Mike Danko of the City of Independence Retiring

GreenWorks would like to acknowledge the extraordinary pubic service of Mike Danko, Community Development Director of the City of Independence, Oregon. After almost three decades with the City, Mike is retiring. GreenWorks feels privileged to have worked alongside Mike on numerous projects, including the Downtown Revitalization Project, Fountain project, Amphitheater, Veterans Memorial, Parks and Open Space Master Plan, Independence Landing, and the Soccer Complex. A true visionary, Mike’s commitment to community services is an inspiration to us all. Best Wishes, Mike!

Pictured here: Mike Danko and Mayor John McArdle

Happy Solstice!

In the Northern Hemisphere, peak sunlight usually occurs on June 20, 21, or 22 of the year, giving us the Summer Solstice. In Portland, that means 15.5 to 16 hours of daylight. Enjoy the extra daylight with a bike ride along the Trolley Trail, which can be reached from TriMet’s SE Park Station on the Portland-Milwaukie Orange Line. GreenWorks provided landscape architectural services for the final design of the Portland-Milwaukie Light Rail. Along the trolley trail section, GreenWorks provided trail improvements including plant selections. For more information on the Orange Line: http://catchtheorange.com/#/stations

Peter Courtney Minto Island Bridge Welcomes Honored Guests

The Minto Island Bridge, a project 40 years in the making, welcomed its first pedestrians in an inaugural walk this past Thursday. The bridge has officially been named after one of Salem’s longtime Oregon Senate Presidents and dedicated community members, Peter Courtney. The long-anticipated bridge connects three major urban parks and more than 20 miles of trails along the Willamette River. The bridge was designed by OBEC Consulting Engineers. GreenWorks had the pleasure of developing a conceptual framework that integrated existing park features, such as the “Eco Earth” art globe, with new terraced seatwalls and complemented accent plantings. The bridge will be celebrating its grand opening in August. For more information, please visit the Statesman Journal at: http://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/news/2017/04/27/peter-courtney-bridge-salem-oregon-walk-across/100951398/

Michael Corrente Named Vice President Chair

This week, Michael Corrente was named Vice President Chair of the Design and Landmarks Committee for the City of Milwaukie. Mike joined the Committee earlier this year. Congratulations Mike!

GreenWorks Recognizes Employees Active in the Milwaukie Community

Ben Johnson and Michael Corrente, residents of the Milwaukie area, are both active members of their civic community. Michael Corrente has just been appointed to the Design and Landmarks Committee of the City of Milwaukie. His appointment will be made official at the February 7^th City Council meeting. The Design and Landmarks Committee (DLC) is a 5-member group established to advise the Planning Commission on urban design, architectural, and historic preservation activities including but not limited to design review of development proposals in downtown, education and outreach, designation of historic districts and landmarks, and historic and cultural resources inventories.

Ben Johnson has served as a board member on the City of Milwaukee's Parks Advisory Review Board since 2015. As a member, Ben and his fellow board members coordinate with the City and Parks District to provide for the community’s parks and recreation needs.

Thank you Mike and Ben! GreenWorks is very proud of our civic-minded team.

Canemah Bluff named “Trail of the Month”

Portland Monthly is featuring Canemah Bluff Nature Park as its Trail of the Month in the December issue:

http://www.pdxmonthly.com/articles/2016/11/14/trail-of-the-month-high-and-dry-winter-walks-at-canemah-bluff

Canemah Bluff is a 300-acre natural area owned and maintained by Metro within Oregon City. GreenWorks worked with Metro to develop public access to the sensitive oak savannah and woodland and which includes, improving hiking & walking trails, a new boardwalk and a foot-bridge, and scenic overlook. Many thanks to our friends at Metro, Rodney Wojtanik and Alex Perove, for including us in their wonderful project.

GreenWorks Honors Vets on Veteran’s Day

GreenWorks would like to acknowledge and thank all of our nation’s veterans. Thank you for your service and sacrifice.

October Rain

With major storms threatening our region, stormwater management is a topic on everyone’s mind. Rain gardens, bioswales, and other stormwater facilities become highly active players in the infrastructure of a city during a major weather event like the one we are experiencing in the Pacific Northwest. The City of Albany is highly committed to managing their stormwater and has been working with GreenWorks to improve their stormwater management since 2009.

GreenWorks was hired by the City of Albany to assist them in developing stormwater quality development standards. The first phase was a thorough review of the city’s municipal and development codes and engineering standards. GreenWorks recommended updates to address water quality and stream protection goals and regulations. The team facilitated workshops and a field facility tour for city staff to determine the types of stormwater quality facilities and related design standards to adopt. We developed facility sizing requirements and prepared engineering standards, specifications and standard drawings. Key goals included the development of stormwater quality standards with a focus on vegetated facilities that can integrate into existing site landscaping and City ROW, that are straight-forward to design and review for compliance, and offer flexibility to the development community. GreenWorks used highly illustrative standards to show how various options of vegetated facilities could be sized and located. The resulting Stormwater Quality Program and Standards (including codes, standards, specifications, and drawings) was adapted by the Albany City Council in 2014.

Stormwater facilities were designed and completed in 2015. Robust in size, these facilities were built to manage a major stormwater event. GreenWorks continues to provide implementation assistance to city staff on an on-call basis to review drawings and answer questions, and in some instances provide stormwater facility design support.

Canemah Bluff Trails and Overlook

As the beautiful autumn weather draws you outdoors, head south for an autumnal amble through Canemah Bluff Nature Park. Canemah Bluff is a 300-acre natural area owned and maintained by Metro within Oregon City. More active park amenities include the playground, basketball court, and picnic tables at Canemah Neighborhood Children’s Park. Continue along the mile-long unpaved trails into the natural area for a chance to glimpse sparrows, red-breasted sapsuckers, white-breasted nuthatches, orange-crowned warblers, hawks and eagles.

GreenWorks recently completed the Canemah Bluff Trails and Overlook project, working closely with Metro to develop public access to the sensitive oak savannah and woodland. The project included improving hiking trails, a new boardwalk, new foot-bridge, and a scenic overlook.

A highly active and passionate neighborhood group provided the project team with valuable input. The project design reflects Metro’s and the neighborhood’s goals for minimal impact, yet provides a safe place for users to enjoy the natural area.

For more information, visit:

http://www.oregonmetro.gov/parks/canemah-bluff-nature-park

Planning and Design Currently Underway for Gateway Green Open Space

Gateway Green is a 35-acre parcel of mostly vacant land and located at the intersection of two interstate highways in Portland, Oregon and adjacent to the Gateway Urban Renewal area. The land is owned by the City of Portland Bureau of Parks and Recreation. Planning and design is currently underway for Phase One development of the property. The project began as an effort of local land owners and open space advocates in an effort to catalyze economic growth in outer east Portland. On a pro-bono basis, designers collaborated with local stakeholders to create a program and vision for Gateway Green. Through conversations and input from technical experts and the community a vision for the site was developed that identified the following project goals:

• Improving environmental conditions, especially water and air quality, and wildlife habitat.
• Providing a regional recreational destination, especially for bicycle and pedestrian opportunities.
• Providing open space and a possible branding opportunity for adjacent Gateway Regional Center and surrounding neighborhoods.
• Highlighting Portland’s evolving sustainable marketplace and expressing our region’s use of sustainable design solutions.

As part of the six-month project the design team conducted a one-day community charrette to develop the design of the initial concept plan. After development of the preliminary vision the team conducted technical review meetings to ensure the technical viability of concept options, approaches, details, and strategies. A final presentation of the revised vision plan was then presented to the community. The Gateway Green vision plan demonstrates a commitment to sustainability, puts the property to better use for the good of the community, and sets an example for reclamation and reuse of surplus or underused properties around the country.