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. 

Reed's Crossing Greenway Park

Greenworks has been working closely with Newland Communities on Reeds Crossing, a 460-acre community located in South Hillsboro. Greenworks has been tasked with designing the 23-acre Greenway which contains stormwater facilities, multi-use trails, plazas, and a nature education area. The nature education area, Discovery Park, is a vision for STEM/STEAM programming for the Hillsboro Schools with education opportunities around the trail system comprised of stations for discovery and learning. Discovery Park is located centrally in Reed’s Crossing Gordon Creek Greenway.

Throughout the process, Greenworks coordinated with nurseries to grow the 300,000 plugs that were planted in the stormwater facilities as well as all the shrubs and trees that surround the stormwater facilities and the trails.

Stations throughout Discovery Park would allow children to learn about the functions and values of the stormwater facilities, wetlands and habitat.

Stations include:

• Water Discovery where children learn about stormwater ponds throughout the greenway and the functions of wetlands within the park by using a hand pump with the water that flows into the rain garden.

• Nurse Log Habitat where children learn how organisms like salamanders and habitats like downed logs encourage a diversity of species.

• A Climb and Find station providing nature play with sculpted animals in and around a huge log to help them learn through fun signage

• Pollinator Habitat where children learn how insects and birds are essential to flowering plants.

• Oak Savannah where children learn about different ecosystems that surrounded the valley the park sits in. An outdoor classroom and pavilion offer gathering spaces for educators and parents to teach children within and among the habitat. Trails throughout the greenway and the neighborhood lead to Discovery Park, a recreation area connected to a school, to be built in 2020.

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Reed’s Crossing is a master planned community developed by Newland Communities, to be constructed over the next 15 years and comprised of single and multi-family residential, commercial, mixed use and high-density residential development with associated roadways, utilities, stormwater facilities, trails and open space. The Reed’s Crossing community is approximately 460 acres in the South Hillsboro Community Plan, in currently what is known as Hillsboro, Oregon.

GreenWorks has been working collaboratively with Newland Communities and project civil engineers to design the heart of the development—the 23-acre greenway. The greenway is approximately 12-acres of stormwater facilitates that cleanse stormwater flowing from the roads and rooftops of the new development. These stormwater treatment facilities are seamlessly incorporated into the landscape and design of neighborhoods and civic spaces.

The greenway links the community and adjacent neighborhoods by a trail network traverses the development. The greenway also supports riparian habitat, passive and active recreation, and open space preservation. A variety of planting types are displayed throughout the greenway from wetland habitat to oak savannah and meadows.

Greenworks worked with Newland Communities from concept through permitting and construction documentation. Throughout the process, Greenworks coordinated with nurseries to grow the 300,000 plugs that were planted in the stormwater facilities as well as all the shrubs and trees that surround the stormwater facilities and the trails.

Reed's Crossing Discovery Park

Greenworks has been working closely with Newland Communities on Reeds Crossing, a 460-acre community located in South Hillsboro. Greenworks has been tasked with designing the 23-acre Greenway which contains stormwater facilities, multi-use trails, plazas, and a nature education area. The nature education area, Discovery Park, is visioned to be part of STEM/STEAM programming for the Hillsboro Schools with education opportunities around the trail system comprised of stations for discovery and learning. Overall, Discovery Park is located centrally in Reed’s Crossing Gordon Creek Greenway.

There are stations throughout Discovery Park where children can learn about the functions and values of the stormwater facilities, wetlands and habitat.

The stations include:

• Water Discovery – children can learn about the stormwater ponds throughout the greenway and the functions of wetlands within the park by interacting with the water that will flow into a rain garden.

• Nurse Log Habitat – children can learn about forest species, including salamanders, and downed logs that create habitat for a diversity of species.

• Climb and Find – this station is not only a nature play area but children can find sculpted animals in and around the log and learn about them through informational signage

• Pollinator Habitat – children can learn about the benefits insects and birds in relation to flowering plants.  

• Oak Savannah – children can learn about the different ecosystems that surrounded the valley

There is also an outdoor classroom and a pavilion that offer gathering spaces for educators and parents to teach children within and among the habitat. Trails throughout the greenway and the neighborhood lead to Discovery Park. The park is also connected to a school (to be built in 2020) via a neighborhood.

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Conceptual Visualization

Minto Island Bicycle & Pedestrian Bridge

The City of Salem and Salem's Urban Renewal Agency have been working toward a community vision of connecting three major urban parks and more than twenty miles of trails via two pedestrian bridges over the Willamette River.

“The bridge and trail and efforts to pursue funding for the acquisition of Minto Island are consistent with the Willamette River Legacy Program. The program aims to improve river access, expand parks in the Willamette Greenway, and build upon efforts to enhance this former industrial site for passive recreation, wildlife viewing, and habitat restoration.” - The City of Salem

Part of this goal was realized with the renovation of the historic Union Street Railroad Bridge connecting West Salem’s Wallace Marine Park with downtown’s Riverfront Park. Completion of the Minto Island Bicycle and Pedestrian Bridge and adjoining multi-modal trail is the last critical link. For the design and permitting, the City of Salem hired OBEC Consulting Engineers with GreenWorks to complete the bridge design, perform needed studies, and apply for permits.

The detailed design work includes services that integrate context appropriate safe infrastructure for pedestrians, bicycles, and other trail users.

Conceptual Visualizations by GreenWorks

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Khunamokwst Park

Khunamokwst Park is a new park in the Cully neighborhood. As one of the most economically and racially diverse neighborhoods in Portland, the project required an approach to public involvement that was broad, innovative and inclusive. In addition to the development of a Project Advisory Committee (PAC) and open houses, outreach was extensive and included diverse stakeholders and community members. For each engagement activity, materials were bilingual, a Spanish speaker was available, and additional outreach was done to share the designs with organizations within the Latino Community.

GreenWorks provided outreach to neighborhood children and used this project as a platform for teaching them about landscape architecture, public process, and construction. We partnered with community nonprofit organizations Verde and Hacienda’s Expresiones after-school program to engage a group of 5th, 6th and 7th graders in the process. GreenWorks received the Oregon Community Trees Organizational Award for Outreach for this project’s innovative public engagement.

This 2.5-acre park represents a new era of inclusive parks and has something for everyone. Park features include a small beginners skatepark, play areas that include traditional and nature-based play elements, interpretive art, small prefabricated restrooms, accessible looped pathway with seating areas, and flexible open space. The park includes many sustainable features, including water conservation, drought-tolerant planting design, efficient irrigation design, native or native-adaptive plant material, innovative stormwater solutions, energy efficient lights, use of recycled materials, local materials from vendors, and an eco-roof picnic shelter.

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.

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, which included improving hiking & walking trails, new boardwalk, foot-bridge, and scenic overlook.

During the Public Involvement phase, GreenWorks helped engage the community and gain support from a highly motivated neighborhood group. We prepared a design that reflected both Metro’s and the neighborhood’s goals for minimal impact to natural resources, yet provided for a safe place for users to enjoy the natural area. GreenWorks produced graphic presentation materials that helped convey the design so both the client and community could fully understand and appreciate what the end product would look like once built.

Ridgewood View Park Reservoir

GreenWorks aided Tualatin Valley Water District (TVWD) in replacing an outdated reservoir with a new one adjacent to Ridgewood View Park in Beaverton. The new water project required extensive piping and construction staging on the Tualatin Hills Parks and Recreation District (THPRD) park site. In turn, TVWD needed to upgrade the amenities in Ridgewood View. GreenWork’s proposed new park elements including open lawn, paths, parking, picnic shelters, access to natural areas, playgrounds, and a bocce ball and tennis court on top of the reservoir. Innovative elements for the project included terraced rain gardens that treat and convey stormwater from the roof of the reservoir. The park’s new rain gardens help screen the 15’ wall of the reservoir in the park and provide an educational resource for TVWD, THPRD, and the residents of the neighborhood.
 

Silver Falls State Park Nature Play Area

  Have you ever wanted to nap like a cougar, climb into an anthill, build a bird’s nest or dig for insects like a bear? All these activities will soon be possible at the Silver Falls State Park Nature Based Play Area. GreenWorks has started work on phase one of the interpretive natural play area in the Park. The idea grew out of the Oregon Parks and Recreation ‘Stepping Stones’ program with the goal to get kids outside and connected with nature.  A 2009 series of workshops with educators, OPRD staff, designers and of course kids, developed themes, ideas and concepts using the Stepping Stones methodology. When completed the Silver Falls Play area will consist of 16 animal themed play areas. Each play area is dedicated to a certain animal and designed for a specific age group of kids. The young and young at heart can explore a series of play areas situated in a fir and fern wonderland. The first phase of construction will include bear, ant, cougar and bird themed areas. GreenWorks provided OPRD with design support from schematic design workshops to construction documents and construction administration.

Columbia Tech Center Nature Play Area

GreenWorks was hired by PacTrust to design a new nature play area within the Columbia Tech Center in Vancouver, Washington. Columbia Tech Center is a 410-acre mixed use development that includes a 12-acre park that promotes a live-work balance for the community.  The new 25,000 square foot playground will become the heart of the park and will be a significant amenity for the development. Once complete, the playground will be a destination for children in Vancouver and the entire metro area. 

The design for the playground encompasses a broad spectrum of play experiences for children of all ages and abilities including a sand and water play area, boulder and log climbing, a large mound with a climbing tower, embankment slide, and rope bridge, and a discovery area with trails, musical instruments, log fort, and densely planted mounds so children can imagine they are in a forest. 

Red Electric Trail

Together with a team of engineers, GreenWorks is providing design, environmental, right of way, and construction engineering services for ODOT. The project includes the design and construction of two segments of a trail that will be a 12-15’ wide, shared pedestrian and bicycle bridge crossing over a ravine in the public right of way between SW Bertha and SW Capitol Highway.

When complete, the Red Electric Regional Trail will provide an important multi-modal link to other pedestrian and bicycle facilities in Southwest Portland. This off-street trail will connect residential areas with the Hillsdale Town Center and other destinations in SW Portland, and provide a safe alternative to bicycling and walking on SW Beaverton-Hillsdale Highway and SW Capitol Highway.