Baltimore Woods looking south
with St. Johns Bridge in the background.
(Photo: NPGreenway)

Metro and the City of Portland have collaborated to purchase six acres of land north of the St. Johns Bridge where they plan to extend the Willamette River Greenway Trail by over one-third mile. The $1.9 million purchase was made possible by Metro’s 2006 natural areas bond measure, the City of Portland's Grey to Green initiative.

The land is an area known as Baltimore Woods and is located adjacent to N. Decatur Street at North Caitlin Avenue. A statement from Metro says the purchase will "help fill the gap between Cathedral and Pier parks."
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A Breakfast on the Bridge was held
Wednesday to celebrate the newly revamped
path on the Going Street Bridge.
(Photos © J. Maus)

Yesterday was a good day for Lenny Anderson. For a man well-known to local politicians and city employees as a persistently unsatisfied advocate, he was smiling and singing the Bureau of Transportation's praises.

"I've got to give them credit, the city really came through this time."

The reason for Anderson's happiness (besides the presence of friends, coffee, and pastries) is an improved connection for biking and walking traffic to the Swan Island industrial area on its main artery, N. Going Street. (more...)

Detail of trail system plan. View larger version here.

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Looking south at start of "Cement Road"
connection between Swan Island
and Lower Albina.
(Photo © J. Maus)

Tonight at 6:00 pm the Portland City Council will host a hearing and vote on the River Plan/North Reach project. The plan includes the first update to the alignment of the North Willamette Greenway Trail in over three decades.

The North Willamette Greenway Trail would connect the Eastbank Esplanade to Cathedral Park in St. Johns with a biking and walking path along the river. The project is still in the planning stages, but supporters of the trail -- including the newly formed Swan Island Bike Commuters Group and the established non-profit NP Greenway -- say inclusion of the trail in the River Plan is a major step forward. (more...)

Riders pass newly dedicated public
art on an existing piece of
Willamette Greenway Trail.
(Photo © J. Maus)

Volunteer planners working on the the North Portland Greenway Trail will host a design workshop this weekend. The trail, which was first envisioned back in 2005 and won a $448,000 planning study grant from Metro back in March, will someday connect Cathedral Park in St. Johns with the Eastbank Esplanade near the Steel Bridge.

Saturday's design workshop is being organized by Kelly Rogers, a freelance consultant who specializes in sustainable city planning. Rogers is a volunteer on the project and says the event is a way for them to get the community excited about the trail and come up with creative design solutions.
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Once built, the trail would
connect St. Johns to the
Steel Bridge.

The Willamette Greenway Trail project, that would connect the Eastbank Esplanade at the Steel Bridge with Cathedral Park in St. Johns, was approved for $444,800 in funding by Metro this morning.

The funds, awarded as part of $68 million available in "Regional Flexible Funds" through the Metropolitan Transportation Improvement Program (MTIP), will go toward a planning study. According to a Metro summary of the project:

"...The study will focus on sites that have challenging topographic and land ownership issues. The project also involves an update of previous budgets and potential phasing of design and construction."

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The University of Portland has just acquired the property outlined in yellow. Supporters of a transportation trail along the river see this as a major step forward.
(Image courtesy U of P)

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In an effort to "create the best park system in the world," Metro is zeroing in on trails.

They've formed a Blue Ribbon Committee of regional leaders who are tasked with figuring out how to fund and develop new trails and connect and improve existing ones. Part of that effort is a series of five Trail Tours.

The first tour in the series is on Wednesday, June 11 and it will focus on the North Portland Greenway Trail (map below). (more...)

Insert NPGreenway Trail here.
(Photo: Jonathan Maus)

The folks behind the North Portland Greenway Trail are some of the hardest working advocates I've ever come across.

They are constantly doing whatever they can to share their vision for a new riverfront trail that would connect the Eastbank Esplanade (at the Steel Bridge) to Cathedral Park in St. Johns. (more...)

npGreenway, a group of trail advocates working to create a riverfront trail that would connect the Eastbank Esplanade to the St. Johns Bridge, has sent out an urgent call to action. (more...)