The Portland Art Museum got the go ahead from the City Council on Wednesday to build a glass pavilion in what is now a public walkway, making possible museum officials' plans to connect their two buildings.

The decision was not without controversy.

Commissioner Amanda Fritz voted against allowing enclosure of the easement, making the decision a 3-1 vote. Commissioner Dan Saltzman, who originally brought the proposal before council in April, was absent.

"The benefits of the museum are obvious and many," Fritz said. "The benefits to the community of closing off the right of way are undetermined at best, and I'm disappointed that we're not able to get to more of a win-win situation."

The museum's main building opened in 1932 at Park Avenue and Jefferson Street. In 1968, the city council vacated the block of Southwest Madison on the museum's north side to create an outdoor pedestrian walkway decorated with sculptures from the museum. The walkway remained open to the public at all times until 1984, when the city voted to close the walkway to the public between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. to combat vandalism.

The council's approval enables the museum to move forward with its plans to build a three-story glass pavilion, named for abstract artist Mark Rothko, that would connect its two buildings in the South Park Blocks and serve as a new museum entrance.

The museum plans to raise $50 million in private philanthropic contributions to complete the project.

When the project made its first city council debut in April, members of the public came out in droves to testify against it for forcing members of the public to go well out of their way when traversing between 10th Avenue to the Park Blocks. Enclosing the easement would limit access to the 10th Avenue Portland Streetcar stop and other city services, especially for people with disabilities. Portland Disability Coordinator Nickole Cheron explained at the time how detrimental it would be to require people in wheelchairs to roll three blocks around what would become a super-block to get to the Streetcar's wheelchair ramp.

One woman with a lung disease said the change would literally take her breath away by making her walk further than she was able.

To address those concerns and secure council support, museum leaders agreed to keep the pavilion open to the public for more hours than it originally proposed. Pedestrians, their pets and even dismounted bikers will be able to walk through the pavilion every day of the year from 5:30 to 12 a.m. on weekdays, from 7 a.m. to 12 a.m. on Saturdays and from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Sundays. They will have to pass through doorways under the eye of a security guard to move through the now-unobstructed passageway.

Museum officials also considered feedback about the lack of accessibility in their museum overall and revised their proposed museum design in part to increase accessibility. Currently, for example, the only way for people in wheelchairs to access the multi-storied and many-staired museum is through a back entrance.

"It is second-class access to what should be a world class community facility," Mayor Ted Wheeler said.

They also made plans to meet with the Portland Commission on Disability to further discuss how to increase accessibility for people with disabilities and to enhance the museum experience for deaf and blind patrons.

Cheron last week told The Oregonian/OregonLive that she was impressed by museum director Brian Ferriso's efforts, calling him "amazingly committed to creating a museum that was accessible to people at many different levels."

"I am convinced this is the right step forward," Mayor Ted Wheeler said. "This corrects what I think is an egregious problem with regard to ... access" for people with disabilities.

Of the members of the public who testified last week in opposition, several expressed concerns about what walking around the city block instead of through the museum property would mean for their safety.

Wheeler said Wednesday that he took those concerns seriously.

"That's a bigger problem than whether or not we should build this entry way," Wheeler said. "That's a question about the broader sense of security in the neighborhood. We need to address those issues, and I'm committed to it."

--Jessica Floum

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