Could a park bloom in a shady area?
Local resident has vision for land under the I-405 freeway
Jon Lindquistt, who moved to Slabtown five years ago, has an idea for the “wasteland” under the Interstate 405 freeway ramps. He envisions a “pump track” for bicycle riders of all skills along Northwest Thurman Street, where campers, drugs and fires have taken over in recent years.
Lindquistt has nothing against homeless people—he lived out of his car as a ski bum in Colorado a few years ago—but he thinks an appealing recreational space could turn the area around. He presented an 11-page plan with computer-enhanced images to the Northwest District Association Planning Committee on Thursday and drew enthusiastic reactions.
NWDA President Todd Zarnitz saw in it a way to “capture the imagination of the community.”
Longtime committee members reminded Lindquistt, who has a degree in engineering, of the obstacles the Oregon Department of Transportation has thrown against other community proposals over the years, but his research had already told him it wouldn’t be easy.
Lindquistt is inviting people to join a Zoom call with City Councilor Mitch Green on Wednesday, June 25, at noon:
