Inka Bajandas//January 15, 2015//
Portland State University architecture students are raising money to build a “parklet” on two parking spaces in downtown Portland.
The students, PSU‘s Institute for Sustainable Solutions and the SoMa EcoDistrict Steering Committee have launched a crowdfunding campaign to complete the project this spring, PSU assistant architecture professor B.D. Wortham-Galvin said. The goal is to raise $15,350 by Jan. 31. Donations will cover the costs of building materials and city fees for lost revenue from the former parking spots where the small park will be built near the intersection of Southwest Fourth Avenue and College Street, she said.
Wortham-Galvin last year worked with students to design the park and choose the best location. Approval was granted through the Portland Bureau of Transportation’s Street Seats program to occupy parking spaces on Fourth Avenue in front of a block of food carts. In the spring, she plans to teach a course to finalize the design, construct most of the components on the PSU campus and later assemble the park on Fourth Avenue over a weekend.
Ideally, the park will be complete by this summer in time to accommodate food cart diners, Wortham-Galvin said. Currently, the area has few public seats; many customers walk back to campus to eat, she said. Plans call for the park including high tables and stools, low benches with tables and a U-shaped bench.
“It really is meant to be a community gathering space for everybody,” Wortham-Galvin said.
Project donations can be made at .