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Burlingame • Capitol Hill
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• Glen Cullen • Hillsdale
• Multnomah Village
• Raleigh Hills • South Portland
• Vermont Hills
• West Portland
Celebrating 20 years of continuous Southwest news coverage!
Volume No. 21, Issue No. 11
www.swportlandpost.com
Portland, Oregon
Hit and run driver
charged with injuring
bicyclist on Barbur Blvd,
then fleeing the scene
– Page 3
Complimentary
September 2013
Volunteers support Multnomah’s Spring Garden Park and its natural play area
By Erik Vidstrand
The Southwest Portland Post
Over 120 residents, children, and
dogs attended last month’s National
Night Out held at Spring Garden
Park (3332 SW Spring Garden St).
In fact, there were so many people
they ran out of pie and ice cream! To
the east, a majestic Mt. Hood was
bathed in alpenglow; so close, you
could almost touch it.
Acquired by Portland Parks and
Recreation in 1999, Spring Garden
Park claims four and a half acres and
is unlike any other park in town.
There are no slides, swings, mon-
key bars, or even a restroom. It
is considered a natural play area
encouraging children to use their
imagination in play.
Instead, there are logs, stripped of
their bark for balancing on; stumps
for standing and playing king of the
hill; large boulders to climb on; and
sand, lots of sand.
In fact, as several community
Portland Police officers arrived, one
child was witnessed pouring a large
cup of sand on his playmate’s head.
The officers decided to eat some
apple pie instead.
Welcome to a new (old) way of
playing. It is part of a growing
movement to help children get
away from screens and to experi-
ence play the way their parents
and grandparents once spent their
youth.
Many of the Post
readers can conjure
up their days of cre-
ating forts and tree
houses and mud
pies. Everything
goes here. Well not
everything.
Smoking is not al-
lowed within 25 feet
of the play areas.
Dogs are not really
welcome, but if they
are present, they
are required to be
leashed at all times.
And, even though
the park sign says
for children aged
2-12, it is available
for 2-102.
Multnomah resi-
dent Lori Howell,
a mother of two, is
the tireless leader
of Friends of Spring City Commissioner and Multnomah resident, Steve Novick, enjoys a relaxing evening at National Night
Garden Park. In Out at Spring Garden Park. Next to Novick, Lori Howell with Amelia (10) and Benjamin (5), enjoy ice
cream and pie while Katy Brumbelow, Multnomah NA vice-chair, tends to Novick’s dog.
2008, Lori formed
(Post photo by Erik Vidstrand)
the Friends group,
recruited a board and parents to
TriMet donated a tree from their
in need of new volunteers to help
volunteer. They applied for and
property on Lincoln Street to supply
write grants and to provide parental
received a $10,000 grant from the
wood and materials to the project.
supervision.”
Multnomah Village Umpqua Bank.
The tree had to be removed during
Parental supervision and partici-
Portland Parks & Recreation’s first
construction of TriMet’s Portland-
pation is needed at Playdate in the
nature play area was completed in
Milwaukie Light Rail project.
Park on Saturday, September 21
November 2011 as a result of collab-
“Money is needed to keep the
from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
oration between PP&R, Friends of
park sustainable,” pleaded Lori,
And since city commissioners
Spring Garden Park, and Umpqua
who explained she was suffering
Amanda Fritz and Steve Novick
Bank’s Multnomah Village branch.
from ‘volunteer fatigue’. “We are
(Continued on Page 6)
Starbucks celebrates 20 years
in Multnomah Village
Metro considers Barbur Boulevard
demonstration project for federal funding
By Erik Vidstrand
The Southwest Portland Post
Metro recently held a public hear-
ing on the proposed highway im-
provements on Oregon 99W (Barbur
Boulevard) from Southwest 19th to
26th avenues. Some 40 people at-
tended and 23 testified.
The City of Portland is consider-
ing nine different projects for sub-
mittal for Regional Flexible Funds
totaling $94 million from three fed-
eral programs which are allocated
every two to three years.
The public was invited to submit
written comments and over fifty
emails and letters were received.
(The majority of the correspondence
supported the Portland Central City
Multimodal Project, specifically the
completion of the Willamette Gre-
enway Trail.)
(Continued on Page 3)
Don’t forget to renew your subscription. Form on Page 2.
Doug Van Ness, district manager; Moses Ross, chair of the Multnomah
Neighborhood Association; Randy Bonella, executive director of the
Multnomah Village Blocs Initiative; and Jennifer Gibson, store manager,
helped show off new amenities of the remodeled Starbucks coffee house
at the Grand Re-opening on August 24. New features include a chill
case, snack insert, and brewed reserve coffee machine with vacuum and
French press technology. Additional business news on Page 4.
(Post photo by Erik Vidstrand)
The Southwest Portland Post
4207 SE Woodstock Blvd #509
Portland, OR 97206