(Photo © J. Maus)
The City of Portland has five Sunday Parkways events starting next month and the routes are now public. PBOT has also launched a fundraising effort on Kickstarter to help bridge some gaps in their budget.
First, the routes.
East – May 22nd
This year Sunday Parkways connects Lents, Bloomington, Ed Benedict and Gilbert Heights Parks with a 7 mile traffic-free route that includes a long section of the Springwater Trail.
North – June 26th
The 8-mile North Portland Sunday Parkways route will have two loops, connecting Peninsula, Arbor Lodge, Kenton, and McCoy Parks, plus the Willamette Bluff.
Northwest/Downtown – July 24th
The 6.4-mile NW/Downtown Portland Sunday Parkways route will have two loops, connecting Downtown, Old Town Chinatown, Pearl District and Northwest neighborhoods. Activities, food, and entertainment will be in Shemanski Square, Wallace, Couch, Waterfront Parks, plus along the route.
Southeast – August 28th
The 6.2-mile Southeast Portland Sunday Parkways route will connect Laurelhurst and Colonel Summers Parks, plus the Hawthorne Street Fair.
Northeast – September 25th
The 8-mile Northeast Portland Sunday Parkways route will have two loops, connecting Woodlawn, Alberta, Fernhill Parks, plus Cully Blvd.
Linda Ginenthal, the PBOT Program Manager for Transportation Options (and Sunday Parkways star) says her total budget for all five events is $482,500. That money will come from a mix of sources, including the City’s General Fund ($170,000), grants ($100,000), title sponsor Kaiser Permanente ($100,000) and the rest from individual contributions and vendor fees.
To kick off the fundraising effort, Ginenthal has launched a Kickstarter project. The goal is to raise $5,000 by May 24th (so far they’ve raised $215 dollars from eight “backers”). Ginenthal says the grassroots fundraising is more like “friend-raising.” “It shows this is a community supported thing not just with our wheels but with our dollars.”
Looking forward to a great Sunday Parkways season!