This morning I shared how PBOT’s neighborhood greenways could have a dramatic impact on how it feels to move around our city’s residential streets. A perfect case in point is the NE Holman Street project.
Back in May, I took a closer look at the project, with a focus on a “pocket park” idea that was being thrown around. The concept was to take the existing, small and ordinary park at NE Holman and 13th and make it something special. Envisioned as a gathering place for the community, the revamped Holman City Park would be extended all the way across Holman, with through-access for biking and walking only.
When PBOT first announced the idea, a neighborhood meeting erupted into cheers. With support and collaboration from not just nearby residents but also from the City’s Parks and Environmental Services Bureaus, PBOT has remained committed to the Holman pocket park idea and they just released new drawings that show what it’s going to look like.
Check out these before and after shots…
At our recent Get Together in North Portland, PBOT staffer Greg Raisman said the idea behind these neighborhood greenways was to “create trail-like conditions on neighborhood streets.” I’d say this is getting pretty darn close.
Learn more about this and other neighborhood greenway projects on the PBOT website.
I was just walking through there and ran across a survey crew taking measurements so “the park does not infringe on property boundaries”. I read Greg’s tweet this morning and this afternoon it’s underway! So exciting for the neighborhood.
Lucky.
any idea as to what will be in the park? by that I mean, currently there are some structures for kids to play on, do you know if there are any plans for keeping these structures or building new ones or if the park is for sitting and reflecting?
interesting they went for bollards. holman still open for emergency vehicles?
Love it. This is exactly the transformation we need for better use of public space … speaking of the street here. Less passage and storage of automobiles, more space for people.
Thanks to Greg for working on these projects!
This project is potentially the most badass thing happening in on Portland streets in 2011. Hope the result serves as a model for many other places around Portland which can be vastly improved for people’s enjoyment and safe passage. Woooohooo!
Pocket parks like this scream to me for a little pump track, maybe not even a dirt one…
This is amazing. An example of a big step on the way from our current streets to Portland’s vision of fully functional greenways.
As someone who lives 2 blocks down Holman, I am indeed very lucky and super excited about this project. Kudos to PBOT for embracing our neighborhood’s (mostly) supportive enthusiasm, and I would just encourage everyone to advocate for similar plans in their nearby Greenway projects.
I live in this neighborhood and love the idea.
But I can tell you that folks regularly drive much too fast up and down that stretch of Holman.
How would it work to allow emergency vehicles but not allow other motorized traffic? How would this be engineered/enforced?