Portland Parks & Recreation News

[downtownpdx]

I agree, re: the idea of some type of food/drinking places especially along Waterfront Park. Would be great to have a focal point of activity beyond the 2 days/week (1 day currently) Saturday Market.

Re: the homeless crisis -- it is frustrating to see fluff projects like the South Park Blocks when basic livability issues need to be addressed in a serious way, NOW. They are separate issues and pots of money, but still.

This article is encouraging -- if the city adopts some new ideas like Homer Williams' managed homeless communities with living pods that can be erected in 15 mins. And if we're building all this housing then we need to ramp up the tough love re: street camping, which Portland is starting to do as of last Monday. We have a lot of money coming in now for this issue and I'm hopeful we're gonna see some positive changes soon.

Dual plans to house Portland's homeless promise to get 1,000+ off the streets in the next year

The city plans to spend $20 million to build organized camps, while Multnomah County is planning on spending $1 billion over the next decade on supportive housing.


PORTLAND, Ore. — More solutions seem to be coming for Portland's housing crisis.
The city of Portland and Multnomah County announced in a joint press release Thursday, officials are working on two separate, coordinating plans that would allocate historic amounts of funding towards housing services.
Multnomah County is planning to spend up to $1 billion over the next ten years. The city of Portland is adding an additional $20 million to create multiple outdoor camps that would provide those experiencing homelessness with a sheltered place to stay and services. The goal is to have six up and running by September.

https://www.kgw.com/article/news/loc...0-699d96949912

[urbanlife]

Originally Posted by 2oh1

...sorry, but no.




Wow.

You.

Couldn't.

Be.

More.

Wrong.

If.

You.

DARE.

Suggest.

That.

Portlanders.

Aren't.

Volunteering.

Every.

Day.

I dare you to click those links. 300 pounds of trash. 1,000 pounds of trash. 3,000 pounds of trash. And that's just one example of one kind of volunteerism happening every day here.

You're the one who said Portlanders used to do more to keep the city nice, and you couldn't be more wrong. Have we ever, in our city's entire history, seen more people volunteering to clean this city up, day after day, week after week, month after month, with no end in sight to the mess? And that's just the trash. I didn't even mention any of the countless other ways Portlanders are pitching in to make the city look better.

I honestly doubt the amount of volunteering in Portland has ever been higher than it is today. No one with even a shred of credibility would question how much Portlanders love our city, nor is anyone questioning how much Portlanders are willing to do for our city. Volunteerism in this town is through the roof. But there's no leadership at the top. NONE.

N. O. N. E.

We haven't had a decent mayor since Vera. Sam Adams was a fantastic advocate for our city, but he was a terrible mayor due to his scattered management style. Potter? Hales? Seat warmers. Wheeler? Oooof. It's been seventeen years since we've had any leadership at city hall. SEVENTEEN YEARS.

But, hey, let's spend money making our parks pretty before we solve the problem that's leading to them getting trashed in the first place, because THAT makes sense.

Again, take it down a notch, this isn't just some random scream at each other forum page.

I am fully aware of how much volunteering is going on right now, that is what I am talking about, seeing people actively care about their city again is amazing to see.

Yes, I am well aware how long its been since we have had a mayor as amazing as Vera Katz, it should have been Adams but he had to go and screw up his career. I would love to see Portland have a mayor that was as amazing as Vera again, but then again she didn't have to live in a world where everyone thought things had to happen instantly.

Now that we are moving into post-pandemic, we will start to see more camp sweeps and cleaning up of trashed sites, as well as shelters being able to operate at full capacity again. These things take time to repair and the pandemic was a massive setback for the city.

Also, this is just a proposal that has ZERO money to fund it because it hasn't even been approved by the City Council yet, so again, bring it down a notch. This very well could end up like all the other park projects and sit on the backburner until funding comes along. How long have we been waiting for O'Byrant Square to be renovated? So I wouldn't just assume that this project will get a green light any time soon.

[2oh1]

Originally Posted by urbanlife

I am fully aware of how much volunteering is going on right now, that is what I am talking about, seeing people actively care about their city again is amazing to see.

And yet, yesterday, you blamed Portlanders for not volunteering:

Originally Posted by urbanlife

Back when Vera Katz was mayor, people in Portland took pride in their city and volunteered to keep it looking nice.

Here's another 7,000 pounds of trash volunteers picked up yesterday.

Originally Posted by urbanlife

Also, this is just a proposal that has ZERO money to fund it because it hasn't even been approved by the City Council yet, so again, bring it down a notch.

Any day spent focussing on priorities that aren't urgent is a day NOT spent on priorities that ARE urgent. Period. No excuses.

It would be different if the city was in great shape. It's not.

I'm done with hearing excuses for why our city is in such bad shape and why our mayor and city council feel so little urgency to do anything about it. How's that police reform coming? Even after Ted got gassed it took him months to do ANYTHING about it. I was there that night, by the way. I got gassed more times than I can remember last summer, but I cheered when HE got gassed. Still, he did nothing. But, hey, sweep it under the rug with all of Portland's other problems. It'll be fine. White supremacists on the police force aren't a problem at all. Let's plant trees. Here's $35 for art.

Granted, as DowntownPDX said: "They are separate issues and pots of money, but still." Agreed. I realize they're separate issues and separate pots of money, but how bad do things have to get before the city decides it's time for priorities and urgency?

I'm done with hearing excuses.
I wish more Portlanders were done with hearing excuses.

But most of all, I wish we could recruit some worthy candidates to run for mayor and a few city council seats. It's been seventeen years since this city had real leadership. Seventeen years.

[pdxlexus]

+1

[urbanlife]

Originally Posted by 2oh1

And yet, yesterday, you blamed Portlanders for not volunteering:



Here's another 7,000 pounds of trash volunteers picked up yesterday.




Any day spent focussing on priorities that aren't urgent is a day NOT spent on priorities that ARE urgent. Period. No excuses.

It would be different if the city was in great shape. It's not.

I'm done with hearing excuses for why our city is in such bad shape and why our mayor and city council feel so little urgency to do anything about it. How's that police reform coming? Even after Ted got gassed it took him months to do ANYTHING about it. I was there that night, by the way. I got gassed more times than I can remember last summer, but I cheered when HE got gassed. Still, he did nothing. But, hey, sweep it under the rug with all of Portland's other problems. It'll be fine. White supremacists on the police force aren't a problem at all. Let's plant trees. Here's $35 for art.

Granted, as DowntownPDX said: "They are separate issues and pots of money, but still." Agreed. I realize they're separate issues and separate pots of money, but how bad do things have to get before the city decides it's time for priorities and urgency?

I'm done with hearing excuses.
I wish more Portlanders were done with hearing excuses.

But most of all, I wish we could recruit some worthy candidates to run for mayor and a few city council seats. It's been seventeen years since this city had real leadership. Seventeen years.

No....I just said that is what people did back when Vera Katz was mayor, I didn't mention anything about all the wonderful things that volunteers are doing today, which is great to see because for years, it didn't seem like there was as much of an interest in volunteering to clean up the city.

You don't need to link every trash clean up post on Reddit, I am also on Reddit, I see the same posts that you do....

Oh god, so basically the whole city needs to stop doing anything unless it is involves the homeless. Is there a convenient list of priorities that the city can focus on so that things like this isn't even proposed by people who have nothing to do with those priorities? Should the city stop making any new bike lanes too since that apparently isn't a priority for you?

You are basically complaining about things that has ZERO to do with the Parks Department, nor should anyone expect the Parks Department to solve the problems in Portland. If you want to bitch about Ted Wheeler, that is what Reddit was invented for.

Though I will say this, why would anyone want to run for mayor when they have this kind of constant response to look forward to the moment they take office and don't manage to fix all the problems in Portland on day one?

[2oh1]

Originally Posted by urbanlife

Oh god, so basically the whole city needs to stop doing anything unless it is involves the homeless.

Clearly, you didn't actually read what I said since I used the word Priorities - plural - and I also mentioned police reform as an urgent priority.

You're the one who said people aren't pitching in like they used to in Vera's day. Now you're getting defensive about having been wrong. I've been linking to the volunteers collecting trash because of the sheer tonnage of trash they've been removing. Yes, tonnage. They removed 3.5 tons of trash on Saturday alone, and the trash just keeps coming.

I'll say it again:
Any day spent focussing on priorities that aren't urgent is a day NOT spent on priorities that ARE urgent. Period. No excuses.

No excuses.

These are among Portland's most urgent priorities: Housing. The homeless crisis. Police reform. Getting everyone vaccinated. Making the city safe again. Helping businesses survive through these multiple crises. Those are just a few off the top of my head. That's already a daunting list of priorities that cannot wait, and yet I'm sure there are others.

Do you deny the urgency of any of those priorities?

That's not a rhetorical question. I'm seriously asking. I should also ask how many hours there are in a day and how many days there are in a year, because Portland has more urgent needs than there is time to deal with them all, and almost half of this year is already gone, so pardon me if I think cutesy wootsy pretty park updates can wait.

Any day spent focussing on priorities that aren't urgent is a day NOT spent on priorities that ARE urgent. Period. No excuses.

Edited to add: I love Portland's parks. Redesigning the South Park Blocks would benefit me personally since I live right by there and walk through them almost every single day... but it's not something the city should be spending even one single hour on while multiple crises that cannot wait are piling up.

Cutesy wootsy pretty park updates can wait.

[RED_PDXer]

Originally Posted by green_man

Portland unveils plan for city’s South Park Blocks

By Rebecca Ellis | OPB | May 29, 2021

https://www.opb.org/article/2021/05/...k-blocks-plan/

Cool. It's frustrating that it took so many years to see this design reach city council for approval. It was the obvious answer to the Green Loop path in this area. Reminds me of bike paths found throughout major european cities.

[maccoinnich]

Just to be clear: the money spent on this study so far came BPM Real Estate Group, as part of a condition of approval for the Broadway Tower. So far the City Council hasn't allocated any money for implementing this plan, but if they do, it will likely be from Parks SDCs. Those are fees developers pay when they get permits, and they legally can't be spent on anything other than Parks capital improvements. Because of the construction boom over the last decade, Parks has a balance of $173 million in this fund, most of which is unallocated. There just isn't a trade off here between Parks and other city priorities.

[downtownpdx]

Originally Posted by maccoinnich

Just to be clear: the money spent on this study so far came BPM Real Estate Group, as part of a condition of approval for the Broadway Tower. So far the City Council hasn't allocated any money for implementing this plan, but if they do, it will likely be from Parks SDCs. Those are fees developers pay when they get permits, and they legally can't be spent on anything other than Parks capital improvements. Because of the construction boom over the last decade, Parks has a balance of $173 million in this fund, most of which is unallocated. There just isn't a trade off here between Parks and other city priorities.

Thank you for clarifying this. And like I noted earlier, the city and county have a big new pot of money from the homeless services measure coming in that promises to move over 1,000 people off the streets this year alone. So while the success of this remains to be seen, there is certainly an urgency, and now vastly increased ability, to tackle one of Portland’s most pressing problems.

[downtownpdx]

I know that seems off topic but if you've been to Laurelhurst Park recently, they are definitely intertwined.

[urbanlife]

Originally Posted by 2oh1

Clearly, you didn't actually read what I said since I used the word Priorities - plural - and I also mentioned police reform as an urgent priority.

You're the one who said people aren't pitching in like they used to in Vera's day. Now you're getting defensive about having been wrong. I've been linking to the volunteers collecting trash because of the sheer tonnage of trash they've been removing. Yes, tonnage. They removed 3.5 tons of trash on Saturday alone, and the trash just keeps coming.

I'll say it again:
Any day spent focussing on priorities that aren't urgent is a day NOT spent on priorities that ARE urgent. Period. No excuses.

No excuses.

These are among Portland's most urgent priorities: Housing. The homeless crisis. Police reform. Getting everyone vaccinated. Making the city safe again. Helping businesses survive through these multiple crises. Those are just a few off the top of my head. That's already a daunting list of priorities that cannot wait, and yet I'm sure there are others.

Do you deny the urgency of any of those priorities?

That's not a rhetorical question. I'm seriously asking. I should also ask how many hours there are in a day and how many days there are in a year, because Portland has more urgent needs than there is time to deal with them all, and almost half of this year is already gone, so pardon me if I think cutesy wootsy pretty park updates can wait.

Any day spent focussing on priorities that aren't urgent is a day NOT spent on priorities that ARE urgent. Period. No excuses.

Edited to add: I love Portland's parks. Redesigning the South Park Blocks would benefit me personally since I live right by there and walk through them almost every single day... but it's not something the city should be spending even one single hour on while multiple crises that cannot wait are piling up.

Cutesy wootsy pretty park updates can wait.

Alright, clearly you are accusing me of being "wrong" for something I didn't say, so I am moving on from this.

As maccoinnich added, this proposal was funded from a 3rd party group and the Parks unallocated money that could be used for things like this that can't be used for anything else. So this proposal won't have any negative effect on funding for other more important issues.

[MarkDaMan]

https://www.wweek.com/news/2022/07/1...y-hall-action/

Disgruntled Skaters Prepare Symbolic Groundbreaking to Urge City Hall Action
Skatepark advocates will pour concrete to bring awareness to the inaction from City Hall on construction of a planned facility.
Willamette Week
By Helen Huiskes
July 12, 2022 at 3:58 pm PDT

Advocates for the Portland skating scene will hit the streets today to spotlight the delay on building a planned skatepark near the west end of the Steel Bridge.

The park, the result of a collaborative design by DAO Architecture, Lango Hansen Landscape Architecture, and Grindline Skateparks, would cover 30,000 feet on the western side of Naito Parkway. It is part of a citywide plan of skateparks approved by the City Council in 2005 and completed by Portland Parks & Recreation in 2008. The proposed park adjacent to the Steel Bridge has been billed as the “crown jewel” of Portland skateparks because of its central, accessible location near Old Town and public transportation.

Ryan Hashagen, longtime advocate for skateparks and owner of Portland Pedals, says the Steel Bridge skatepark plan is essential because nothing like it exists in Portland, despite the growing popularity of action sports in the region. Six of the other locations proposed in the 2008 Parks & Recreation plan have been built, but the vacant lot awaiting the crown jewel remains empty.

...(continues)

[sopdx]

I just read where the feds have granted funds to establish a permanent Pride Plaza on Harvey Milk off Burn and for Green streets that lead from the little plaza across Burn from the north park blocks - running past O'Bryant square.

Does anyone know what is happening with O'Bryant square other than it being deemed unsafe?

[colossalorder]

https://www.pdxmonthly.com/news-and-...pment-portland
Here is the latest thing I've found on the square. Demo plans in place ... what ultimately becomes of it is less clear

[sopdx]

Great news - thanks!

[maccoinnich]

Discussion from the other night about the future of O'Bryant Square:

• Video Link

[sopdx]

really interesting!
Thanks for posting.

[eric cantona]

Originally Posted by maccoinnich

Discussion from the other night about the future of O'Bryant Square:

there was another one last night, and four more to go! see here if interested:

https://www.portlandpf.org/back-to-s...e-green-dreams

[maccoinnich]

City intends to award the contract to design the North Park Blocks extension to PLACE Studio.

Project will include the design and construction of the block in front of PNCA and design of the blocks on the USPS site.

[urbanlife]

Originally Posted by maccoinnich

City intends to award the contract to design the North Park Blocks extension to PLACE Studio.

Project will include the design and construction of the block in front of PNCA and design of the blocks on the USPS site.

Basically the city is choosing to stick with the firm they have been working with.