)

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Neighborhood Enhancement Program (NEP) Project Coordinator

Primary Role:

  • Handles NEP grant applications, grant approvals, reviews receipts for reimbursement and is the single point of contact between the entire Palisades Neighborhood Association (PNA) and the City.
  • To be successfull in this role you should be organized, communicative.
  • Time commitment: From 8-12 hrs. throughout the year

Process:

  • Accepting NEP proposals: Anyone living in the Palisades Neighborhood Association can submit proposal(s) to the NEP Coordinator along with estimated costs throughout the year. They should follow the application guidelines and answer the questions related to their proposal.
  • PNA Board will Vote on Which Items To Include in our NEP Proposal: During the month of March PNA board meeting the NEP Coordinator asks the board to vote on the proposed item(s). NEP Coordinator encourages person(s) proposing the item(s) to attend the meeting to answer questions that might come up. The PNA board then votes on which items should be included in the NEP grant proposal.
  • Developing and Submitting the NEP Grant Proposalt: During the NEP grant proposal period (usually the month of May) the NEP Project Coordinator:
    • Fills out the NEP grant proposal application based on items approved by the PNA Board;
    • Gets sign offs from the PNA Chair
    • Submits the proposal form to the city in early May for the initial review process
    • Provides additional information requested by the city
    • Revises and submits the final application to the City by the deadline (typically May 31).

What Happens Next:

  • Iris McCaleb from the City forwards the NEP grant proposals to the grant review committee and then to the City Council who review it and awards certain grants.The NEP Coordinator will receive a letter of award from the City and will share it with the PNA Leadership Team.
  • As items are purchased from the approved grant list, the project close-out form is filled out by the person requesting reimbursement. They will attach digital copies of receipts and photos and then submit all to both the NEP Project Coordinator and the PNA Chair. The NEP Project Coordinator submits the reimbursement request to Iris at the City for reimbursement.
  • Reimbursement checks are then sent directly to the person who purchased the item(s).