Portland, OR

about

The beautification efforts along the trail are just part of Portland ALbD's Healthy Active Lents (HAL) project. The partnership has led to fundamental physical improvements to the infrastructure in Lents. For example, the addition of bike lanes to major arterial roads, trail resurfacing, and park improvements have enhanced the community atmosphere. The partnership's work has brought together individuals from many backgrounds and will continue to build upon this collaboration to broaden its reach. The HAL project will further its mission to promote active people in active neighborhoods by leading walks in the Lents neighborhood which highlight all the community's assets. The partnership also will continue to improve the trail by funding a site assessment for a formal trailhead, collaborating with elementary school students to create unique public art, and promoting increased use of the trail to get to local and regional destinations.

By focusing on the benefits of active communities, Portland ALbD has grown to include diverse stakeholders, including the American Heart Association, Oregon Coalition for Promoting Physical Activity, Portland Office of Transportation, Portland Parks and Recreation, local community development agencies, 1000 Friends of Oregon, the American Association of Retired Persons, Lents/Brentwood, Darlington Weed and Seed, Nike, Inc., Wattles Boys and Girls Club, local elementary and high schools, Lents Habitat Restoration Project, and neighborhood associations.

In addition to Lents, Portland ALbD has focused on physical improvements to the urban planning process in Damascus, the partnership's other project area. The city of Damascus recently has been incorporated into the Portland Urban Growth Boundary and is a community poised for rapid growth. Partners have successfully advocated for active living design features to be built into the concept plan, which will guide the development of comprehensive plans and zoning development ordinances in the Damascus-Boring area.

The partnership seeks to make Damascus a walkable and bikeable community by allowing active living to be an easy and common choice. The collaborative effort continued to expand the partnership to include the Coalition for a Livable Future, Perl Fox Associates, 1000 Friends of Oregon, and the Metro Regional Government.

our story

It is a story we've heard before: a lower-income neighborhood increasingly challenged by drug activity; a neighborhood that has been underserved and, at times, ignored. Split in half by an eight-lane freeway, the Lents neighborhood in Portland, has limited walking and biking infrastructure to support an active, thriving community. For many Lents residents, the local Springwater Corridor Trail was unknown. Running along the southern border of Lents, the multi-use trail was not being used by many in the community.

Portland's Active Living by Design (ALbD) partnership has been working in the community, collaborating with local nonprofit organizations, neighborhood schools, and government agencies to promote and recreate an active community environment in Lents. Now highlighted as a true neighborhood asset, the Springwater Corridor Trail has been used as a focal point for many of the project's activities. Through extensive outreach and collaboration, Portland ALbD has organized or assisted in the planting of hundreds of native trees and shrubs, incorporated active living concepts into numerous school lesson plans, and increased awareness about all the Springwater Corridor Trail has to offer.

opportunities

Portland is the largest city in Oregon and has many diverse neighborhoods. Portland ALbD has two different project areas.

The Lents neighborhood is a geographically small and densely-populated, lower-income community. Due to its proximity to major traffic corridors such as the I-205 freeway, Lents has developed into a neighborhood with wide roads, traffic noise, and strip malls. Fortunately, Lents was developed in a relatively compact manner and lies adjacent to the Springwater Corridor Trail, a paved bike and pedestrian route leading to Portland's central city. Here, Portland ALbD has focused on promoting active living and recreating a walkable and bikable community.

The City of Damascus lies just outside of Portland and is a community in transition from mostly rural to urban. In 2000, Damascus was a 13,600 acre access rural neighborhood with only 10,000 residents. With the annexation of this area into the regional growth boundary, Damascus is poised for signifi- cant growth in the coming years and is expected to grow to 90,000 in 20-30 years. The partnership has worked closely with citizens, advocates, and leaders to carefully plan for Damascus' future as a walkable and bikeable community.

accomplishments

Collaborated with the City of Portland Office of Transportation to promote active transportation through the Travel Smart and Ten Toe Express programs, reaching thousands of households in north and southeast Portland.

Received a grant from Active Living Research to develop a case study of active living advocacy in a two-year regional urban growth boundary expansion planning process.

Received $61,000 to repave portions of the Springwater Corridor Trail and $16,000 to conduct a trailhead location and environmental site assessment study in the Lents project area.

Organized and participated in various efforts to enhance and maintain the Springwater Corridor Trail in the Lents project area. Worked with students from Marshall High School, Kelly Elementary and the Wattles Boys and Girls Club to coordinate trash pickup days and plant hundreds of native plants along the trail.

Served on technical teams for the Damascus/Boring Concept Plan, influencing the principles and goals of Damascus master planning to reflect active living concepts by creating more walkable and bikeable communities.

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