Up by the riverside: the Corvallis Riverfront Commemorative Park is the centerpiece of a riverside revival - Ore - Great parks: the Corvallis Commemorative Riverfront Park

Parks & Recreation, June, 2003 by Mauricio Villarreal

Three major plazas, each with a unique character, anchor the new park:

* Jackson Plaza is the park's main gathering place, and is designed to reflect the diverse personalities of the community from vibrant celebration to quiet reflection at the river's edge. It's composed of a series of spaces suited for various activities. A small seating grove occupies the south edge of the plaza, incorporating basalt stones, benches and art. An interpretive variable spray fountain in the center of the plaza depicts the historic Willamette River Channel and is a play feature for children. The north edge of the plaza is designed to accommodate a performance stage for events utilizing the lawn to the north.

* Monroe Plaza is developed as a contemplative public garden. The plaza features a sheltering grove with seating and game tables tucked into ornamental garden beds. A playful bronze sculpture of otters by artist Peter Helzer peers out from the lush plantings.

* Madison Plaza represents the civic core of the waterfront. Aligned with the City Courthouse on Madison Avenue, the plaza provides long seatwalls, art and a paving pattern that echoes the patterns of historic logjams on the river. Generous open space is retained to allow for community events such as the holiday tree lighting and civic presentations.

The park's design encourages a variety of non-auto uses. For safety, the design includes raised intersections and mid-block crossings, a narrowed street, and special paving to slow vehicles and alert drivers of a "pedestrian first" environment. With the inclusion of these traffic-calming measures and three-way stop signs at every intersection, vehicle speeds are reduced to minimize the potential of vehicle-pedestrian conflicts.

Park features include two restroom facilities, two bike shelters and multiple bike racks. A 12-foot-wide multimodal trail accommodates a mix of walkers, runners, strollers, skaters, wheelchairs and bicyclists. All parking, sidewalks, street crossings, the multiuse path, plazas and seating areas are totally accessible to wheelchairs.

"The path is already a major link for bicycle and pedestrian routes through town," says Zilis. "Because people use it not only for recreation, but for circulation through the city, it is a key element of connecting people to the riverfront."

In addition to connecting the public to the downtown riverfront, the new path connects at the south end of the park to a route leading to Willamette Park, a city park south of town that also includes river frontage. Projects envisioned to connect the path further to the south are underway.

Natural Resources

The ecological restoration and stabilization of the riverbank, which coincided with park development, is the largest riparian habitat enhancement on the Willamette River that has ever been undertaken. It included removing more than 100 tons of debris, unnecessary rip-rap and all invasive non-native species, and re-establishing native riparian vegetation.

The park's extensive landscape emphasizes native plants and local materials. Native plantings were designed to fit within the existing riparian plant community. Plants were located to meet their ecological requirements, natural slope positions, the need for bank stabilization and aesthetic enhancement of the riverfront. Owing to concern about bank stability after a large-scale riverbank slide in 1996, stabilization measures such as shear pile walls and drilled piers were implemented in at-risk areas.