npGREENWAY participated in the North Portland Sunday Parkways by hosting an information booth in conjunction with the 40 Mile Loop Land Trust. Participants generally enjoyed the car-free streets and family-friendly environment, which allowed walking, biking, and rolling along a scenic 6.7-mile route featuring Downtown St. Johns, McCoy Park, Columbia Park & Annex, and McKenna Park. The event highlights the recent walking and biking infrastructure improvements along N. Willamette Blvd, adding 3 new miles of protected bikeway on N Willamette Blvd, connecting to existing facilities on N Rosa Parks Way, to create a continuous 5-mile connection from St Johns & Cathedral Park to NE MLK Jr Blvd.
Two cyclists visiting the npGREENWAY booth.Pam Arden, npGREENWAY board member working at the booth said: “Lots of folks and interest in what we are proposing!”Francie Royce, also working the booth stated: “It was a good day.”
Baltimore Woods is a 30 acre native oak habitat corridor in North Portland’s St. Johns neighborhood. Friends of Baltimore Woods is collecting signatures to support the acquisition, with Portland Parks and Recreation, of York’s Overlook, a 7.5-acre wooded parcel at the north end of Baltimore Woods in St. Johns (see map below).
York’s Overlook is part of the official alignment of the regional npGreenway Trail that will connect North Portland to downtown and other parts of the city by a walking and biking trail.
The Friends of Baltimore Woods would like York’s Overlook to be conserved as a scenic viewpoint on the regional npGreenway Trail that will eventually be built on the property. They also want it included in the Baltimore Woods corridor as a native oak restoration site offering connectivity for both wildlife and trail users.
Partnership with Portland Parks needed
Metro sees the value of the property and is a willing partner with the Friends of Baltimore Woods in acquiring York’s Overlook. That is good news! But a partnership with Portland Parks is also required. Their role would be to hold and maintain the site in alliance with the Friends group, just as they are currently doing with much of the rest of the 20 acre Baltimore Woods corridor. But Parks partnership on the site is uncertain and has yet to be established.
Please help by signing the petition
Friends of Baltimore Woods is asking Portland residents to help advocate for the wooded site by signing a petition to ensure York’s Overlook is conserved as a historic and scenic viewpoint, as an amenity for the npGreenway Trail, and as a native oak restoration site offering greater connectivity for both trail users and urban wildlife in the Baltimore Woods corridor.
Yellow line shows proposed Waud Bluff trail segment. Red lines indicate completed trail segment – on left University of Portland River campus, on right Waud Bluff trail on Swan Island leading up to Willamette Blvd.
The npGREENWAY board members met with a representative of the US Coast Guard, headquartered on Swan Island, to discuss the Willamette Greenway Trail adjoining their property, and continuing around Waud Bluff to the University of Portland River campus. This is a challenging segment of the trail, as it follows the railroad line and is hemmed in by the river on one side and Baud Bluff on the other.
npGREENWAY board member Jeff Lang with Coast Guard representative at the Coast Guard dock .
npGREENWAY board members Pat Jewett and Jeff Lang talk with the Coast Guard representative along Waud Bluff near the site of the proposed trail looking west across the Willamette River.
The Waud Bluff trail segment connects the Swan Island segment of the trail to the south of Waud Bluff, to the completed University of Portland trail segment to the north of Waud Bluff. The Waud Bluff segment offers wooded paths with sweeping views over Swan Island and the Willamette River. Waud Bluff is a wooded environment and proximity to river habitat make it part of the city’s broader network of natural corridors. It is frequented by joggers, dog walkers, and students and occasionally used for nature observation and photography.
We walked the potential pathway for the trail along the railroad tracks, discussing the possible location of the trail, and the hurdles that must be overcome (see photos below).
The terminus of the trail on Swan Island currently ascends a set of stairs up to Willamette Ave. The trail eventually will continue along the Willamette river to the University of Portland.
Waud Bluff stairs that ascend from Swan Island across railroad tracks and up to Willamette Blvd.
The continuance of the Waud Bluff trail segment depends on the relationship with Union Pacific Railroad for the trail to follow the tracks, or sufficient support to construct the trail along the adjoining hill side or river side.
Waud Bluff proposed trail along railroad tracks looking north. The Willamette River is to the left, and the Waud Bluff is to the right of the tracks.
Updates on the Bridge over Columbia Blvd (BOCB) project were presented at the Community Open House. The project is currently in the 60% design phase, with most funding already secured. See Bridge Over Columbia Boulevard | Portland.gov for details.
The Bridge Over Columbia Boulevard Project is back in action! After a pause to secure funding and make design updates, the project is now in the 60% design phase. Portland Parks & Recreation (PP&R), Metro, Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) are moving ahead with a new pedestrian bridge spanning Chimney Park into St. Johns Prairie.
Artist rendering of the bridge over Columbia Blvd.
npGREENWAY Celebrates Completed Greenway Section with a Trail Walk on July 28th
Portland, OR – July 28, 2024 – npGREENWAY is hosting a trail walk on July 28th from 11 AM to 12 PM at the University of Portland boathouse, located on their River Campus accessed by N. Van Houten Pl off Willamette Blvd by the University of Portland.
npGREENWAY, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the development of a connected greenway trail system in North Portland along the Willamette River, is celebrating a completed section of the Greenway Trail and exploring the opportunities for unfinished segments nearby with a guided walk on Sunday, July 28th, from 11:00 AM to 12 PM.
The walk will begin at the University of Portland boathouse next to the soccer fields on the lower campus, along the Willamette River. The walk will highlight the newly completed section of the Greenway Trail before traveling North on the East side of the defunct McCormick-Baxter industrial property. The polluted McCormick-Baxter site has been cleaned up by the Federal – Environmental Protection Agency and State of Oregon Department of Environmental Quality over the last 25 years. This site was deemed one of worst polluted properties on the West Coast. The trail walk will explore this segment of the Willamette River, noting areas where plantings of native species are necessary to encourage fish habitats return to the river. Participants will also have the opportunity to study where best to design and build the Bike/Pedestrian Trail and learn about other unfinished trail segments nearby.
About the North Portland Greenway trail:
As part of the 40-mile Loop, The North Portland Greenway Trail will be used by Portland residents and visitors for cycling, walking, running, skateboarding, wildlife viewing and provide access to the river for boating and fishing. The trail will improve human-powered access to jobs on Swan Island and the Riverdale Industrial area.
npGREENWAY Trail Walk Details:
Date: Sunday, July 28th
Time: 11 AM – 12 PM
Walk begins at the University of Portland boathouse, accessible from N. Van Houten Pl
Learn how Metro and the Port of Portland are cleaning up the land at Willamette Cove and weigh in on the design of the future nature park
Along the Willamette River in Portland’s St. Johns neighborhood, Metro and the Port of Portland are working to clean up 70 years’ worth of industrial contamination and make the land at Willamette Cove safe for people, plants and animals.
After the cleanup, Metro plans to make Willamette Cove a nature park that supports thriving plant and animal communities and offers people a connection with nature along the Willamette River. The park will include a regional trail, beach access and education opportunities along with habitats like meadows and woodland.
Community members will help shape how the park balances natural areas with access for people, including helping choose the park’s other low-impact activities and facilities.
Metro is also coordinating this work with multiple Tribes so Willamette Cove can honor the connections the Tribes have had to the river since the beginning of time, especially by creating healthy habitats for salmon and lamprey.
To reach this goal, Metro and the Port are teaming up to clean up the site under the oversight of the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality.
Willamette Cove cleanup and future nature park | Metro oregonmetro.gov, https://www.oregonmetro.gov/public-projects/willamette-cove-cleanup-and-nature-park
The npGreenway proposed trail runs through the University of Portland lower campus to Cathedral Park right along the Willamette River. The University of Portland revived their parcel of land, installing new athletic facilities and building out their portion of the Greenway trail. And just downstream where the proposed Greenway trail runs, the regional government Metro is moving toward activating another stretch of the Willamette River’s industrial past at Willamette Cove. But tucked between those two parcels, the McCormick & Baxter site has lain unused, year after year. This proposed section of the Greenway trail has been inaccessible for years…
