Washington Park is a 460-acre campus, home to 5 non-profit cultural, educational & environmental institutions (Children’s Museum, Hoyt Arboretum, Japanese Garden, Oregon Zoo, World Forestry Center), plus Portland Parks’ internationally acclaimed Rose Gardens, numerous historical monuments, and 14 miles of trails. Yet surprisingly, there is no single government entity or non-profit in charge of Washington Park as a whole. Historically, each piece of Washington Park has been governed and managed separately, currently involving 5 non-profits, all 4 divisions within Portland Parks & Recreation, Metro, Tri-Met and the Water Bureau. As a result, the shared challenges of this 460-acre campus have never been fully addressed.
The Alliance was formed to address the following immediate issues: visitor access, visitor experience and financial sustainability. Of immediate concern is the lack of insufficient parking (1000 spots for over 3,000,000 visitors) and limited internal mass-transit options. Visitor experience has been impacted by safety. Each year there are more incidents affecting visitor, staff, and facility safety both during park hours and after hours (e.g., pedestrian safety, illegal bike use on trails, "uncomfortable" trail encounters). Quality experience also depends on a healthy and beautiful landscape. Instead much of Washington Park and Hoyt Arboretum consist of degraded and degrading greenspaces overrun by non-native invasive species. Financial sustainability - increasing expenses, declining public sector support, and increasing need and demand for compelling education for all ages are issues facing all the institutions.
The institutions believe there may be opportunities for organizational efficiencies and cost reductions if they could share administrative, maintenance, and education functions and facilities. For example, recently the Children's Museum "Five Friends from Japan" exhibit paralleled a bonsai exhibition at the Japanese Garden. Imagine if all of the institutions had participated highlighting their collections and experiences relating to Japan - from the typical trees of Japan found at Hoyt Arboretum, exhibits from Japanese forests at the Forestry Center, and Japanese wildlife exhibits at the Zoo. The institutions could not only run parallel and coordinated programs but could share facilities and staff as well, combining their expertise while reducing costs and overlapping programs. The Park could become a major center for environmental, cultural, and family-based education for the region.
Some may misinterpret the creation of this Alliance as a failure on the part of the individual institutions. That is certainly not the case. Many of these challenges stem from circumstances outside their control (e.g., population growth, declining public funds).
If these challenges are ignored, Portland area residents, and tourists will be impacted.
Come see for yourself. The Alliance is offering a behind-the-scenes tour (invitation only) of Washington Park. This tour is a step towards developing a plan that will ensure that this vital place remains beautiful, green, and enriching for our community as urban density and park usage continues to grow. The tour will be Friday, February 22, 2-7pm. At the tour will be senior managers from Portland Parks plus the Executive Directors and at least one Board member from each of the non-profits. Commissioner Dan Saltzman and Metro President David Bragdon have also been invited. If interested please contact Cynthia Haruyama (see below) to request a copy of the tour itinerary.
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The Alliance has put together a document which provides more details on the vision, the current situation, challenges and opportunities. Please use the contact info below to request a copy of the report.
Cynthia Haruyama, Exec. Director Hoyt Arboretum Friends, 503.823.1648, charuyama [at] ci [dot] portland [dot] or [dot] us