Conference Tours

 

Wednesday, April 30th
8 am to 4 pm (except Seattle Friends of Olmsted Parks Tour, 11 am - 4 pm)

 

Tours, including box lunch, are part of the symposium package. On the Registration Form, please indicate the tours you are interested in attending, in order of preference. We will do our best to ensure you are able to attend one of your top three choices, but tours will be limited in size and you will be assigned a tour on a first-come, first-served, space available basis. Other than the special Seattle tour you may not sign up for a tour without registering for the entire symposium. There will be no "tour-only" registration.

Tour A: 40-Mile Loop
A tour of the 40-Mile Loop, a 160-mile bicycle-pedestrian trail system that connects parks and natural areas around Portland and Multnomah County. The 40-Mile Loop got its name from the approximately 40-mile long system of boulevards and parkways recommended in the 1903 Olmsted master plan for Portland Parks. Leaders: Barbara Walker, 40-Mile Loop Land Trust, Ryan Durocher, Americorps Volunteer, Portland Parks and Recreation, representatives from the 40-Mile Loop Land Trust, local neighborhoods, and local park and trail planners.

Tour B: The Emerald Compass
Portland's version of Boston's Emerald Necklace is made up of the Tualatin Mountains and volcanic buttes that form an "Emerald Compass" that encircles the metropolitan region. Efforts to protect the steep slopes in Forest Park, Balch Creek Watershed and the Boring Lava Buttes to the east of the city are underway through local and regional park and Greenspace planning as well as natural resource protection efforts in new Urban Growth Boundary expansion areas. Leaders: Joe Poracsky, Geography Department, Portland State University, regional and local land use and parks and Greenspace planners.

Tour C: 40-Mile Loop Bicycle Tour
This tour is for the active symposium attendee. The bicycle tour will explore portions of the 40-Mile Loop bicycle-pedestrian trail system, including the Eastbank Esplanade, newly constructed Springwater Trail, and the Willamette Greenway trail. Locals will bring their own bicycles and out-of-towners will be provided a bicycle with their registration. All of the trails are paved surface. Leaders: George Hudson, ASLA, Landscape Architect, Alta Planning + Design and Patty Freeman, Landscape Designer, Portland Parks and Recreation.

Tour D: Metropolitan Greenspaces
In 1989 the Portland metropolitan region launched the Metropolitan Greenspaces initiative. After adopting a regional Greenspaces master plan, which was developed to provide "a cooperative regional system of natural areas, trails and greenways for wildlife and people", the Portland region passed a $135.6 million bond measure to acquire natural areas and begin implementation of a region-wide recreational trail system. Local park providers, too, have stepped up their efforts to acquire, manage and restore important natural areas. This tour will visit regional and local elements of the region's interconnected Greenspace system, including: Portland's first official Urban Wildlife Refuge (Oaks Bottom Wildlife Refuge); Ross Island; sites along the Willamette River Greenway that are part of Portland's River Renaissance program; and Smith and Bybee Lakes. Leaders: Mike Houck, Director, Urban Greenspaces Institute and Urban Naturalist for Audubon Society of Portland; Jim Sjulin, Natural Resources Director for Portland Park Bureau; Elaine Stewart, Manager for Smith and Bybee Lakes, Metro Regional Parks and Greenspaces, Jim Morgan, Natural Resource Manager, Metro Regional Parks and Greenspaces Program; local land use and regional parks and Greenspace experts.

Tour E: Exploring The Comprehensive System: Park Typology Park Units
One of the most important elements of the 1903 Olmsted master plan for Portland parks was the concept of a comprehensive, interconnected park system, with the emphasis on comprehensive. John Charles Olmsted developed a detailed park typology in the master plan that spelled out the need for different park types within the park system. This tour will visit a variety of park types that constitute the "comprehensive" park system that Olmsted envisioned. Leaders: John Sewell, former Chief Planner, Portland Parks and Recreation and David Yamashita, Senior Planner, Portland Parks and Recreation.

Tour F: Forest Park, Washington Park, Hoyt Arboretum, Pittock Mansion
John Charles Olmsted waxed poetic about the charms of Balch Creek Canyon and Macleay Park and urged the city to create a large scenic reservation where today's almost 6,000-acre Forest Park exists. Forest Park forms the largest, outermost park in a chain of parks occupying the Tualatin Mountains on Portland's western flank. The tour will explore four of Portland's most famous, and heavily used parks: Forest Park, Pittock Mansion, Washington Park (known as City Park in 1903) and Hoyt Arboretum. Leaders: Fred Nilsen, Natural Resources Supervisor, Portland Parks and Recreation; Sue Thomas, Portland Parks and Recreation, representatives from Friends of Forest Park and Hoyt Arboretum Friends Foundation.

Tour G: The "Original" 40-Mile Loop
This tour will follow the "original" 40-mile loop circuit that constituted John Charles Olmsted's vision for a system of parkways and boulevards that he proposed would connect Portland's future comprehensive park system. The tour will focus on the Terwilliger Parkway, Laurelhurst Park, and Mt Tabor in particular. Leaders: Mary Anne Cassin, Supervising Landscape Architect, Portland Parks and Recreation and Gregg Everhart, ASLA, Senior Planner, Portland Parks and Recreation.

Tour H: Portland Parks, The Modern Era
The 1903 Olmsted plan has also inspired a new era of park planning and construction within the city of Portland. This tour will visit some of Portland's newest parks, some of which were included in Olmsted's master plan, but most of which were not. Parks that will be visited include: Sellwood Riverfront Park, South Waterfront Park, the East Bank Esplanade, all new parks on the Willamette River; and the Pearl District's Jamison Square. An outer ring tour may include Delta Park, Holladay Park, Ed Benedict Park, North Macadam and what will one day come into public ownership, Ross Island. Leaders: Zari Santner, Director, Portland Parks and Recreation and George Lozovoy, Landscape Architect, Portland Parks and Recreation.

Tour I: Trees In the Parks: Urban Forestry
The urban forest canopy is taking on new significance as Portland and other cities struggle to adopt sustainable development practices. The many functions of urban street trees and the urban forest canopy, including stormwater attenuation, will be discussed as part of the tour. The tour will visit the Portland Park Blocks, Ladds Addition and other neighborhoods to discuss the role of the urban forest canopy in creating a more sustainable urban environment. Leaders: Brian McNerney, Urban Forest Manager, Portland Parks & Recreation; Rob Crouch, Urban Forest Coordinator, Portland Parks & Recreation; Portland Bureau of Environmental Services stormwater managers, and tree advocacy groups.

Tour J: Special Seattle Friends of Olmsted Parks Tour -- 11 am to 4 pm
Portland's Olmsted 2003 symposium is being coordinated with Friends of Olmsted Parks in Seattle Washington. This tour will provide our colleagues in Seattle an opportunity to sample the Portland Park system. Others will be allowed to participate as space allows. Leaders: Nancy Gronowski, ASLA, Senior Planner, Portland Parks and Recreation and Richard Ross, AICP, Urban and Regional Planner.

Tour K: Bi-State Regional Trails
While Olmsted envisioned a system of parkways and boulevards that would allow carriage-borne visits to Portland's parks, today's vision is of a bi-state / Portland-Vancouver interconnected system of bicycle-pedestrian trails that will one day connect parks and greenspaces on both sides of the Columbia River. Elements of the 40-Mile Loop, Renaissance Trail, and proposed Lewis and Clark Discovery Greenway trails will be the focus of this tour. Leaders: Kelly Punteney, Vancouver-Clark County Parks and Mel Huie, Coordinator, Metro Regional Parks and Greenspaces, Regional Trails program.