Portland Harbor Community Advisory Group July 13, 2022 Meeting
A Portland Harbor Community Advisory Group meeting featuring presentations from Portland Parks & Recreation on the North Portland Greenway trail system construction challenges and progress, plus advocacy updates from North Portland Greenway trail supporters.
Summary
The meeting focused on the North Portland Greenway trail system, which is part of the larger Willamette River Greenway extending from Kelly Point Park to the Steel Bridge. Portland Parks & Recreation staff Maya Agarwal and Brett Horner presented the current status of trail construction, explaining that trail building is a long-term, opportunistic, and fragmented process due to multiple property owners with different interests along the route. They outlined two main challenges: securing right-of-way access (especially on private property where they operate on a willing seller basis) and obtaining adequate funding for construction. The parks department has identified $450 million in major maintenance needs across their system that they lack funding for. Current funding sources include system development charges from new development and competitive grants, with recent grant applications submitted to Metro for segments between Kelly Point Park and Cathedral Park. The presentation included discussion of various trail segments showing solid pink lines for completed sections and dotted lines for funded or planned sections. Community members raised concerns about houselessness impacts on trail safety and usability, referencing problems on the Spring Water Corridor and Peninsula Crossing Trail. Other topics included the need for river access in North Portland, funding allocation issues, and specific challenges around University of Portland's property requiring a cantilevered trail section. Francine Royal from North Portland Greenway discussed their advocacy work and emphasized the importance of community input to Metro commissioners regarding trail funding decisions. The meeting also touched on Willamette Cove cleanup decisions and the importance of complete remediation rather than leaving toxic waste in place where the trail would pass through.
Key Insights
- Maya Agarwal explains that trail building is often opportunistic and fragmented, with Parks building disparate sections when opportunities arise rather than in linear sequence
- Brett Horner states that Portland Parks & Recreation has identified 450 million dollars in major maintenance needs across their system that they don't have funding for yet
- Maya Agarwal describes that when trail alignment is on private property, the city of Portland operates on a willing seller basis, preferring that property owners want the trail on their property
- Brett Horner reveals that when he started 14 years ago Parks had maybe eight or ten Rangers in summer and two in winter, but they've staffed up significantly more Rangers now
- Doug Larson argues that system development charges have become a piggy bank for Commissioners to take from impacted neighborhoods and spend on projects in other parts of the city
- Brett Horner acknowledges that previous Commissioners really did target new spending in East Portland in particular, confirming that SDC money generated outside the Central City can be used anywhere else
- Sarah points out that North Portland historically has very little river access with Cathedral Park being one of the few options and no access at all on the West Side for 9-11 miles
- Brett Horner explains that the 2013 plan envisions a cantilevered trail around University of Portland on the bluffs because there's no horizontal space with the railroad and bluffs there
- Francine Royal emphasizes that their tax dollars were voted to be spent over 20 years ago on Willamette Cove and citizens still don't have a safe trail through the 20 plus acre site
- Brett Horner states that today they probably wouldn't be allowed to build the East Bank Esplanade because of the covered area of water it created and fish impacts
- Doug Larson reveals that on July 28th Metro Council will vote between two proposals for Willamette Cove - either creating a toxic waste dump on site or doing complete cleanup
- Francine Royal argues there's a funding disconnect between what's possible and what's fundable, with silos between Parks and PBOT regarding trail funding through easements versus public right-of-way
Topics
Full transcript available for MurmurCast members
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