Future of Waterfront Park

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Opinion: Build Portland downtown’s revival around a rejuvenated Waterfront Park



Zari Santner, Sam Rodriguez and Randy Gragg


Santner is the former director of Portland Parks & Recreation. Rodriguez is a former board member of Prosper Portland. Gragg is former director of the Portland Parks Foundation.

Eyes and minds are focused on downtown Portland’s revitalization. The city should zero in on Tom McCall Waterfront Park – arguably, our most underutilized resource – as a linchpin for downtown’s long-term revival.

Each summer and fall, fences fly up, festivals arrive and thousands of visitors stomp through the park along the Willamette River. Then, everyone leaves. Acres of grass struggle back to life through the footprints, spring mud and summer drought. The rest of the year, the park is little more than a nice riverwalk.

There’s so much more this park could provide to Portlanders: a play space for families, pickleball courts, riverside chessboards, a coffee stand, a beer garden, a lively place to eat. But most of all, reimagining the park as a place to be – rather than just visit – will foster the urban neighborhood spirit necessary to spark the development of thousands of housing units.

...continues at the Oregonian.