Land along the river side of the Dave Clark Path has been cleared for new plantings, as seen Thursday.
As you probably know, my bike rides in Albany take me along the Dave Clark Riverfront Path several times a week. So it’s hard not to notice that the vegegation along the top of the bank has been cleared.
On Thursday, this prompted me to observe the change:
Part of the rationale for replacing the brush with new plantings, as I recall, is to improve the views of the Willamette River from the riverfront path.
I’m sure the new plantings will look nice. They are part of the city’s Waterfront Project. But the project won’t do anything about the concrete pavement of the path, which is breaking up in places and will need repairs.
Chances are the riverside brush will make a comeback over the years unless there’s a concerted program to keep it under control. We’ll see how that goes in the years to come. (hh)
Hasso: Thanks for the update on the Riverfront CARA project. Keep us informed. We need to know what CARA is up to. That is, what the City Council is up to.
Why can’t we leave nature alone? Personally I don’t think it can be improved upon!
Unfortunately, the city’s decisions are based on funding. First of all cara is paying the bill for replanting the area. The other is the city is herding the homeless away from the soon to be “hot spot” of Albany. Then acquire homeless funding as Marvin’s garden will be the model for the older areas of Albany that are in the sights of urban renewal funding. More evolved cities have not ignored the fact that nature is not an optional choice and you do not burn down the house to get rid of unwanted guests.
Hasso, just look back 5 years, most of the river was not viewable from water street, when the CARA board was spending money on buying an awning for the second time, or putting up too many lights, etc and the whole city gets to pay for it, unlike what many members of the board said. as long as you give money away using someone elses wallet there will be a plethora of folks with their hand out. So the challenge is, if you can not stop the spending, spend the money so that more people get the benefits, (all of Albany) everyone can see the river now, so it makes the place nicer.