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).
Map of the proposed North Portland Greenway Trail. Learn more at NPGreenway.org.
The North Portland Greenway Trail would link St. Johns with the Eastbank Esplanade via a new trail along the Willamette riverfront.
NPGreenway — a non-profit dedicated to making this trail a reality — has made exciting progress since their first meeting back in November of 2005.
Here are more details of the ride:
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Connecting Green Trail Tour – North Portland Greenway
Wednesday, June 11
Departing Metro at 4:30 p.m.
To register for this ride, contact Robert Spurlock at 503-797-1803 or robert.spurlock [at] oregonmetro.gov
This would be incredible! To be able to ride all the way from St Johns to Sellwood along the river is literally a dream come true. A crossing at the Rail bridge would allow easy access to Saltzman Road which should be leveraged as the preferred commuter route over the Northwest hills.
I agree, though technically the dream hasn\’t yet come true – thus the ride on June 11 and the work to be done. And +1 on being able to access Saltzman/Forest Park from NoPo via the rail bridge. That would be sweet.
The ride will follow Interstate Avenue and then Greeley to Swan Island, but we will take a look a the \”Cement Road\” which now links Lower Albina to Swan Island, but is a private road on UPRR property…a favorite route for some Daimler Trucks NA bike commuters.
Note the existing one mile of Greenway Trail on Swan Island adjacent to DTNA.
Weather and trains permitting the group may choose to follow the partially funded route to the Lagoon, then north along Basin Avenue to the Waud Bluff \”made path\” where Portland Parks is due to build an all weather Trail piece with a bridge over the UPRR St Johns line.
The biggest challenge of this vision is getting around the bluff under the Univ. of Portland, but npGreenway hopes to have a group of U of P engineering students figure that one out, then its \”get the money!\”
Lenny pretty much summed it all up. I\’ll just add that Tuesday\’s ride will end at Willamette Cove, a beautiful, Metro-owned natural area, reminiscent of Oaks Bottom.