St. Helens making it easier to attend temporary 13 Nights on the River venue

With the popular 13 Nights on the River event making a temporary move to McCormick Park this summer, the city of St. Helens is in the process of making improvements near the city’s largest park.

The city says these parking and pedestrian pathway projects will be along Old Portland Road near the city’s St. Helens Recreation Center.

Temporary parking stall striping will add about 151 parking spaces to the vacant gravel lot behind the recreation center, which is located at 1810 Old Portland Road.

To make it easier to access the park, public works crews will add a new pedestrian crosswalk and asphalt curb ramp at the intersection of South 18th Street and Old Portland Road.

The city, in a news release, said, “Combined with adjusting the timing of the signal light at the intersection, this will allow safer pedestrian crossing from the temporary parking lot to McCormick Park.”

According to the city, walking path cones and lighting will also be placed during events, which were moved to McCormick Park due to construction near the Columbia River waterfront where the shows typically take place.

Improvements were scheduled to begin the week of May 6 and, to prevent damage to the temporary parking, the gravel lot’s entrances will be closed when events are not taking place.

By a unanimous vote in April, the St. Helens City council decided to move 13 Nights on the River from Columbia View Park, situated on the waterfront, to McCormick Park, to avoid the construction taking place at the riverfront and downtown.

While events coordinator Tina Curry preferred moving the event to Plaza Square, city councilors opted for the McCormick Park location.

13 Nights on the River traditionally starts in June and features free concerts each Thursday evening through the summer.

City Administrator John Walsh emphasized that despite the change in location for 13 Nights on the River, the Riverfront District, even with construction, is still open for folks to visit, whether it be to local shops or their favorite restaurants.

“We are encouraging our community to continue to shop local and support local during construction,” Walsh said in a news release. “The decision to move 13 Nights is about minimizing impacts to an area of our city which is already feeling disruptions from major construction projects.”

Walsh noted, “By limiting events in the downtown area during the summer, we hope that it will help construction move forward in a timely manner which will support our Riverfront District businesses in the long run. Our businesses can then welcome back large crowds of community members and visitors to an improved and beautiful Riverfront District.”

13 Nights, started in 2005, has been hosted each year in the St. Helens Riverfront District. The city’s St. Helens Parks Commission originally organized the event. It then shifted to the St. Helens Community Foundation before heading back to the city.