Bicyclists ride and walkers stroll three parks during ‘Sunday Parkways’

INCLUDES THREE-PARK VIDEO TOUR | Take a look at the 2024 outer “East Portland Sunday Parkways”. If you missed the outer East Portland events, there’s another one coming in Southwest Portland on September 22 …

Many people started their 2024 Portland Sunday Parkways in outer East Portland here, alongside Gateway Discovery Park, in the Hazelwood neighborhood.

Story and photos by David F. Ashton

Back again this year, “in person” – the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) Portland Sunday Parkways returned to outer East Portland on May 18.

According to PBOT officials, the program’s goals going into 2024 had a new approach: “Prioritize local neighborhoods that have been under-served by Portland Sunday Parkways.”

Near Gateway Discovery Park, it’s the Liew family — who say they came to this eastside event from their home in Multnomah Village, on the west side of town.

At Gateway Discovery Park, “The Tree People” musically entertain with Bluegrass music.

This stated goal is a bit puzzling to those who participated in the 2023 Portland Sunday Parkways – because it had exactly the same route, linking the same three outer East Portland parks: Namely Gateway Discovery, Ventura, and Lincoln City Parks. CLICK HERE to see our story about this event.

Watch, and enjoy, this virtual video tour of the 2024 event:

But then, PBOT explained: “Each event route will highlight a Portland neighborhood for a few years to help build upon the investments and partnerships that are being made.”

While Portland Sunday Parkways participants were allowed to cross busy SE Stark Street while going to and from Ventura Park, motorists (and their vehicles) sit and fume, surprised by the Saturday afternoon traffic jam caused by the flagged crossing.

Here’s a look the “vendor midway” at Ventura Park.

According to PBOT, these Parkways “feature community-focused events that transform neighborhoods into vibrant car-free zones, promoting active lifestyles, community engagement, and sustainable transportation.”

Along the 3.3-mile down-and-back route between the three parks, folks could start anywhere along the way and bike, walk, or roll through mostly side streets in the Hazelwood neighborhood.

What could be either the start or end of the tour, at Lincoln Park, participants roll through the “vendor marketplace”.

Each of the parks featured vendor marketplaces, community booths, free family-friendly activities, and live entertainment.

During our tour covering this, participants seemed pleased as they rolled around the Hazelwood afternoon on a pleasant Sunday afternoon.

If you missed the Hazelwood and Cully Cully Portland Sunday Parkways and still want to participate, there’s another on in Southwest Portland, in the area of Multnomah Village on September 22, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. CLICK HERE for information about the route, what to expect there, and street closure information.

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