The Portland Parks and Recreation Steel Bridge Skatepark project moved forward earlier this month, with a second community gathering held on June 4th. This served as a follow up meeting to the initial open house that took place on Sunday, February 15th.

The 63,000 square foot skatepark will be located in Portland’s Old Town neighborhood, just south of the Steel Bridge. The design team consists of DAO Architecture, Lango Hansen Landscape Architects, Grindline Skateparks, and Dreamland Skateparks.

A survey was available both at the event and online at this initial open house. Questions were aimed to inform the design of the project and allow for public considerations to be taken into account as the project continues to develop.

The proposed skatepark is to be located north of NW Everett St between NW Naito Parkway and NW 1st Ave beneath the on ramp to the Steel Bridge from NW Everett. The proposed location is just east of Portland’s ODOT office and is in the middle of a heavily trafficked transportation corridor. 

“What features would help make this a safe for everyone – skaters and non-skaters alike?” and “What should the design emphasize to better connect the park to Waterfront Park, nearby landmarks, and local businesses?” are just a couple of examples of questions that survey posed. Survey takers also answered questions regarding their demographic, how they planned to use the space, and what amenities they would want to see incorporated into the park.

Results to the survey can be found here: Steel Bridge Skatepark Survey 1 Results

The second community gathering also came with a second survey. The second survey follows a similar pattern of the first, with questions regarding what features one might like to see and how one might use the park.

Most noticeable in the update is the number of design options has been reduced from three to two. These two design options have been refined to show more detailed renders and plans of features to be incorporated into the park as well as also highlighting the remaining honeycomb and origami roof options. Other features include benches, integrated skate elements, plantings, and different paving materials.

Option 1 – Traverse with Origami Roof

Option 2 – Plaza with Honeycomb Roof

If you missed the in person event, the survey can be found online here: Steel Bridge Skatepark Survey 2. The survey will be open until 9 AM on Monday, July 6th. You can find our initial coverage of the Steel Bridge Skatepark here: Steel Bridge Skatepark Moves Forward.

Drawings