Willamette Greenway path closed for two weeks – UPDATED

A construction project on the west side of the Willamette River just south of the South Waterfront district has closed the Greenway path and the City of Portland has offered no official detour.

Crews from Fore Construction are building the Sanctuary Apartments at 4800 SW Landing Drive. A notice distributed by the company last week said work on the apartments will include the rebuilding and resurfacing of the Willamette Greenway path and the path will be closed through December 14th.

Fore’s statement said, “We will endeavor to keep as much of the trail open as possible during this period.” There was no specific timeline for when the path would be fully closed or open during construction and no detour map was provided with the company statement. We asked Fore and the Portland Parks & Recreation bureau what bicycle riders should do when the path is closed.

We heard back from PP&R’s Community Engagement and Public Involvement Manager Elizabeth Kennedy-Wong. She said, “There is no viable detour for this project – the immediately adjacent property is private, Macadam is not where we would put bikes.” Kennedy-Wong said the bureau “hopes” that people will simply avoid the Greenway path and opt for the Springwater path on the east side of the river while using the Tilikum or Sellwood Bridges to avoid the closure.

I scoped out the situation yesterday and found that the path was fully closed. There was a sign (see above) but it said only “find an alternate route” and offered no detour or signage to get around. The issue here is the best path around the construction is through private property (residential), so the City of Portland isn’t allowed to tell people to use it. So, what should you do? Here are some suggestions:

If you’re headed southbound from the South Waterfront district, take the path from Bancroft and continue south onto Moody. Then go right (west) on SW Hamilton Court and take the first left onto SW Landing Drive. Then take another left onto SW Landing Square, which will drop you back onto the Greenway path near the boat docks. Do this route in reverse if you are heading northbound. I made a map below:

Hopefully this inconvenience is worth it when the path re-opens with a smoother surface and more direct connection. Stay tuned.

(Please share your experience with this closure in the comments.)

UPDATE, 01/02/16: The path is still closed. The business manager for the company in charge of the project says the path closure will last longer than expected. In an email to a BikePortland reader on 12/30/16, Mackenzie Allaert of Fore Property Company said, “Due to the unexpected weather, the work that needed to be complete was delayed. After speaking with the construction team this morning, they have assured me they are working diligently to complete the work. They are anticipating being able to reopen the trail on January 9th.”

— Jonathan Maus, (503) 706-8804 – jonathan@bikeportland.org

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