Portland will move more quickly to replace unsound lampposts in popular parks

An aerial view of traffic parked near Sellwood Riverfront Park on April 20, 2020. The city found that 14 of 17 lampposts at Sellwood Riverfront Park were unsound.
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Some Portland parks won’t be going dark after all.

Commissioner Dan Ryan, who oversees the parks bureau, plans to introduce an emergency ordinance next Wednesday that would allow park officials to more quickly acquire replacement light poles as part of a new phased approach to remove 243 unsound lampposts from city parks.

Park officials announced the new plan Tuesday, a month after they said city workers had begun removing hundreds of lampposts that “could pose life and safety hazards to the public” from a dozen popular city parks. City data had shown that workers in a few cases were set to remove up to 90% of all light sources within a park’s boundaries.

Ryan initially approved the plan but expressed concerns about the amount of time that the parks would go without adequate lighting.

“I understand the importance of lighting in our parks and am committed to finding a solution to address the public’s valid concerns,” Ryan said in a statement.

If approved by the City Council, Ryan’s emergency ordinance would allow parks officials to purchase all replacement light poles simultaneously. It will then take about six months for the light poles to be delivered, officials said.

City workers have already removed unsound lampposts at Irving Park, Colonel Summers Park, Sellwood Park and Sellwood Riverfront Park. Those lampposts will be replaced once the city acquires the new light poles, officials said. In the meantime, the city will explore options for temporary lighting at those parks, park officials said.

Unsound lampposts discovered at another eight parks will only be removed and replaced after the city finishes replacing the light poles at those four parks, park officials said. The eight other parks with light posts found to have “structurally unsound anchoring systems” are: Mt. Tabor Park, Mt. Scott Park, Ladds Circle Park, Lair Hill Park, Montavilla Park, Rose City Golf Course, Woodstock Park and Wallace Park.

The city will use $2 million from Metro’s parks and nature bond and up to another $2 million in federal money to fund the project, officials said.

— Jamie Goldberg; jgoldberg@oregonian.com; 503-221-8228; @jamiebgoldberg

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