Road crews recently formed the base layer of Portland’s newest roadway as part of a Gateway District street improvement project, adding one block of NE Couch Street between NE 97th and NE 99th Avenues. Contractors recently opened two blocks of NE Davis Street between NE 97th and NE 100th Avenues, built during the first phase of this Local Improvement District (LID) construction that has created an urban-scale street grid, sidewalks, and other roadway amenities. The LID makes way for expected redevelopment in this area at an urban scale. The new segment of NE Davis Street is now fully open to through traffic and pedestrians, but concrete blocks prevent curbside parking along the road fronted by mostly underdeveloped lots.
NE Couch St extension looking east from NE 97th Ave
Workers have already completed the reconstruction of NE 97th Avenue from East Burnside Street to the new NE Davis Street segment, which has changed the appearance and function of the formerly curbless road. Portland engineers have long planned to vacate stub sections of NE Couch and Davis Streets west of NE 97th Avenue, which were rendered useless due to Interstate-205’s construction blocking meaningful street-grid connections on that side of the street. The west side of the street features curb ramps for crossing to sidewalk corners at the new eastward NE Couch and Davis Streets.
PBOT provided graphic
Demolition crews removed a steel building that was part of the International Collision Repair property at 9817 E Burnside Street to create this new segment of NE Couch Street. The Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) bought a portion of the land under the building for this improvement project. Contractors working with PBOT will continue to install new sidewalk corners featuring Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliant curb ramps and street lighting in the LID area, while including space for street trees, making for a safer and more useful area for all Portlanders.
Aerial image from Portland Maps of NE Couch St extension outlined in blue extending through 9817 E Burnside St property
Although these new roads add to the viability of future density in the Gateway District, those redevelopment projects are years away from breaking ground. Substantial private development in this area has not materialized like City planners expected when they dramatically upzoned lots to support downtown-scale buildings in this District. Additionally, the recent announcements that the owners of Gateway Shopping Center listed the 24-acre retail complex for sale, and Fred Meyer’s decision to close its anchor grocery store at that location, are adding to community concerns that positive change in the Gateway District is a decade away.
Now open NE Davis St looking east from NE 99th Ave
The streets in the District are already frequented by houseless people camping adjacent to empty lots or near the sparse single-family houses in the LID. The concrete blocks preventing curbside parking dissuade some people from settling in the area. Still, the relatively inactive streets naturally attract people without shelter looking for a temporary place to sleep. The new streets should help people driving and biking navigate the area. However, redevelopment within these new blocks will likely need to wait for the right investor to see promise in the Gateway District.
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On July 15th, crews removed the construction fencing that had been erected around Berrydale Parksince October 2024, during Portland Parks & Recreation’s (PP&R) extensive renovations of the nearly 70-year-old community asset. Parkgoers now have access to modernized play equipment and a new skate park, surrounded by sidewalks and enhanced lighting. The city will host a grand reopening celebration at the SE 92nd Avenue and Taylor Street park on August 8th from 3 to 6 p.m.
During 2021 and 2022, PP&R staff collaborated with the community to select the new design for Berrydale Park. Parks department leaders identified this park as an ideal location for expanding city skateboard facilities and designated funds collected from System Development Charges (SDC) for the park’s upgrade. This money is not part of the city’s general fund or the park’s operating budget. Developers pay into the fund when building new structures to support the creation or enhancement of public resources. It is a way to ensure that increased density does not come at the detriment of existing neighborhood infrastructure. During planning, the proposed budget doubled, with then-Parks Commissioner Carmen Rubio increasing the allocated funds to $3.0 million from an original $1.5 million budget. This increased funding enabled a significant playground update, accompanied by pathway and lighting enhancements throughout the park.
City staff used the proposed Berrydale Park project as an opportunity to investigate the construction of adjacent sidewalks on SE Taylor Street and 89th Avenue. However, neighbor opposition to their required financial contribution to the project caused the city to focus sidewalk work on park frontages. In December 2022, the Portland City Council amended the SE 89th Ave and Taylor St Local Improvement District (LID) proposal, removing all but one private residence and significantly reducing the scope of infrastructure upgrades. The original LID included the construction of new curbs and sidewalks on both sides of SE 89th Avenue adjacent to Berrydale Park. The proposed LID would have also included continuous sidewalks on the south side of SE Taylor Street, from 92nd Avenue to 89th Avenue, rather than stopping 100 feet short of the whole block.
Graphic showing sidewalk addition. Courtesy PBOT
For months, Portland skaters have expectantly looked through the fencing at the telltale shapes of purpose-built skateboard amenities, including a prominent clover bowl, mini-ramp, railings/rails, and other skills-building elements. North of the cement skate park, crews have created two new play zones with surrounding park benches. Swings, slides, and climbing structures sit atop a rubberized soft base for safe, youthful exploration and play. The green and brown-toned equipment blends into the mature tree canopy, shading a significant portion of the recreation area and cooling the space during our hot summer days.
Area residents have already discovered the park’s new amenities within hours of the fence removal, with people biking, skating, and enjoying the new benches. The PP&R project website indicated that staff took down the construction fence early, before the newly seeded turf areas were established, in response to the community’s request for park access. Consequently, park staff request visitors avoid areas where seedling grass is taking root. People should monitor the Berrydale Park Improvement Project website for more information about the August 8th reopening event.
Over 200 feet of SE Mill Street east of SE 82nd Avenue will remain closed to cars during the work week starting Monday, July 7th, allowing road workers to begin street repaving. Earlier this year, crews working for the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) constructed new sidewalks on SE Mill Street in this area, which previously lacked curbs and a dedicated pedestrian walkway. This project added wide sidewalks on both sides of the street, featuring tree wells for future street tree planting, creating a safer segment for the bike greenway, and a safe route to school path that runs along this street. Drivers should detour to Harrison Street until SE Mill Street reopens on Friday, July 11th.
Degraded asphalt between new sidewalks ready for grinding and repaving
Much of SE Mill Street east of this site, up to 89th Avenue, still lacks curbs and sidewalks but features mature trees lining the somewhat degraded asphalt road surface. A future extension of sidewalks along this street would require extensive stormwater engineering. It could also necessitate substantial land dedication from adjacent property owners to accommodate sidewalks on the building side of the tree line. Alternatively, engineers could narrow the street to fit sidewalks between the curb and trees, but that could create challenges for opposing traffic to pass while supporting safe passage for cyclists using this Neighborhood Greenway.
SE Mill St east of the worksite lacks curbs and sidewalks up to 89th Avenue
Paving of SE Mill east of 82nd Avenue requires a full road closure; however, pedestrians and people riding bicycles can use the new sidewalks during construction to pass through the worksite. This reworking of a relatively small section of roadway will significantly transform the street from its previous form and serve as an extension of community investments made during the SE 80th and Mill Local Improvement District. After this road reopens, paving work will continue in this area on SE 82nd Avenue between SE Mill and Harrison Streets, Starting July 14th.
Recently completed SE Mill Street’s north sidewalk open for pedestrians and cyclists during construction
Update July 7, 2025: As of Monday, crews have closed the sidewalks on both sides of SE Mill Street, in addition to the roadway. People should detour to Harrison Street, and the sidewalks may reopen to pedestrians and bicyclists later in the project timeline. The contractors working on the project have removed the old asphalt surface and are regrading the roadway with a new gravel base.
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Recently, crews opened access to a new pedestrian MAX tracks crossing near NE 97th Avenue and East Burnside Street. This infrastructure update relocated the crossing to the middle of a turn in the light rail path, providing pedestrians with better visibility of approaching trains while making them more visible to TriMet staff operating the transit vehicles. Prior to this update, people on the north edge of the street would cross the tracks at street level next to a bike lane. The sidewalk shift to the north also allows cyclists more room to cross the tracks at an increased angle, as thin tires prefer perpendicular track contact.
Cyclists crossing angled for closer to perpendicular track contact
The new pedestrian path increases the crossing distance, diverting westbound pedestrians onto the Interstate 205 Multi-Use Path for a short distance before reaching the new crossing. Due to a grad change on the west side of the tracks, pedestrians will need to use a short switchback ramp to rejoin the East Burnside Street north sidewalk just before the freeway overpass. People will also need to navigate partial gates near the tracks, designed to alert the crosser to look both ways before entering the train zone.
Pedestrian MAX track crossing with switchback ramp at far side
Work supporting the new crossing began in February 2024, when contractors replaced the track adjacent panels in this area. The Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) continued the efforts to improve infrastructure in this part of Portland, including the new crossing, as part of theNE 97th Avenue Phase II and Couch/Davis StreetLocal Improvement District (LID). That project utilizes city and property owner funds to add sidewalks and create new road segments, thereby restoring the city’s street grid in an area previously developed with long, uninterrupted blocks and limited pedestrian infrastructure. Project planners say this work will improve streets and sidewalks for existing residents while facilitating future housing growth in the Gateway area.
This segment of Portland’s roadway contains many conflict points. The MAX tracks transition from running parallel to I-205 into a position at the center of East Burnside Street heading east. Bike lanes on Burnside also narrow and complicate the streetscape. Some north-south streets do not cross the tracks, creating right-turn-only infrastructure that can obscure pedestrian crossing points that do not align with vehicle movement. Signal crews working at the nearby NE 97th Avenue and East Burnside Street intersection updated lights and crossing infrastructure, making it safer for all street users. With most of the new enhancements now available, people should find this a safer intersection to use, regardless of direction and mode of travel.
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Road crews are forming a new segment of NE Davis Street extending from NE 99th Avenue to 100th Avenue. Cement masons have already created the center section of new wide sidewalks, leaving tree wells open for future street trees and electrical conduit stubs for lighting. Work will next focus on constructing new sidewalk corners with Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliant curb ramps. After completing the sidewalk structure, contractors will lay the asphalt for this new local access street.
Over the last several months, contractors working with the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) have rebuilt 600 feet of NE 97th Avenue and built a new road segment reconnecting Portland’s street grid east of Interstate 205, between East Burnside and NE Glisan Streets. The recently created segment of NE Davis Street extending from NE 97th Avenue to NE 99th Avenue is not yet open to through traffic but stands complete with signage. The improved streets are part of the NE 97th Avenue Phase II and Couch/Davis StreetLocal Improvement District (LID). Money for the LID comes from adjacent property owners and tax increment financing from the Gateway Urban Renewal Area, with some additional funding paid by transportation system development charges collected from other developments. PBOT will cover overhead costs related to managing the project components.
Graphic courtesy PBOT showing the phase 2 street extension
Creating a street grid with shorter blocks and wider infrastructure in this area could facilitate redevelopment anticipated by the Gateway Urban Renewal Area project, which city planners hoped would create a second downtown in the Gateway District. Outside several affordable housing projects built in the district and transit upgrades, few large-scale projects have broken ground, and some property owners placed their holdings in the area for sale. However, this road work will help current street users navigate a section of Portland boxed in by a busy NE Glisan Street, East Burnside Street light rail tracks, and Interstate 205. Drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians will all have better north-south routes away from busy streets.
Road crews are progressing quickly on NE Davis Street’s extension from NE 99th Avenue to 100th Avenue. When completed, people will find spacious sidewalks with a growing tree canopy. Pedestrians will travel a shorter distance between curb ramps crossing the new streets thanks to the many extended corners that push out into the parking lane. This infrastructure helps people remain visible and spend less time exposed to traffic. Parked cars along the curb also benefit from the concrete bulb-out that guides turning drivers towards the street’s travel lanes and away from stored vehicles. People should expect continued construction in this area and use caution driving on NE 99th and 100th Avenues, as crews may need to close lanes during working hours.
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Road crews met the rising sun on March 29th, preparing for a weekend of asphalt work in the Gateway District. Over the last several months, contractors working with the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) have built a new road segment reconnecting Portland’s street grid east of Interstate 205 and between East Burnside and NE Glisan Streets. Crews have already covered most of the new roadway’s surface with an asphalt binder layer formed with larger aggregate over a sub-base of crushed rocks. Crews leveled the oil-bound base just below the concrete gutter’s edge to allow space for the bitumen-laden topcoat made of finer rocks, creating a smooth surface that fights water penetration.
This work is one of the final steps before the new segment of NE Davis Street and the reconstructed section of NE 97th Avenue open for traffic. Sidewalks are nearly complete, with street trees planted and traffic signs ready to guide drivers through the new traffic patterns. Motorists have not had access through NE 97th from East Burnside Street for months as work in the area was underway. After it reopens, southbound drivers will need to adjust their behavior, unable to continue past NE Davis Street as the reconstructed road is one-way northbound from East Burnside to NE Davis Street. People will instead need to head east to NE 99th Avenue to turn right onto East Burnside Street.
This traffic pattern better aligns with the complex track crossing at East Burnside and 97th Avenue. The Max Blue Line tracks turn 90 degrees eastward at this junction from an I-205 alignment to tracks situated between East Burnside Street. Although past traffic signals warned drivers of a light rail crossing conflict, nothing could prevent a driver from making a right turn into the way of an approaching train obscured until the last moment by a freeway sound wall. Bicycle and pedestrian crossings at this point have changed so that westbound people outside of cars can cross at the midpoint of the MAX track turn radius. This placement allows greater conflict visibility for train operators and the people crossing. The realignment also makes a better connection point for the I-205 Multiuse path that runs along the freeway sound wall at this segment of the multimodal route.
New westbound bike and pedestrian crossing of MAX tracks placed midturn
When the streets fully reopen later this year, people will enjoy the wider sidewalks with a multitude of street trees, extended curbs for shorter crosswalks, and modern streets. The area has new street lights for nighttime safety and plenty of curbside parking spaces. What is missing is the intended redevelopment for this area, which city planners hoped would create a second downtown in the Gateway District. Outside several affordable housing projects built in the area and transit upgrades, few large-scale projects have broken ground, and some property owners have placed their holdings in the area for sale.
New segment of NE Davis St with sidewalks, lighting, curb parking, and street trees.
Street grid work in this area will continue eastward, with another block of NE Davis Street planned from NE 99th Avenue to 100th Avenue. People accessing NE 97th Avenue will notice a closed-off eastward street stub between NE Davis Street and East Burnside Street for a future one-block segment of NE Couch Street. Those new streets are part of the second phase of theNE 97th Avenue Phase II and Couch/Davis StreetLocal Improvement District (LID). Money for the LID comes from adjacent property owners and tax increment financing from the Gateway Urban Renewal Area, with some additional funding paid by transportation system development charges collected from other developments. PBOT will cover overhead costs related to managing the project components.
Starting at 8 p.m. on March 28th, crews will close East Burnside Street from 94th Avenue to 99th Avenue for weekend roadwork. The Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) advises drivers to detour around this section of East Burnside on Friday night through 5 a.m. on Monday, March 31st. The closures will prevent drivers from using the Interstate-205 overpass, requiring motorists to cross the freeway at NE Glisan Street or via the SE Stark Washing Street couplet. Pedestrians and cyclists are permitted to travel through the worksite but will need to follow marked signage and worker instructions to find safe pathways through the construction zone. Continuing evening work will close this section of East Burnside Street for three nights from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. April 2nd through the 4th.
The overnight work schedule includes completing traffic signal upgrades and other improvements to TriMet MAX equipment. Crews working with PBOT will use these closures to fully repave the 97th Avenue’s crossing of East Burnside Street as part of theNE 97th Avenue Phase II and Couch/Davis StreetLocal Improvement District (LID). That project uses City and property owner funds to add sidewalks and create new road segments, restoring the city street grid in an area with long uninterrupted blocks and little pedestrian infrastructure. Project planners say this work will improve streets and sidewalks for existing residents while facilitating future housing growth in the Gateway area.
PBOT provided graphic
Closures will disrupt bus line 20 service. From the start of the closure until 8:00 a.m. Sunday, March 30th, TriMet will close eastbound bus stops on E Burnside at SE 94th (Stop ID 822) and SE 99th (Stop ID 12934). Westbound line 20 buses will similarly bypass stops on E Burnside at NE 97th (Stop ID 8745) and NE 94th (Stop ID 823). Riders should consult TriMet’s website for further alerts and to plan trips around the construction. I-205 Multiuse Path users can travel through this worksite. However, they should use caution and follow detour instructions as crews work to enhance the walking and rolling corridor.
PBOT will work to maintain local access to residences and businesses during the project. People should anticipate delays and obey instructions on signs or from the crew on site. When completed, all users of the streets in the LID project area will have access to modern roads built with nine inches of asphalt over an eight-inch aggregate base and wide sidewalks with street trees. Work in this area will continue past these closures, concluding later this year, and people are encouraged to keep aware of work in the roadway and changing traffic patterns.
Starting January 13th, road crews will close E Burnside Street from 94th Avenue to 99th Avenue during evening hours. The Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) advises street users to detour around this section of E Burnside weekday nights from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. Work will not occur on Saturday or Sunday nights. The closures will prevent drivers from using the Interstate-205 overpass, requiring motorists to cross the freeway at NE Glisan Street or via the SE Stark Washing Street couplet. The two-week traffic disruption will conclude on January 25th.
E Burnside Street at 97th Ave
I-205 Multiuse Path south of Burnside
PBOT planned this closure to minimize disruptions as crews reconstruct E Burnside Street at 97th Avenue as part of theNE 97th Avenue Phase II and Couch/Davis StreetLocal Improvement District (LID). That project uses City and property owner funds to add sidewalks and create new road segments, restoring the city street grid in an area with long uninterrupted blocks and little pedestrian infrastructure. Project planners say this work will improve streets and sidewalks for existing residents while facilitating future housing growth in the Gateway area.
Crews working with PBOT will replace 50 aging railroad ties on the TriMet MAX light rail tracks that cross the E Burnside Street and 97th Avenue intersection. Closures will disrupt bus line 20 service, preventing travel in either direction between the E Burnside & NE 94th and E Burnside & SE 99th stops. Riders can walk through the construction area to the next open stop but should consult TriMet’s website for further alerts and to plan trips around the construction. I-205 Multiuse Path users can travel through this worksite. However, they should use caution and follow detour instructions as crews work to enhance the walking and rolling corridor as it passes this segment of E Burnside.
PBOT will work to maintain local access to residences and businesses during the project. People should anticipate delays and obey instructions on signs or from the crew on site. When completed, all users of the streets in the LID project area will have access to strong roads built with nine inches of asphalt over an eight-inch aggregate base and wide sidewalks with street trees. Work in this area will continue past these closures, and people are encouraged to keep aware of work in the roadway and changing traffic patterns.
While pursuing needed home renovations to their 1955-era house at SE 80th Avenue and Harrison Street, Ellen Flint and her husband found they would need to spend all the contingency money they had budgeted on a new sidewalk. The couple knew they would need to add that missing section of pedestrian space along their property one day. Still, they had not anticipated combining it with this current accessibility project. This needed work could have stopped before it started if not for a $12,000 padding in their budget.
The Flints moved into the corner-lot home in 2013 when most of SE 80th Avenue south of their property was a gravel road. “80th South of Harrison was still unpaved, and people would literally practice dirt bike jumps. It was a rough road there, and there was no sidewalk. It was kind of sketchy,” recalled Ellen Flint. They had a sidewalk in front of their house facing SE Harrison Street. However, 100 feet of the property just had a raised concrete curb. Their large hedge along the east side of the lot allowed just enough room for people walking to exit the sidewalk north of their home and create a worn dirt path to the corner sidewalk ramp.
Design plans for the SE 80th and Mill LID showing limited improvements around the Flint home
The street is a critical connector for families with children at Bridger School, and it would soon play a significant role in the newly created 70s Greenway for people walking or rolling. In 2018, to improve the street’s condition, the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) worked with neighbors to form a Local Improvement District (LID) on SE 80th Avenue from 100 feet north of SE Grant Street to SE Market Street. It included a section of SE Mill Street from SE 80th Avenue to SE 82nd Avenue to further help families navigate to the Portland public school. Adjacent residents in a LID pool their money with the city to build the improvements, lowering the individual costs for each property. The SE 80th and Mill LID would connect to the back of Portland Community College’s Southeast campus, where the institution constructed new sidewalks a few years prior. To the Flint’s surprise, the city did not include their home in the LID, with the project focusing on adding sidewalks to the east side of SE 80th Avenue. The LID work did reshape their sidewalk corner and added Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliant curb ramps.
Ellen Flint was unsure why the city excluded her home from the LID, but she appreciated the new ADA corner curb ramps because of her mobility needs. “I’m coming up on 30 years with a variation of rheumatoid arthritis. That’s why I bought a one-level home,” explained Flint, who, on bad days, has less confidence in taking tall steps. The pedestrian connectivity added by the SE 80th and Mill LID gives her hope that she can remain in this home as the years go on. “Now I can walk to the bus, and I can walk to the grocery store, and I can walk to coffee or whatever, and stay here as long as I want to rather than have to move because I can’t function,” said Flint. However, the broken sidewalk connectivity on her property was always on her mind. “One of my priorities [when improving the house] was we need to fix the sidewalk situation.”
Cement masons finishing new SE 80th Ave sidewalk on March 5th, 2024
The Flints understood that adjacent homeowners were responsible for the sidewalk repair and installation. The LID would have also required their financial investment but with a five-year loan from the city to help pay it down over time. They are not upset about paying for the hedge removal and concrete work but felt it came at an inopportune moment. The Flints 2024 house renovations built several accessibility features for their home. They created wider hallways, allowing easier ingress and egress as they adapt to changes in mobility needs over the coming decades. “We need to be able to make it easier for us to stay here and not have an accident or be forced to sell our house and move because we can’t get into the bathroom or use the kitchen,” explained Ellen Flint.
This proactive project already had a large budget with a contingency fund for unexpected cost overruns. The project’s budget is what triggered the need for sidewalk improvements. The city code states that changes to the property that are 35 percent or greater than the assessed value of all improvements on the site will surpass the Significant Alteration threshold, and those projects have to include frontage improvements, like sidewalks. Property owners must build new infrastructure as close to city standards as possible within the existing right-of-way. For some sites, that could be curb-tight sidewalks, but in this case, there is space for a small planting strip between the existing curb and the new public walkway. The “assessed value” used in the Significant Alteration threshold calculations is less than the market value of a property. For example, a home like the Flints could have an Improvement Value of $200,000. In that case, any project with a building permit valuation over $70,000 would trigger frontage improvements.
View looking south on SE 80th Ave showing the existing sidewalk continued by the newly laid concrete.
Ellen Flint maintains a positive view of sidewalk requirements as a benefit to the community. However, she wishes the city had programs to lessen the impact on people’s finances. “I’m lucky I could pay for it,” said Flint. “I think being able to create options that don’t burden people who want to do it or who need to do it [would help].” She could see having interest-free loans for sidewalks and street repair as a way the city could help homeowners take on sidewalk installation. Regardless of how people pay for public infrastructure on their property, Flint feels investing in sidewalks is in the owner’s interest. “Anybody who’s worried about paying for [sidewalks], just take up your capitalist approach to it. They increase the value of my home. The better my neighborhood is, the more my home is worth.”
The Flints’ contractors completed home renovations and frontage improvements this summer. For the last several months, pedestrians using the Greenway have enjoyed the extended sidewalk on the west side of the street. The couple have noticed more people walking by their house and are glad they could contribute to the sidewalk connectivity in the neighborhood. With the primary work done, the Flints can now tackle the street-facing elements around the new pathway, making it even more inviting for people traveling on foot. “We’ve got this blank slate there where we can put in things like trees, and I’m really jazzed about having a little Free Library there,” said Ellen Flint. As the weather improves, look for those additions along SE 80th’s newest section of sidewalk.
Update: This article was updated to remove an inaccurate example of project cost that could trigger a frontage improvement and to replace the term “cost” with building permit valuation. Montavilla News regrets that misrepresentation.
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Recently, crews with Faison Construction fenced off Berrydale Park at 9004 SE Taylor Street for a nearly year-long renovation. On October 24th, workers disassembled old play equipment so heavy equipment could regrade the site’s ground to prepare it for a new playground design and the installation of a skatepark at the southeast corner of the 1956-era park. Work will continue through Summer 2025, when Portland Parks & Recreation (PP&R) intends to unveil the new facilities, bordered by enhanced sidewalks and illuminated by new lighting.
Crews taking apart slide in Berrydale Park’s playground
During 2021 and 2022, PP&R staff worked with the community to select Berrydale Park’s new design. Parks department leaders identified this park as an ideal location for expanding skateboard facilities and designated funds collected from System Development Charges (SDC) for the park’s upgrade. This money is not part of the city’s general fund or the park’s operating budget. Developers pay into the fund when building new structures to support the creation or enhancement of public resources. It is a way to ensure that increased density does not come at the detriment of existing neighborhood infrastructure. During planning, the proposed budget doubled, with the then Parks Commissioner Carmen Rubio increasing allocated funds to $3.0 million from an original $1.5 million budget. This increased funding allowed for a significant playground update, with pathway and lighting enhancements throughout the park.
City staff used the proposed Berrydale Park project to investigate constructing adjacent sidewalks on SE Taylor Street and 89th Avenue. However, neighbor opposition to their required financial contribution to the project caused the city to focus sidewalk work on park frontages. In December 2022, the Portland City Council amended the SE 89th Ave and Taylor St Local Improvement District (LID) proposal, removing all but one private residence and significantly reducing the scope of infrastructure upgrades. The original LID included the construction of new curbs and sidewalks on both sides of SE 89th Avenue adjacent to Berrydale Park. The LID would have also added sidewalks on the south side of SE Taylor Street from 92nd Avenue to 89th Avenue.
The Berrydale Park Improvement Project’s progress can be followed at the PP&R website. Most construction activity will occur along SE 92nd Avenue, but work extends across most of the park. By next summer, the new park should reopen with modern and desirable amenities to meet community needs.
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