BEECN
A Basic Earthquake Emergency Communication Node (pronounced beacon) is a place to go in Portland after a major earthquake to ask for emergency assistance if phone service is down, or report severe damage or injury.
About Colonel Summers Park
In 2017, Colonel Summers received several major improvements. A decorative picnic shelter enclosure and new splash pad was installed thanks to System Development Charge funds. Funding from the 2014 Parks Replacement Bond provided a Portland Loo and removal of ADA barriers on the pathway from SE Taylor Street to the picnic shelter.
Portland Parks & Recreation, the Buckman Community Association, and the Colonel Summers Task Force have been working on tactics and strategies for increasing positive uses for Colonel Summers Park for several years. Park additions and improvements include many varieties of projects including capital improvements, maintenance projects, enforcement activities, and more.
Portland Loo and Splash Pad
A Portland Loo and splash pad have been installed in Colonel Summers Park. Funding for the Loo is thanks to the Parks Replacement Bond, and System Development Charges (SDCs) funded the splash pad. The splash pad replaces the decommissioned wading pool. The work also included replacing the existing path from SE Taylor Street with a new ADA-accessible route from SE Taylor to the picnic pavilion.
Spring 2016 - Fall 2016: Design Development and Public Involvement
Fall 2016 - Spring 2017: Construction Documents, Permitting, and Bidding
April 2017 - mid-September 2017: Construction
September 17, 2017: Opening of Loo and Splash Pad
Pavilion Improvement
PP&R secured funding and hired an architect to design the enclosure for the picnic pavilion. A preferred option was chosen after the December 2015 community meeting and shared at the February 2016 Buckman Community Association meeting.
Update March 2017
The gate installation is done, and this project is completed.
Fall 2015 - Winter 2015/16: Design Development and Public Involvement
Spring 2016 - Summer 2016: Construction Documents, Permitting, and Bidding
Fall 2016 - Winter 2016/17: Gate Fabrication and Installation / Construction
Size in acres
Year acquired
History
Originally called Belmont Park, this site was renamed in 1938 in honor of Colonel Owen Summers, a former member of the Oregon Legislature. Summers was the commanding officer of the Second Oregon Volunteers Regiment in the Spanish-American War. He also introduced the bill which later created the Oregon National Guard. In the southwest corner of this park there is a huge rock, which came from Kelly Butte. This rock holds a bas relief image of Colonel Summers on a bronze plaque. In 2002, an inventory and assessment of wading pools in Portland parks was completed. Based on those recommendations, as well as input from maintenance and planning staff, PP&R identified 17 wading pools for replacement and seven for elimination. The wading pool at Colonel Summers Park was closed for health and safety reasons, as required by State of Oregon regulations, after the summer of 2009. In 2017, Colonel Summers received several major improvements. A decorative picnic shelter enclosure and new splash pad was installed thanks to System Development Charge funds. Funding from the 2014 Parks Replacement Bond provided a Portland Loo and removal of ADA barriers on the pathway from SE Taylor Street to the picnic shelter.