Independence Landing Waterfront Park

Conceived of a an extension of Riverview Park, Independence landing offers users a number of passive recreation opportunities.

Greenworks is honored to be working with the City of Independence to implement the vision set forth in the Open Space Master Plan completed in 2015. The current work on Independence Landing improves a key piece of public waterfront located immediately south of Riverview Park, the flagship of the Independence park system. Designed in tandem with the with the large waterfront re-development on the old Valley Concrete Site, Independence Landing  is one piece in a larger orchestrated effort to revitalize downtown Independence and support commercial growth.

Included in the plan are a waterfront multi-use trail with a river overlook, a shaded patio and lawn space able to accommodate flexible programming, a sizeable restoration planting area braided by soft surface trails and a grove of shade trees in which the user can find informal, private seating areas. This implementation of the Open Space Master Plan sets the stage for the continued expansion of improved public waterfront southward along the Willamette River and strengthens the downtown, pedestrian connections to the waterfront.

The success of this project has been a measure of how well the project team has worked together. Shawn Irvine and David Clyne with the City of Independence and Steve Ward with Westech Engineering have been instrumental in guiding the design process, representing the diverse community of Independence and streamlining the construction of this exciting new park space.

Conceptual Visualization

Hood River Waterfront Park

GreenWorks provided master planning and design services for the waterfront park in Hood River. The 6-acre park lies north of downtown between the Hood River Event Site and “The Hook” (a protected harbor for learning windsurfing) on property donated by the Port of Hood River. The Park helps connect the community to the Columbia River through a family-friendly public gathering space that accommodates a wide spectrum of uses. Our team went on to provide design services. Design features include beach and swimming access to the Columbia River, innovative children’s play facilities, and flexible areas for large community events and festivals. In addition, the park reclaims eight hundred feet of riverbank, laying back the slope and restoring the river’s edge with a wide variety of native riparian plants. The park sits north of commercial use sites to the south and has improved connectivity to the waterfront and increased economic development and commercial revitalization.

George Rogers Park

GreenWorks prepared the Master Plan and design services for George Rogers Park located along the Willamette River in Lake Oswego. The project created visual and physical connections to the Willamette River and between elements within the park. Gateway enhancements, interpretive elements, and improved waterfront access were key design components. Creating a cohesive plan was paramount and included unifying the Barbecue Terrace with the Memorial Garden Terrace. The design also provided a soft canoe launch and waterfront access improvements. Boardwalks connected terraces and provided overlooks to the public beach area. The project removed existing pavings within the floodplain and provided mitigation plantings for all encroachments in the floodplain and greenway.

Mirror Pond Bank and Trail Improvements

GreenWorks with sub-consultants, Inter-fluve, Inc and HDR, are working with Bend Park and Recreation District (District) on the Mirror Pond Trail and Bank Improvement Project. In 2013, GreenWorks worked on a Visioning Plan for Mirror Pond from the Galveston Bridge downstream to the Portland Bridge including both sides of the river. In early 2017, the GreenWorks team moved forward with design to repair failing systems along the river, connect and extend the Deschutes River Trail, address ADA, mobility and access and create and enhance habitat.  

The project site is in the heart of downtown Bend and spans from Drake Park through private land to Pacific Park along the right bank of the Mirror Pond and the Deschutes River. Drake Park is a popular downtown community gathering place and is highly used by floaters, runners, cyclists, pedestrians and others. There are user conflicts between floaters and pedestrians and cyclists and pedestrians.  Drake Park, on the upstream end, is also the hop-out site to take the River Shuttle. Due to the high traffic, GreenWorks is designing a large waiting plaza with restrooms and benches across from the shuttle parking. In addition, the team is working to expand and enhance the beach, making this location a more enjoyable and safe location for users. 

Beach area with imported coarse sand in place of existing cobble and rock

Waterfront boardwalk, habitat enhancements and native plantings

Deconstructed banks, add large wood and riparian plantings

Deconstruct wall, add large wood with root wad attached to create riparian habitat (10-20' width)

Laid-back bank with riparian edge and bank stabilization

Waterfront boardwalk with riparian edge

There are sections along Drake Park that preclude cyclists, strollers and wheelchairs as well as areas where there are user conflicts between pedestrians and cyclists. The GreenWorks team has creatively designed an accessible route to connect the Deschutes River Trail from Pioneer Park downstream through Pacific Park where it meanders on back surface streets until it reaches a new boardwalk at Newport Bridge. The boardwalk will span from Newport Bridge along the edge of Mirror Pond to the plaza in the center of Drake Park. Once users get to the plaza, there will be a spilt in the trail, cyclists will traverse toward the road and meet back with the original alignment of the DRT and pedestrians will along the water edge. 

Banks along the river are eroding and there is constant maintenance. The GreenWorks team along with stakeholders worked together to determine that the banks were not to be armored with rip rap but where to address erosion as well as create habitat. The solution involves the removal of the concrete cap on top of the wall, deconstruction of banks and reuse the rock in place, adding large wood a few strategic locations as well as riparian plantings. In two sections of the project where the large wood will be located, split rail fence will be installed to deter the trampling of vegetation that will allow for the vegetation to remain in place for the enhancement and creation of habitat.  

Currently, GreenWorks is beginning to move the design from 30% to 100% and eventually through construction. 

Riverfront Connections: Lewis and Clark Festival Park

In The Dalles, East 1st Street and adjacent properties from Union Street to Laughlin Street posed unique development opportunities and design challenges within the heart of the community. The area had long been an unattractive, back alley view of the community from Interstate-84 and a neglected downtown street. The four-block long right-of-way was complicated by the adjacency of Union Pacific Railroad mainline tracks, unequal and narrow ROW widths, major elevation differences with adjacent properties, National Historic District requirements, and access issues. These challenges also offered a multitude of design opportunities for a distinctive streetscape and park redevelopment which ultimately has become a focal point for redevelopment and an invigorated downtown center. East 1st Street is now a gateway from the downtown to the Columbia Riverfront where vehicle, bicycle, and pedestrian traffic intermingles. GreenWorks and a team of engineers developed preliminary and final designs for East 1st Street streetscape, a pedestrian/bicycle under-crossing of the two mainline Union Pacific Railroad tracks, a pedestrian plaza at Washington Street, a cruise ship and public dock area connecting the City of The Dalles to the Historic Columbia River, and the iconic Lewis and Clark Festival Park. The project has served to enhance community identity and encourage economic development.

Oak Harbor Clean Water Facility

Photo by Thomas Harris

Photo by Thomas Harris

GreenWorks is part of a multi-disciplinary team that renovated this regional wastewater treatment facility in historic downtown Oak Harbor, Washington. Situated in Windjammer Park, on the shores of Oak Harbor, the facility takes advantage of technological updates to modernize the facility, integrate it with the surrounding environment, and reduce its visual and olfactory impacts.  

“… the facility takes advantage of technological updates to modernize the facility, integrate it with the surrounding environment, and reduce its visual and olfactory impacts.”

Routes for cars and people on either side of the facility provide easy access from downtown Oak Harbor to Windjammer Park and the waterfront. The site plan requires the creation of strong physical and visual links along these axes. The planting and hardscape reflect the coastal setting, with the inclusion of rolling dunes planted with coastal grasses and perimeter sidewalks, emulating local wooden docks. Parts of the facility are exposed to the public, offering opportunities for interpretation along the two main thoroughfares.

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Photo by Thomas Harris

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Zidell Green Infrastructure

The 33-acre Zidell Yards site offers the first holistic, comprehensive opportunity in Portland, Oregon to identify solutions for applying green infrastructure to manage stormwater on one of the largest brownfield remediation and redevelopment sites in Portland.  The goal of this effort was to develop a range of comprehensive green infrastructure scenarios consistent with the constraints of a recently remediated brownfield that can be implemented within the framework of a 15- to 20-year development master plan.

Blue Heron Mill Site Visioning

GreenWorks conducted a preliminary investigation on the Blue Heron Paper Mill site, which included research on the site’s history, river access investigations, preliminary concepts, and magnitude of cost estimate. The purpose of this work was to gain a better understanding of the potential to provide public river access, as well as for other recreational, interpretive, open space amenities and economic redevelopment features.  Celebration of the Willamette Falls and its cultural significance over the decades is also an integral component of the concept.  GreenWorks built off this initial effort to develop a vision for the site that is inspired by the 3 main eras evident on the site—the Natural Era, Cultural Era, and Industrial Era—all interweaving to become an expression of a new era of sustainability for Oregon City. New initiatives will target public open space, economic redevelopment, interpretive facilities, Falls overlooks, and riverbank restoration.

Eastbank Crescent Habitat Restoration

The Eastbank Crescent Project is located between the Hawthorne and Marquam bridges on the eastbank of the Willamette River. The purpose of the project is to create a recreational destination and a fish and wildlife habitat refuge.  The project is a collaborative effort between City of Portland’s Bureau of Planning and Sustainability, Bureau of Environmental Services (BES), Portland Development Commission, Portland Parks and Recreation, GreenWorks, Mayer-Reed, and Flowing Solutions. Based on existing conditions analysis, constraints and opportunities, three concepts were developed including maximizing recreation, maximizing habitat and a hybrid of the two.  GreenWorks, with sub consultant, Inter-fluve Inc., was task by BES to enhance in-water nearshore habitat for ESA-listed fish, restore riparian and upland habitat for birds and wildlife, and incorporate river habitat education opportunities. An array of habitat treatments were considered including laying back the riverbank to create more habitat by vegetating with native plants, undulating the shallow water area with alcoves or backchannels to enhance fish habitat and creating viewpoints and access for education.  The concepts were presented to stakeholders and the public and a preferred alternative will be developed based on public input.

Mirror Pond Visioning Project

GreenWorks consulted with Bend Parks and Recreation District on alternatives to provide four different solutions for the community to consider for the iconic Mirror Pond on the Deschutes River in Bend, Oregon. Each option, ranging from taking out a dam to dredging or something in between, will illustrate the visual impact, cost estimates, regulatory requirements, challenges and opportunities.

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Human Access Project

With the completion of the Big Pipe in 2011, water quality in the Willamette has improved by leaps and bounds. In the wake of this achievement, Will Levenson, head of the non-profit Human Access Project, is leading an effort to change people’s perceptions of the river and encourage recreation in the water and along the waterfront.
GreenWorks became involved in the Human Access Project in November 2012, bringing our extensive experience designing places for people within sensitive natural environments, which focus on balancing access with habitat conservation.
This balance is certainly a key consideration as the Human Access Project gains momentum through additional community outreach and scaled interventions along the Willamette’s shores. Greenworks is honored to be contributing to this worthy cause and looks forward to witnessing the transformation of Portland’s largest public open space in the years to come.