Trailblazing at its best: Portland's Eastbank Esplanade gets rave reviews

PORTLAND — This town loves its newest riverfront trail, that's obvious: At 1:30 on a sunny Tuesday afternoon I'm not exactly risking my life, but I could well get knocked silly as I amble in the path of zooming skaters, kiddie-trailer-pulling bicyclists and purposeful power-walkers who pack the wide concrete of the Eastbank Esplanade.

It's a weekday, for goodness sakes, yet I've got to keep my wits about me when I stop to photograph a tour boat carving a creamy wake on the green Willamette River, close enough to dip my toes in.

It's a weekday, yet this trail teems with people, as crowded as Seattle's busy Burke-Gilman on a Saturday. What gives?

A job well done

It may be testimony to the smart design and execution of the 1.5-mile, $30 million trail, which opened last fall. It connects across a new walkway suspended beneath one of Portland's many bridges to a popular existing riverfront trail in Gov. Tom McCall Waterfront Park. Combined, the paths make a three-mile scenic loop in the heart of the city.

Do the whole length and your eyes will feast on multidimensional views of the town — from under bridges, across bridges and alongside the Willamette.

The trail crosses the Steel Bridge to connect with Tom McCall Park. (GREG GILBERT / THE SEATTLE TIMES)

"It's well done, it has interesting design features with lighting and sculpture, and I like that it's so close to the river," said Brita Johnson of Portland's Bicycle Transportation Alliance.

A signature of the project is the Esplanade's floating walkway, what Portland park officials claim is the world's longest such structure, linked to a new public boat dock. A 1,200-foot stretch curves out onto the water from beneath a soaring, banked Interstate 5 offramp, part of a large interchange, to create a sort of urban spaghetti-scape.

Pedestrians use the path for lunch-break exercise as well as weekend jaunts.

"We walk it both at night and in daytime, because at night you get the city lights and lights on one of the bridges, and in the daytime you get lots of nice views," said Noreen Kirk, president of the Rose City Roamers volkswalking group.

The entire project is wheelchair-friendly and ADA compliant, even the ramps approaching the floating walk, which required tricky engineering considering that the river level fluctuates up to 30 feet through seasonal changes.

A floating walk is part of Portland's riverfront trail, which is drawing rave reviews from walkers, joggers and bikers.(GREG GILBERT / THE SEATTLE TIMES)

Don't expect pristine nature or peace and quiet. Much of the river's east bank is taken up by Interstate 5, with its white noise of rushing traffic, interwoven with railroad tracks carrying clanging trains. From the path's railing, one view of what looks like odd rock formations is actually concrete dumped years ago by trucks washing out their beds during construction of the Morrison Street Bridge.

The real beauty of the Eastbank trail is in what the river's grassy west-bank park strip doesn't offer: an open view of Portland's skyline, wearing the river like a necklace and its bridges like dangly earrings.

"It's just lovely," Kirk said.

Co-existing with nature

Despite urban clamor, twittering birds make themselves heard among willow copses on slivers of undeveloped riverbank. And there are other signs of wildlife. The first of 280 trees planted along the walk had to be replaced. Not vandals — beavers. (It is the Beaver State.)

(THE SEATTLE TIMES)

Also watch for great blue herons, the city's official bird.

In the Esplanade, Portland has continued a tradition of careful design of public amenities. The city made the walkway a demonstration project for improving fish and wildlife habitat and restoring the riverbank. In places unsullied by cement, builders regraded the riverbank to create shallows favorable to young fish.

Four major pieces of sculpture by local artists are featured. Also watch for 22 interpretive panels with information such as how the Burnside Bridge's bascule (from the French for "seesaw") drawbridge mechanism was designed by Joseph Strauss, who later designed San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge.

At one of many benches, I pause in the October sun to take in the neck-craning view of the busy river and its city. Across from me, a sternwheeler used for tours is tied to the river wall. A speedboat embroiders a foamy signature on water close by. On the blackened, industrial Steel Bridge to my right, a honking Burlington Northern-Santa Fe train rumbles slowly westbound on the lower deck while on the top deck a sleek red-and-white MAX commuter train speeds eastward.

I'm mesmerized. Suddenly, a few feet away, a skater with arms swinging and thighs pumping hits a metal ramp leading down to the floating walk. The spin of skate wheels meeting metal is like a gunshot, and I jump.

No snoozing on these park benches. But Esplanade users do pause and chat, and sometimes reengage with their city.

"You see people leaning against the railing and looking at downtown and talking, and connecting with the place," Johnson said. "It helps us connect to the riverfront as a place that's integral to where we live."

More information

Getting there: Downtown Portland's Willamette River bridges are access points to the Eastbank Esplanade. Enter just north of the Hawthorne Bridge at the foot of Madison Street, from the Morrison Bridge pedestrian ramp, or from the overlook at the east end of the Steel Bridge, near the Rose Quarter Transit Station. With the exception of the Morrison Bridge pedestrian/bicycle ramp, all entrances are accessible to wheelchair users (and meet ADA standards). The Burnside Bridge connector is an exit only and features an ADA motorized lift. Pedestrian walkways on the Hawthorne Bridge and Steel Bridge provide the primary access from the downtown (west) side of the river and Gov. Tom McCall Waterfront Park.

Bike rentals: Citybikes Cooperative, 734 S.E. Ankeny, offers rentals for $25 per day, a short distance from the Esplanade. 503-239-6951.

Copyright © The Seattle Times Company

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