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.”
Scott Mizee, a local architect and dedicated member of npGreenway (a non-profit group formed to advocate for this project), sent out an email to supporters this morning thanking them for sending in comments. According to the Metro committee that made this decision, the North Willamette Greenway Trail Master Plan was, “the project receiving the most public support from the public comment period.”
(Looking south at Swan Island from a bluff
below University of Portland)
(Photo © J. Maus)
Mizee, and other “core members” of npGreenway have been volunteering their time to this project since their first meeting in November of 2005. Their hard work has led to this project inching much closer to reality and has made it easier for Metro to put their weight behind it.
The trail is currently on a select list of 20 regional trails that Metro’s Blue Ribbon Committee on Trails put together to receive ongoing lobbying support within their Connecting Green campaign.
— Learn more at npGreenway.org.