Current Parks Construction and Planning Projects
Review a sortable list of all active Parks Construction and Planning Projects with project information, estimated timelines, and contacts.
Parks Replacement Bond
Parks Replacement Bond funds are for urgent repairs and other capital costs, not park operations. The measure authorized up to $68 million in general obligation bonds to make repairs and improvements and prevent more closures like we’ve seen at Couch playground and the Maple Trail in Forest Park.
Levels of Service for Developed Parks and Natural Areas
The Level of Service (LOS) project is developing a tool that recommends what experiences and facilities should be provided in developed parks and natural areas, and how those assets and facilities will be equitably distributed across the City.
The current PP&R level of service goals were established in the Parks 2020 Vision plan:
- A developed park or natural area within a ½-mile (10-15-minute walk) of every resident; and
- A full-service community center within 3 miles of every resident.
This project takes the next step and describes what features Portlanders can expect in parks throughout the city, and at what frequency. These Level of Service goals will help us understand what features park users expect to have in most parks and what experiences people are willing to travel greater distances to use. For example, the Level of Service project has established goals for the following features within two park types:
- Developed Parks: Ballfields, Basketball Courts, Community Gardens, Dog Off-Leash Areas, Group Picnic Areas, Play Areas, Plazas, Restrooms, Skateparks, Sports Fields, Spray/Interactive Fountains, Tennis Courts
- Natural Areas: Interpretive Signage, Paved Trails, Soft Surface Paths, Trailheads, Viewing Areas, Wayfinding Signage
To determine the Level of Service for Developed Parks and Natural Areas, we created a process that will evaluate the following factors:
- Review community input received through the 2017 Community Needs Assessment and other community involvement processes relevant to the project.
- Conduct focus group listening sessions with constituencies who have not typically been provided access to decision-making (especially communities of color, immigrants and refugees),
- Attendance at community events in which we discuss with people what their “local park needs” are.
- Determine how much a proposed level of service would generally cost (including construction and operating costs); and,
- Project how the proposed service levels could be funded over time, informed by financial planning PP&R is currently doing.
The Level of Service will affirm a vision for the park system and result in recommendations for prioritizing system growth. An upcoming Level of Service project will look at community centers and aquatic facilities. Once established, level of service recommendations will be an important foundational part of future visioning projects.