This is likely a “spoiler” for the next issue of the SW Community Connection, but here’s a link to Jessie’s story about the groundbreaking for the new Multnomah Village Park.
New Park Takes Shape in Village.
Information about the newly created park is on Randy’s site, multnomahvillagepark.googlepages.com and there’s a work party this Saturday morning.
More specifically, come down to the just-being-created Multnomah Village Park for the official groundbreaking ceremony. It’s too late for this post, really - I should have gotten it up yesterday, since most people wil be reading this at work tomorrow morning. But in the event that you catch this tonight, and you want to put a little Sam Adams into your morning down at the new park, then c’mon down!
For those of you that have NO IDEA what I’m talking about, information about the new Multnomah Village Park is at this link. The existence of the park is pretty much entirely the result of long and successful efforts by Village resident Randy Bonella, who’s also like to you show up for a work party on the 21st. I can’t get away from the office tomorrow morning, Sam or no Sam. However, I think that Jr. V and I wil try to make the work party. Info on that follows:
…. last but not least I have scheduled a work day on Sat. April 21, 9am-1pm, please let me know if you would be able to attend
Measure and mark the property according to the design
Clean-up debris and garbage (good news is that the city just mowed the site)
Remove some small tree’s that are unhealthy)
Prep walking paths (Drainage, grading)I will have the following equipment at the site:
(1) wheelbarrow
(1) pick
(6+) Shovels
(1) rake
(1) 300 ft tape measure
Stakes
Marking tape
SharpiesPlease be sure to bring work gloves and wear appropriate shoes/boots.
I will have water, coffee and pastries available
Please pass on to friends and neighbors.
Oh, here’s Randy’s email address in case you’d like to RSVP.
A post over at The Red Electic carries this snippet…
On Saturday night, after countless hours of volunteer work to organize a benefit auction, receipts-counters reported that Multnomah Arts Center volunteers grossed more than $26,000 at the “Give the Arts a Hand” auction attended by 240 patrons.
Nice!
Still a little muddy over at Custer Park , but the playground at the Art Center’s a great place to stop prior to hitting up Starbucks for a chocolate milk. Plenty of folks had the same idea. Jr V and I went for a short walk (and scoot) up the hill and through the Village. Stopped into Thinker Toys, which does have Pokemon cards after all, and then headed up to the little playground at the Arts Center for a bit before heading home. Man, it’s nice to be able to go outside for a walk without having to layer up and prepare to get wet and frosty. Bring on the spring.
So at the Multnomah Neighborhood Association meeting last week, Rod Wojtanik from Portland Parks and Rec gave us an update on the long-rumored Gabriel Park skatepark project. As is the case anytime that skateboarders are mentioned, there was much gnashing of teeth and rending of garments about the fact that skateparks tend to attract the “wrong element” (read: teenagers) who are likely to spend their time smoking in the woods and making loud noises, as well as drawing immense amounts of car traffic to our tranquil park. Much of the presentation was spent addressing these concerns - which is not to say that the concerned parties left satisfied.
Questions were raised about how a project like this got approved, and where were the opportunities for community feedback. To that I say: This discussion has been going on for years and there have been numerous meetings and rather extensive press coverage of said meetings, and the results. Which is to say this: we’re getting a skatepark. It’s been a done deal for a while. Find excellent information, complete project history and community and general surveys related to the City’s overall skateparks project at the Skate Park section of Portland Online dot com. This has to do with the City’s skatepark projects in general though, and is not Gabriel Park specific. For that, read on….
First some background. The skatepark, as designed, is relatively small - just 8-10,000 square feet which is pretty much the size of a standard single tennis court. It will be concrete, and mostly sunk into the ground, which will significantly alleviate any potential noise. The Gabriel Park skatepark is being designed to serve both “street” and “tranny” style skaters, as well as BMX bikes and inline skaters. What?!? You don’t know what “tranny” skating is? It is not doing tricks while dressed in women’s clothes. There are two main “schools” of skateboarding: “Street”, which is the “outlaw” type of skating, where tricks and moves are performed using curbs, steps, stair-rails and other things you find out in the street, and “Tranny” or Transitional skating which is skating in specific man-made skate environments such as bowls, half-pipes and skateparks. Most of the complaints directed at, and damage done by skaters is related to “street” skaters.
The park is going into the former location of the fitness course, next to the sand volleyball courts at Gabriel. I have posted about this previously, here:
The Rocks Area: Where are the Bars?” and here: Gabriel Park Play Area Status. For those of you not familiar with the layout of the park, here’s a picture of the location we’re talking about.
There were a few concerns voiced at the meeting that definitely have some merit: There likely WILL be bike traffic to the skatepark, some of which may choose to cut across the park and not stay on the trail. If casual BMX riders decide to run down the hill to the skatepark bowl, that could have a very negative effect. Although most skateboarders are just regular kids, there definitely IS an element of the skate culture that also experiments with smoking, drinking, etc. so it IS possible that there could be a certain element sneaking off into the woods to have a smoke, and that truly would create a serious fire hazard. However - the main inpact that we’re liable to notice is additional parking. Yes, the City would create an additional 15 parking spaces by cutting parking spaces into the berm that you see in the left-hand side of the above photo. While this certainly isn’t the end of the world, and the park could use more parking - it’s another piece of green gone.
I have to say though, that I am continually amazed at how alarmed people get whenever skateboarders are mentioned. Have we really gotten that old so quickly? Skate park skateobarders are regular kids, with the same interests and propensity towards being or not being troublemakers as any other group of kids. Oh, we ant facilities for these kids, sure… They have to have SOMEWHERE to go…. The implied second part of that sentence.. “other than here” is never explicitly spoken. However, there’s a key difference between skaters and the typical “smoking area” crowd from my teen years, and that is… skateboarding is hard. That is to say, doing tricks on a board and skating in a park without hurting yourself takes a certain level of skill and dedication. I don’t skate, but I’m a rock climber, and I’ve heard many of the same speeches made about why climbers are shiftless and no good for the outdoors. I’ll tell you something though. You’ll find an amazing amount of dedication and sense of ownership of “their space” among these and any other “alternative sport” people. Kids who skate at a park take ownership over the spot in a way you wouldn’t think “the kids of today” would be capable of. They’re protective of their scene, and the maintenance and behavior control issues that go along with it. Skaters use the term “concrete consequences” - which means that any lack of preparation, control, maintenance or skill will land you on the concrete, and it will hurt.
When this park opens, especially if you’re opposed to the idea, you should head down there some sunny afternoon and check out the scene. I think you’ll be surprised at not only the variety of types of people found skating/blading/biking at a park, but also at the vibe. Yeah, kids will be wearing black. Yes, they’ll be listening to hardcore music you do NOT want to hear, and yes, they will have hair of all colors and probably some piercings, but it’s OK. We often decry the fact that younger people don’t seem to be getting involved in neighborhood or local issues. Building a skatepark is a good step towards getting them involved. The sense of ownership over that small space soon spreads to concern for the citywide system of skateparks, parks as a whole and more. We can’t expect kids to suddenly decide to get involved in transit planning and zoning reviews, but taking part in the “policing” and maintaining of a skatepark? Sure, that’s possible.
That’s a long enough post now - discuss amongst yourselves, or in the comments. The document that was handed out at the meeting addresses the specific points related to the Gabriel Park skate park. Thanks to Rod Wojtanik, you can download a PDF of the entire document Gabriel Park Skatepark FAQ (PDF, 112KB)
So, in the comment string on one of my posts yesterday, Cate (who’s been a very active reader and contributor these last couple of days) asks the following question:
Okay, another question… :-) Is the City going to replace the equipment they took out next to the volleyball courts at Gabriel Park? Or are they going to do something else with that area? (When Parks got rid of equipment at Custer Park, they replaced it. But I heard that equipment was removed because it had lead in it, not because it was beyond repair. Don’t know if that’s true.)
This is a question that longtime readers of this ‘blog will recognize. Last August, I had an email exchange with the Parks Department about this issue. As many of you know, the small slides were removed after being boarded up for some time, as a result of having been vandalized. The slides were not replaced, although we now have a shiny new fence railing where the top of the slides once were. This play area, although primarily for small children, is the only play structure in the entire park. In fact it’s the only “structure” of it’s type since the excercise bars (down by the volleyball courts) were removed, after a prolonged slide into disrepair.
The excerise facility will not be replaced. Well rather not with the same type of facility - since the long-rumored skate park will eventually take over that area as well as the volleyball courts, which will move (allegedly) to the grassy area south of the tennis courts. This, however is still firmly in the “rumor” stage.
In August, I noticed survey marks on the play area and sent an email to Parks, wondering if there were plans afoot to expand the play area. My original post, and the Park’s Department’s response to my email is here. I was told at the time that plans had been, or were in the process of being developed for this site, but that replacing the play structure would involve a plethora of site grading and otherwise very expensive “up to code and ADA standards” improvements. Its no surprise that nothing has been done. There is currently no sign of any of these plans on Park’s website, which is on Portland Online, at this link. Due to the recent Parks Departmen reorganization and the current focus on outdated facilities (Here’s a link to the Tribune’s article about both issues) I should think that the play facilities are pretty far down the list of priorities. You’ll note that the park maintenance structure at Gabriel plays a starring role in these articles about primitive facilities.
It’s time to get back after this issue again. So Cate, there’s your “answer”. Careful what you ask about….
So the process of defining an Adventure Park in Spring Garden Park, which I have posted about here, continues. I was reading the New York Times the other day when I came across this article about a similar park which in the process of being created at South Street Seaport in Manhattan. Since the Times requires a login, I’m going to excerpt the article a bit, but you should read the whole thing on the Time’s Site (link is below).
Photo: Kinnaresh Mistry and the Rockwell Group
The concept is not just another accouterment for Manhattan’s pampered toddler set. Rather, city officials say, it reflects the latest thinking about child-rearing. They hope the new playground concept will be replicated across the five boroughs and that it will serve as an inspiration for other cities.
“This is a very exciting idea in its physical presentation and its potential to change the way we think of playgrounds,” said the city’s parks commissioner, Adrian Benepe, adding that it could “once again put New York City on the cutting edge of playground design and development.”
Based on child-development theories that children need to engage in social and fantasy play rather than just build physical skills, the project was conceived and is being designed at no charge by David Rockwell, famous for creating adult play spaces like the restaurants Nobu and Café Gray and the Mohegan Sun casino and resort.
Although the space is to be open to the public, the play workers, a concept already popular in Europe, are being financed by Mr. Rockwell, who is raising $2 million privately to cover the costs.
The American playground of swing sets and steel monkey bars has already been evolving with more imaginative features in recent years. But behaviorists and others say planners could go even further to reflect more refined ideas about nurturing children, especially those younger than 12.
It would be really cool to have somoething like this in the Village, although our directions are certainly more modest that this $2 Million extravangaza.
What the Rockwell Group has proposed for Lower Manhattan is a figure-eight-shape landscape, with sloping wooden ramps for running that connect a zone of sand to a zone of water. A structure would house the loose parts, including foam blocks, small boats and collections of tubing, elbows and gaskets for construction projects, all to be maintained and overseen by the play workers.
The design also calls for a system of pulleys and ropes for children to lift and transport objects, as well as a climbing net and shading sails that relate to the area’s maritime history and setting.
Hopefully, the people involved in designing this adventure park have read this and similar articles, since a poll of local six-year-olds in this house reveals a very enthusiastic audience for adventure parks in general.
The link the the entire Times article is here (login required) New York Tries to Think Outside the Sandbox
For a few months now, there has been a potential new park taking shape in the Village. I’ve been meaning to post about this for a while, but until this month’s MNA meeting - I didn’t have good images and info to clearly explain what has been going on. Plus, since there are grants being applied for and parterships being pursued, Randy requested that I not reveal too much information (you know, to my thousands of readers and all!).
Development of the park will not involve any major construction or grading of the site, since those activities require all sorts of permitting and money, but neighbors will be allowed to landscape and do some minor improvements such as replacing the decrepit stairs that lead down to the park area from Handy Andy’s. A major part of the landscaping plan involves surplus bark chips from local landscape types, and of course, volunteer labor.
Randy Bonella has been the driver of this park project, but other hands are coming on board as well. A site design was recently completed by Deb Tolman of “Avant Gardens NW” and a few grants are in the process of being reviewed, applied for, and hopefully awarded.
Neighbors deciding to “reclaim” community spcaes and turning them into something we can be proud of is a concept I can totally support. I’ll keep my eyes on this process and make sure to post any opportunities to help out as they arise.
All the details are available at the Multnomah Village Park Page on Google Pages.
So there’s been some action surrounding Spring Garden park for a while (click this small photo which will expand to a larger view if you need to know where Spring Garden park is…)
On Tuesday night at the MNA meeting, Hannah Davidson made a presentation and gave us some information about future plans for this park. Basically, she communicated that Bob Schultz of Portland Parks had raised the idea of creating an “adventure park” with Spring Garden park in mind. The important part of this message is that Bob had mentioned that this might be able to happen WITHOUT putting in curbs and sidewalks, which is a very expensive proposition that also defeats the purpose of the vision of the park which is laid out as “natural open space with muted play equipment”. More details about this plan can be found in Thursday’s Oregonian, which is likely in the recycling by now, so here’s a link to the article on Oregonlive.
I should point out (that Hannah pointed out) that Spring Garden is NOT a dog park, despite the prominent dog in this article.
Anyone who’s as old as me refers to an “adventure playground” as just a regular “playground”. I remember this movement the FIRST time around, in the late 70’s, which was widely referred to amongst my peers as “when playgrounds got cool”. Here’s a snippet from Berkeley’s adventure park website that lays down the info:
The concept for Adventure Playground originated in Europe after World War II. A playground designer studied children playing in the at-the-time “normal” asphalt and cement playgrounds. He discovered that the children actually preferred playing in the dirt and lumber of the post-war rubble. He realized that children had the most fun designing and building their own equipment and manipulating their environment….
Some of the pictures we were shown included things like large hollow logs, and old boats as the play structures, which immediately reminded me of the fun time Jr V had when we last visited Bend, at Harmon Park which features a large boat embedded in the play area. Sorry, I can’t find a better picture of this….
As far as Spring Garden goes, a group is being formed to develop a formal plan for an Adventure Park, this is expcted to take around a year with the planning process between February and June of 2007 and fundraising (you knew that was coming) in July of 2007. So, we might expect to see an adventure park in Spring Garden park around spring 2008 barring any unforseen problems, and if all goes well.
Here are some links to various adventure park sites and resources:
I’ll keep you all posted as information comes in and the project moves along. Whatever you call it, Adventure Park, Eco-playground, or just plain old “park”, it sounds like the opportunity to make something cool that my son for one, will enjoy.
Many folks have commented lately about the state of the childrens’ play area at Gabriel Park. I’ve spent may hours over there in the past five years, and was dismayed when the small slides were damaged, then removed. I’ve posted in the past about the removal of the fitness course down by the volleyball courts. This area was loved by Jr. V and referred to as “the rocks area” around our house and on this ‘blog. When Jr. V and I were up at the park the other day, I noticed a series of white spray-painted dots all around the contours of the playground. It had the look of a survey about it, and I was curious. So I went to Portland Online and looked up the Parks Department to see if there were any plans to improve this area. Not finsing any info, I sent an email to the Parks Dept asking about any future plans.
I didn’t expect more than a form-letter response, but I just got (at 11:00 PM) a lengthy response from Pat Billings (which CC:d half the city government) about the plans for our park. I’m a little stunned, and very pleased with the completeness of this response! The entire message is quoted below, for your info:
There are not any immediate plans to replace the PAR exercise course that was removed at Gabriel last fall. We do not have funds available but it is on a long list of Capitol Improvement Projects (CIPs). We would welcome a donation for a new course as just the cost of the equipment is 10 to 20 thousand dollars (depending on how much equipment) without including the cost of installation.
I am not sure when the course was installed. I don’t remember it being there when I started working for Parks in the early seventies. I do know that the funds were donated by the now defunct Holiday Park Hospital and a group of other Portland businesses. I have the brass plaque in memory of Edward R. Hopkins with the names of the companies that donated. There is not a date on it.
The old course was removed because it had exceeded it’s useful life over 10 years ago. We made repair after repair on it, and without replacing it, it could not be brought to a condition where it could be considered a reasonable asset. The final decision to remove it came after 2 children were slightly injured when one of the components failed and they fell to the ground.
The long range planning is to locate a skatepark in the area where the par course was and the sand volleyball courts are now. There is not current funding for this project. If this happens, the sand volleyball courts will be located in an area east of the lower tennis courts. It is possible that a new par course can be tied into that project. I have had at least one request to construct an additional sand volleyball court.
We are currently in the process of planning repairs to the children’s playground on the north side of the park. The embankment double slide had to be removed after it had been vandalized and a large hole was made in it. There are other discrepancies in the playground that need to be addressed.
Children have undermined the upper structure and the rubber surface around it. This and the steep bank to the east side have caused the soft surface material to become contaminated with soil though erosion. This makes the soft surface of woodchips compacted and unacceptable to meet playground specifications. The upper structure will need to be removed so that we can make a series of retaining walls under it and to the east before we can replace it and the slide.
The handicap accessible side walk to the upper structure and the slide need to have the ramp into the soft surface material completed. This was not completed in the initial construction because there was not enough room for a safe fall zone for the tire swing. In order to accomplish this, the swing and tire swing structure need to be moved about two feet to the south. These are going to be expensive repairs and might have to be done separately. Again, we would welcome contributions from the community. We did a topographic survey of the playground the first week of August and Lisa Cameli our Parks Engineer is having drawings made of our planned repairs. We hope to complete the repairs before next spring.
Anybody got 20 Grand?