91视频

Two years ago, voters approved a levy to bring in between $8 million and $10 million per year for the next five years to improve Metro‘s parks system, and one of those projects finished recently.

Blue Lake Regional Park, in Fairview, has received an improved entry and a stormwater system designed to be both functional and attractive.

Chris Woo, project manager for Metro-owned parks, said $3.5 million is earmarked for improvements at the park through 2018.

鈥淲e’re really interested that voters understand the levy dollars they authorized back in 2013 are being put to good use,鈥� he said.

Woo said contracts for levy-funded work are, as much as possible, awarded to minority- owned, women-owned and emerging small businesses.

Marianne Zarkin Landscape Architects is one of those women-owned businesses. Zarkin oversaw the recent park work that produced three new entrance structures and driveways, a stone entry wall and landscaped bio-swales. The upgrades were completed this summer after about seven months of work, Woo said.

鈥淭his is the first in a number of projects that will be levy-funded and also to reduce maintenance operational expense going forward,鈥� Woo said.

Admission is charged for vehicle parking at Blue Lake Regional Park, but because it previously had 鈥渙nly one booth and a shack,鈥� Zarkin said drivers often were backed up into the roadway waiting to get in.

鈥淣ot many parks in Metro are on lakes with disc golf and swimming and boating,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hey have a lot of events here, and the entry would be backed up for a half mile.鈥�

Haregu Nemariam of Nemariam Engineers provided traffic engineering and Neil Lee of LEEKA Architecture & Planning designed the new entry booths, Zarkin said.

鈥淣eil designed the adorable little booths that were manufactured off-site and brought to the site,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 pulled it all together as project manager. We did lots of plantings and all are irrigated, well over an acre, where the cars are coming in and going out.鈥�

Civil engineering for the project was provided by Sandy-based Firwood Design Group, and KLK Consulting of Portland handled permitting.

One concern, Zarkin said, was that the work was being done over city water wells, so extra precautions were taken. She said she won a competition to get the park job, and the bio-swales were an important part.

鈥淚n terms of stormwater, there was no stormwater system,鈥� she said.

The extensive biofiltration swales designed by Zarkin accomplish that, Woo said.

鈥淢arianne and her team did a very nice job with that, and we also have Columbia basalt stone features integrated into the entrance, a new wall and set of gates,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t was in pretty rough shape previously.鈥�

Providing this kind of upkeep had been financially impossible before voters gave their approval, Woo said.

鈥淭his is the first kind of a real big batch of work from levy expenses, and these are big projects for Metro,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t hasn’t historically had the funds to do these kinds of projects.鈥�

Also at Blue Lake Regional Park workers will replace four restrooms, upgrade the park office and maintenance facilities, and add boardwalks. The park is 101 acres, Woo said, and draws a million visitors a year 鈥� as many as 15,000 per day on a summer weekend.

鈥淲e just knocked down the restrooms yesterday and will be starting that in the next few weeks,鈥� he said.

The new restrooms will be energy efficient, family accessible and gender-neutral.

Woo said Zarkin’s firm has performed other projects at the park, like adding native plants. Relying on firms like hers is important for Metro to achieve its goals, he said.

鈥淎 big part of what we did was to try to help develop minority- and women-owned businesses,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t’s been very important to push opportunities for folks that are minority- and women-owned and emerging small businesses.鈥�