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The Washington Park South Entry Project in Portland is nearing completion thanks to secured money.

Vibrant Communities Commissioner Dan Ryan recently allocated $300,000 worth of Park System Development Charge (SDC) funds to help complete the new Washington Park South Entry Project. That brings the development fee portion of funding to a total of $5.8 million and ensures the project will be completed this year.

鈥淚n addition to creating an iconic gateway to Washington Park, this project also increases bicycle and pedestrian access, and treats a significant amount of stormwater at the same time,鈥� Ryan stated in a press release.

“The south entry is one of the few ways vehicles can enter Washington Park and access its attractions and cultural venues. For years, park visitors traveling by car have faced challenging traffic, confusing wayfinding, and badly defined bike routes,” Portland Parks & Recreation stated in the release. “The new entrance will improve the experiences of both park visitors and the world-renowned cultural institutions that call Washington Park home.”

The project is led by Portland Parks & Recreation and includes design consultant Knot Studio for landscape architecture and site design, KPFF for civil engineering and Faison Construction for construction of the project.

Construction began in February 2023 and is expected to be complete later this year.

The project’s completion will be celebrated with a grand reopening of the south entrance. The updated entry was envisioned in the 2018 Washington Park Master Plan, a guiding document for the park’s development.

Funding

Park SDCs are one-time fees assessed on new development. They are not General Fund tax dollars. The funds may only be used to improve and expand park features and capacity.

Other funding to round out the $10.7 million project comes from Washington Park paid parking revenue, a Percent for Green grant through the Portland Bureau of Environmental Services, Portland Parks & Recreation ADA Transition Plan funding, and the Oregon Department of Transportation.

About the Washington Park South Entry Project

Working with Washington Park-based cultural institutions and other project stakeholders, Portland Parks & Recreation identified three primary goals for the Washington Park South Entry project.

Stormwater management

As part of existing conditional use requirements for the Oregon Zoo and Washington Park, the project was required to provide for a minimum of 1 acre of stormwater mitigation. To satisfy this requirement, the final design of the south entry centers around the creation of a stormwater garden. The stormwater garden will have new landscaping and cascading weirs incorporating steel and stone.

Grand entry

Washington Park houses a variety of different cultural sites and recreational activities. The park is home to the Oregon Zoo, World Forestry Center, Hoyt Arboretum, International Rose Test Garden, Portland Japanese Garden, Portland Water Bureau reservoirs, memorials, playgrounds, an archery range and miles of trails. To develop the south entry into more of a grand entry, Parks is adding new signage, monuments, improved landscape, lighting and site furnishings.

Improve pedestrian, bicycle and vehicular access

Improving access to the park for the growing number of visitors arriving by bicycle and on foot is critical. Directly south of the Highway 26 off-ramp, the 4-T trail ends and sends people over the highway towards SW Knight Boulevard. Additionally, during large events like ZooLights, overflow parking creates increased demand in this area. To better accommodate bicycle and pedestrian traffic, Parks has installed a six-foot-wide sidewalk that parallels both sides of Canyon Boulevard leading into the park. The project will now shift to adding bicycle lanes that parallel the new sidewalks.