Red Electric Trail

Project Updates

October 2023

Help shape preliminary designs for the Red Electric Trail!

On September 27, preliminary designs were presented to the community at our open house event. Many thanks to the 55 people who joined us and shared their feedback. Couldn’t make it to the event? Check out proposed designs below and share your thoughts by taking our survey!

This portion of the Red Electric Trail starts at SW Shattuck Road and continues for about a half mile to SW Cullen Boulevard. The design includes five segments. 

Segment 1: SW Shattuck Road to SW 55th Avenue

• Marked crossing at SW Shattuck Road with signs and flashing beacons.
• Improved street light at SW Shattuck Road.
• Future Red Electric Trail connection to Alpenrose.
• Vegetated stormwater basin near SW Shattuck Road to manage stormwater runoff from the trail. 
• Two-way multi-use paved path that is 10 to 12-feet wide with 2-foot wide gravel shoulders on each side. 
• Two options for the environment experience near seasonally wet area.
• Potential southern spur trail above seasonally wet area with options for stairs or sloped path.

Learn more about design options in Segment 1 and share your thoughts by taking our survey.

Segment 2: SW 55th Ave to Pendleton Park

• Two-way multi-use paved path that is 10 to 12-feet wide with 2-foot wide gravel shoulders on each side. 
• Compacted gravel trail connection at SW 54th Avenue.
• Two options for a new accessible trail connection at SW 55th Avenue. Both options would meet ADA standards. Tree removal is required for either option.

Learn more about accessible trail connection options at SW 55th Avenue and share your thoughts by taking our survey.

Segment 3: Pendleton Park to SW Fairvale Court

• Two-way paved multi-use path that is 10 to 12-feet wide with 2-foot wide gravel shoulders on each side.
• Improved existing spur trail that connects to Hayhurst Elementary School.
• Buffered plantings along neighboring private properties.
• Improved trail connection at SW 52nd Avenue.

Segment 4: SW Fairvale Court to SW Cameron Road

• Shared paved street that is 20-feet wide with concrete curbs and pointed shared lane symbols.
• New catch basins along SW Fairvale Court for stormwater management. 
• Trail connection at SW Pendleton Street.
• Vegetative stormwater basin near Pendleton Street connection.

Segment 5: SW Cameron Road to SW Cullen Boulevard

• Marked crossing at intersection of SW Fairvale Court and SW Cameron Road with improved lighting.
• Shared use path along north side of SW Cameron Road with improved street lighting and concrete curbs with stormwater inlets.
• Speed cushions on SW Cameron Road. 

Trail Amenities

Planned amenities along this portion of the Red Electric Trail include:

• Benches made of wood with powder coated steel frames for durability and easy maintenance located periodically along the trail.
• Bike racks located near Pendleton Park.
• Interpretive signage that describes the history of Red Electric Rail System and/or provides information about habitats found along the trail. Current plan includes one interpretive sign in Segment 1.
• Directional signage such as mileage markers, trail maps, and trail connections near trail connections.
• Litter, recycling, and dog waste receptacles located near SW Shattuck Road, Pendleton Park, and Hayhurst Elementary.
• Elements of informal play such as log rounds, boulders, or art near spur trails and Pendleton Park.
• Lighting near road crossing and accessible trail connection.

Review proposed locations of trail amenities and share your thoughts by taking our survey.

Feedback gathered through open house and survey will be used to help refine design options and select a preferred design, which will help inform the full project cost estimate. The preferred design will be shared with the community this winter for review and input. 

August 2023 

We’re currently developing trail design options to share soon!

A big thank you to everyone who completed the Red Electric Trail survey and provided feedback at a recent community meeting or event. Your input is shaping the design process for this project. Check out the summary below of who we have engaged with so far and what we heard from them. 

This fall, we’ll share preliminary design options and ask for your feedback via an updated survey and in-person open house event. You can also meet with the project team at events this summer and fall including:

• Friday, August 18, 6:30pm: Summer Free for All Concert at Pendleton Park 
• Wednesday, September 27, 4:00-6:30 pm: In-person open house event at Pendleton Park 

Engagement By The Numbers

• Received 158 survey responses.
• Interacted with 29 Hayhurst Elementary students to learn how they currently use the trail space and their vision for the future of this trail.
• Spoke with 23 families at the Hayhurst Elementary Hullabaloo. 
• Met with around 50 people at the June 12 Hayhurst Neighborhood Association meeting.
• Engaged with 22 community members at the June 20 Community Trail Walk.
• Distributed postcards with project information and engagement opportunities to over 2,000 addresses within a mile of the future trail.
• Posted 20 signs along the project area sharing project information and engagement opportunities. 

Who did we hear from?

• In-person engagement opportunities mostly attended by people who live or go to school near the Hayhurst neighborhood. 
• Survey respondents self-reported as primarily white (80%), between the ages of 25 and 64 years old, and currently living in the Hayhurst neighborhood (68%). 
• Over 20% of survey respondents live in SW Portland neighborhoods outside of Hayhurst such as Maplewood, Hillsdale, Multnomah, Raleigh Hills, or Garden Home. About 9% of survey respondents live in other neighborhoods in Multnomah or Washington County.
• About 40% of survey respondents have a child under the age of 18 living with them and 19% live with a disability or have a family member who lives with a disability.

What did they share?

Strong desire to preserve the natural environment including tree canopy, wildlife habitat, and places for unstructured play.

• Existing experiences important to maintain for survey respondents include:
  • Walking and hiking for exercise (80%);
  • Being in the shade of mature trees (68%);
  • Seeing and hearing wildlife (59%);
  • Biking and/or rolling (53%);
  • Seeing native vegetation (49%).
• The community enjoys having a quiet, undeveloped area to visit for recreation and relaxation.
• Local children often use the area for unstructured play — building forts, riding their bikes, and playing games in the “woods.”
• Concern that a wide path would require removal of many trees.

Important to keep the trail clean and balance desires for different uses and experiences.

• Survey respondents said they are most likely to arrive at this section of trail via walking (85%) or biking (57%). A small percentage of respondents would like to arrive via driving (12%) or public transportation (8%).

• The three most important trail amenities for survey respondents include dog waste stations, garbage recycling receptacles, and opportunities for wildlife viewing.
  
• Other amenities mentioned in survey comments include:
  • Water fountains;
  • Biking amenities such as mountain biking features, bike racks and bike repair stations;
  • Connections to other trails and parks;
  • Informational and directional signage.
• Hayhurst Elementary students shared desires to see forts, swings, slides, drinking fountains, and plants near the trail. Students often ride their bikes to school and it’s important to maintain safe, accessible access points near the trail.

  

• A few survey comments shared their desire to limit the number of amenities on the trail in order to maintain an existing quiet space and natural characteristics of the trail.
• Thoughts around lighting on the trail were mixed among survey participants. 80% of survey respondents told us they would use the trail during daylight hours. When asked if lighting would contribute to a sense of safety on the trail, about 30% of respondents were neutral, 29% shared it is likely, 17% shared it is very likely, and 17% shared it is very unlikely.
• There is support for lighting near roads to help reduce conflicts with vehicles, but also concerns that lighting along the trail would be disruptive to neighboring property owners.
• Several community members expressed that it’s unsafe for people walking and biking near Shattuck Road due to poor sightlines, vehicle speeds/volumes, and lack of safe crossings and sidewalks.
• Other measures reported by survey respondents that can contribute to a sense of safety on the trail include:
  • Enforcement of laws and no camping;
  • Regular patrols of the trail and ability to report concerns;
  • Clear view of surroundings and no hiding spots;
  • Smooth, flat walking paths;
  • Clarity around accepted uses of the trail (i.e., skateboarding, mountain biking, etc.).
• Desire from many community members to incorporate history of the trail and neighborhood through signage and other design elements (e.g., using railroad ties in design). 

Safety concerns are primarily related to conflicts with vehicles, privacy for trail adjacent neighbors, and potential for increased illegal or undesirable activity near the trail.

• Separation from vehicles, traffic calming near roads, and accessible trail connections are measures most likely to contribute to a feeling of safety for survey respondents. Railings and low vegetation are least likely to contribute to a feeling of safety.
  

• Thoughts around lighting on the trail were mixed among survey participants. 80% of survey respondents told us they would use the trail during daylight hours. When asked if lighting would contribute to a sense of safety on the trail, about 30% of respondents were neutral, 29% shared it is likely, 17% shared it is very likely, and 17% shared it is very unlikely.
• There is support for lighting near roads to help reduce conflicts with vehicles, but also concerns that lighting along the trail would be disruptive to neighboring property owners.
• Several community members expressed that it’s unsafe for people walking and biking near Shattuck Road due to poor sightlines, vehicle speeds/volumes, and lack of safe crossings and sidewalks.
• Other measures reported by survey respondents that can contribute to a sense of safety on the trail include:
  • Enforcement of laws and no camping;
  • Regular patrols of the trail and ability to report concerns;
  • Clear view of surroundings and no hiding spots;
  • Smooth, flat walking paths;
  • Clarity around accepted uses of the trail (i.e., skateboarding, mountain biking, etc.).

June 2023

The trail design process has begun! Harper Houf Peterson Righellis, Inc. (HHPR), a Portland-based civil engineering firm, has been selected as the contractor to lead trail design work with Portland Parks & Recreation. HHPR will be working in tandem with Range Studio, a landscape architecture firm, PointNorth, a public involvement firm, Global Transportation Engineering, a transportation engineering and planning firm, and RhinoOne, a geotechnical engineering services firm, to develop and deliver 30%  design drawings for the western segment of the Red Electric Trail, from SW Shattuck Road to SW Cameron Road. The 30% construction documents aim to lay out the major design elements of the project and establish a cost and timeline.

Over the next year, the project team will be working to complete studies, develop design options and cost estimates, and work with the community to select a preferred design. Community engagement is essential at every stage of the design process.

Project Timeline

• Summer 2023 – Complete geotechnical work and traffic analysis. Gather community input around trail needs and desires. 
• Fall 2023 – Develop design options and share with the community for feedback.
• Winter 2023/2024. Identify and refine preferred design option with community input.
• Spring/Summer 2024 – Complete 30% design drawings and cost estimate of preferred design.

Opportunities for Engagement:

Learn more about the project, speak with staff, and share your thoughts at the following community meetings and events:

• June 12: Hayhurst Neighborhood Association meeting at Vermont Hills United Methodist Church (7:00-8:30 pm) – virtual participation available here
• June 20: Community Trail Walk starting at Pendleton Park (4:00-6:00pm) 
• August 18: Summer Free for All at Pendleton Park (6:30-8:30pm) 
• Fall 2023: Open House event – stay tuned for additional details coming soon.

Contact the project team:

Reach out via phone or email to share your questions and provide input:                                                  Payton Stang, Community Engagement Coordinator                                    payton.stang@portlandoregon.gov                                                                                                                    971-413-5153

February 2023

The Red Electric Trail: East of Alpenrose project will result in the design and 30% construction documents for the western segment of the Red Electric Trail, from SW Shattuck Road to SW Cameron Road. The 30% construction documents phase aims to lay out the major design elements of the project and establish a cost and timeline.

Before we could start this process, the project team needed a clearer picture of the whole project area: its topography, trees, and connections.  Beginning in mid-October, arborists under contract with PP&R cleared portions of understory, along with smaller dead, dying, and nuisance trees along the right-of-way that represents the future Red Electric Trail alignment. 

It was necessary to remove some of the invasive brush and smaller nuisance trees for the surveyor crew’s ability to place and read equipment at distances, to map the physical conditions. 

Arborists have finalized their clearing work and Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) survey crews will continue their work over the next few weeks to determine right-of-way boundaries, topography, and tree locations.

PP&R has awarded the contract for design and community engagement to Harper Houf Peterson Righellis Inc. (HHPR).  The design process will begin in the Spring of 2023, and their work will include multiple touchpoints with the community, including walks and open houses.

Project Overview

In the spring of 2022, the City of Portland was awarded a Coronavirus State Fiscal Recovery Fund Grant for the Red Electric Trail Design and Planning (for $750,000).  The grant funds will complete 30% design drawings for the segment east of Alpenrose, from SW Shattuck to SW Cameron Road.  The total segment is a little over half a mile, in addition to neighborhood pathways that will connect to it.

While grant funding (and this project) does not cover construction, the design drawings will be very helpful in allowing PP&R to advance construction of the designed trail in the future. 

Early work in fall 2022 will include clearing of some vegetation and overgrown portions of this trail segment  so that survey work can begin.  This step is important in understanding the site and will create a foundation for the design work. 

This project will focus on the Red Electric Trail segment from SW Shattuck Road to SW Cameron Road, which generally uses SW Fairvale Court, an undeveloped right-of-way.

A 2007 Red Electric Trail Alignment Study included a comprehensive public engagement process and resulted in a conceptual route for the entirety of the trail.  This study will be a resource and starting point to guide the design work for this project. 

Solicitation of the design team will happen in fall 2023, and the design team will begin their work, including public engagement in 2023.

Background

The Red Electric was an interurban train route, running bright red passenger trains linking Forest Grove and Beaverton to southwest Portland, between 1914 and 1929.

Known for their bright red color, the Red Electrics was originally called the Portland Eugene and Eastern Railroad, the name was changed to Southern Pacific on July 1, 1915.   Learn more about Red Electric History at PDXHistory.com

Red Electric Trail Today

Today, the remaining rights-of-way are envisioned as a major regional trail that connects the existing Fanno Creek Trail west of Alpenrose Dairy to the Willamette Greenway Trail in South Waterfront. 

The Red Electric Trail is part of the Portland region’s 220 miles of regional trails. When completed, there will be 16 miles of safer, mostly off-road Red Electric trail between the Tualatin and Willamette Rivers. 

Many sections of the trail have been designed and constructed, including a new pedestrian and bicycle bridge between SW Beaverton-Hillsdale Highway and SW Capitol Highway. 

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