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This fall, WW first reported that Southeast Oak Street, which runs along sprawling Laurelhurst Park and for years has been intermittently inhabited by campers in cars and tents, was to be given a makeover.
The city of Portland plans to install pickleball courts and a “bicycle skills” course on the two-block stretch that became a flashpoint of the homelessness crisis spanning the city. To prepare for the renovation, the city swept the campers and on Oct. 31 erected a fence around the street between Southeast 37th Avenue and César E. Chávez Boulevard to keep it from being repopulated by homeless Portlanders.
The transformation was supposed to start in November, according to the mayor’s office. And yet a recent walk around of the fenced-off area showed no signs of any of the listed projects: refurbished asphalt, freshly painted pickleball court lines, new park benches, and biking structures.
Project manager Christine Leon tells WW that recent inclement weather has “halted progress,” but adds that bench foundations have been poured and items have been “ordered for bikes and skateboard tracks.” Paint for the courts, Leon says, is weather-dependent.
There has been progress on other parts of the project, Leon says, including sewer pipe lining and repairs, pavement repairs and the trimming of the tree canopy above Oak Street. (Those trees were the subject of an August email sent by Davis Wright Tremaine lawyer John DiLorenzo to the city’s attorneys, hinting at litigation if campers weren’t removed and the trees weren’t trimmed. OPB first reported the email.)
Leon says benches and bike infrastructure should be installed by March, but painting court lines by then is unlikely due to rainy conditions.
Portland Parks & Recreation took over management of the two-block stretch this fall from the Portland Bureau of Transportation, with the vision of modifying the space into a multiuse community playground, of sorts.
Pickleball seems a practical choice: Some experts claim it’s the fastest-growing sport in the U.S. It’s easier on the body than tennis, allowing players to span generations. It’s been touted, by some eager hopefuls, as the sport that can bridge our political and social divisions. Sports icons like LeBron James and Tom Brady have invested in newly formed professional pickleball teams.
But an ongoing heated checkmate in Lake Oswego over the installation of pickleball courts in a neighborhood park could offer Portland city officials a warning: The noise may be unwelcome to Laurelhurst homeowners near the park. It appears no legal challenges have yet been filed by neighbors over the installation of the courts, and as of last month, City Commissioner Carmen Rubio’s office says, neighbors have not registered any concerns about the potential for noise.