(Photos © J. Maus)
The Portland Bureau of Transportation’s (PBOT) effort to develop a network family-friendly, low-stress neighborhood bike streets continues to impress. On NE Holman, work on the much-anticipated extension of a small “pocket park” has gotten underway.
As I reported back in March, PBOT has decided to take a diminutive city park at NE 13th and Holman (just a few blocks east of that huge intersection painting at NE 8th) and extend it all the way across the intersection. The project will cut off through traffic by motor vehicles and will expand the park’s footprint while maintaining access for bicycling and walking.
As of my visit last night, the basic outline of the park is taking shape and much of the new concrete and curbs have been created.
Here’s the view from the sidewalk on south side of Holman east of the park…
And the view as you approach it heading west on Holman at Durham…
And from a more southerly angle…
A closer look at the same view…
Now looking west back at Durham/Holman…
Same direction, but standing in the middle of the park…
It looks like PBOT will keep some of the existing pavement (which happens to already include a sharrow)…
Despite the construction signs and mess, people are already coming out to walk and bike on their newly carfree street-park…
It was amazing to stand there last night and have it sink in just how awesome this project is. This is the type of thing I’d love to see downtown and in other, more central locations. We are doing this on a very low-traffic backstreet while New York City is doing this type of thing in Times Square. I’m excited for us, but I’m also eager to do more of this throughout the Central City and downtown.
Just as a reminder, here’s a drawing of how it’s expected to look when complete…
PBOT says the new street-park is set to be completed in a few weeks, prior to the Sunday Parkways Northeast event on September 25th. The plantings and vegetation will be done separately, in collaboration between the neighborhood and the Bureau of Environmental Services.
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On an unfortunate, yet related note, residents of the Woodlawn Neighborhood are upset that a woman vandalized some of the newly poured sidewalks yesterday. According to the neighborhood blog, a woman scrawled a bunch of large words on the wet concrete. A police report has been filed and there’s an effort underway to find the suspect.
Thanks for reading.
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this is so incredibly awesome!!!
It looks beautiful already – can’t wait for vegetation to be a part of it!
Great running into you last night Jonathan. Proof that this park is already connecting the neighborhood more than when it was just a plain road.
Because we have a photo of her, I am confident the concrete vandal will be found.
Anyone here do yoga in Woodlawn?
Did you read what she wrote? She just wrote a list of nice words. Honor, Strength, Breathe,…. Is it really worth finding the vandal over writing such things?
Personally, I’m just saying that I wouldn’t have written big words in public concrete myself and leaving it at that. I hope no tax dollars get spent “fixing” the concrete.
Cool, I’ll come over to your house and put some “nice words” on the outside. No problems then, right?
You, sir, are a dick.
Yikes!
We have a public process for these things for a reason. How do you or anyone else know that the neighborhood would prefer to have “inspirational” words carved into their concrete sidewalks for the next 100 years? Would she be liable if an elderly individual trips on the raised lettering and breaks a hip?
Give that woman some sidewalk chalk, and perhaps a swift kick in the behind to remind her that she needs to act like an adult.
You’re right, any trip & fall hazard needs to be fixed. And you’re also right that we have public process for a reason.
I guess all that I still want to point out is that “no action” is an option, even in the face of annoying and stupid behavior on the part of the sidewalk writer. Given that I don’t live in the neighborhood and have not seen the damage myself, I will (belatedly) recuse myself from judging whether action needs to be taken.
I love this project and it fits really well in the neighborhood. Thanks PBOT and BES and Portland Parks Department for your creativity and hard work and willingness to work collaboratively.
I look forward to many neighborhood potlucks and block parties in this park. We will have a square dance as soon as this get completed!
This is just too awesome. It not only gets rid of car traffic that shouldn’t even be on the bike boulevard, but everybody in the neighborhood gets a beautiful new park into the equation.
When do we get one on Ankeny St? Ridiculous numbers of cars turn onto Ankeny off Burnside at SE 16th to avoid the new couplet system. Ankeny at SE 12th would be a perfect location, thankyou very much. Just sayin’.
Yeah, they need a few more of those curbs with bike cutouts like on 20th.
Project looks awesome! Would like to see what happens when its finished. You Northeasters are getting some enviable upgrades up there. 🙂
Also, +1 on the Ankeny one. But I’d like to see a decent connection from Hawthorne to the bike boulevards nearby first…
Laurel-resting and all that.
Given that it doesn’t say “Street Closed Except Bikes,” isn’t it illegal to go around the barricades?
Nice work Greg Lavender and the Woodlawn Neighborhood Association for taking this bit of Right of Way and doing something fabulous with it. I assume it was a long ordeal to go through the process, but the results were well worth the effort.
May this precedent be repeated regularly and frequently.
Thanks for the pics, Jonathan.
Ted Buehler
Thanks for the article! For all the meetings and neighborhood involvement in this project, there are a lot of passers-by who are unaware what’s happening.
As the resident that’s sitting in the middle of the construction, I have to say I’m impressed at how all our city departments are coordinating and working hard to get his project done. There is a lot of thought and care going into this project, both from the city and the neighborhood.
I was just headed up Holman last night for the first time in forever and ran into this project. I knew I’d find the answer here. Jonathan, you are a knowlkedge bombadier. Thanks for the dope and this park (just outside of my hood), is another wierd thing I love about PDX.
Isn’t this park supposed to be finished by now? Would love to see the finished product!