There was a broken railing on this riverside boardwalk, but by Friday the Albany parks crew had fixed it.
Big important news happens elsewhere, but on Albany’s Dave Clark Riverfront Path there are little things to notice and to see.
For instance, on Friday I noticed that a broken rail on the path’s roughly 40-year-old boardwalk under the Ellsworth Street Bridge had been fixed.
When I called attention to the damaged rail last week, Rick Barnett of the city parks department said it would be repaired shortly. And it was. Looks like a pretty solid job, too. Should last for another 40 years, maybe.
On the new river overlook near what the Waterfront Project designers call Albany Square Plaza, I noticed more vandalism in addition to the bent grating I reported on June 24.
Can this be rubbed off, or will it be a permanent blemish on this platform overlooking the river?
The wooden bench on the viewing platform did not escape the vandals’ attention.
Albany parks have reported a surge in this kind of vandalism this year. I can think of various ways to put an end to this plague, but none of them would be legal or humane.
Another thing I was reminded of when visiting that overlook on Friday was how great an amenity the Willamette River is, especially during these warm days of July.
Looking under the Lyon Street Bridge and toward the Albany railroad bridge in the distance.
When the river is low as it is now, you can wade out pretty far on the gravel bars, as the people in the photo have done.
Let’s just hope nobody ventures too far into the middle and gets literally carried away.
And by the way, see that big logjam on the railroad bridge? It has been growing for years.
Nobody is doing anything about it, so maybe in a few more years it will span most of the river’s width and, like a giant beaver dam, create a lake on the Albany waterfront.
We’ll call it Willamette Lake. (hh)
Good picture of the logjam, Hasso. Gives one perspective on the size of it.
I’ve been watching the logjam since December. It now has plants growing on it. It’ll become an island before a beaver dam Hasso.
Wow that got fixed quickly. You should do a story on how terrible the pavement is on 3rd avenue. The entire Hackleman neighborhood actually. Maybe it would finally get some attention.
We biked the trail last week and loved it. The rebuilt overlook is always fun to get out and watch the river. Hopefully the new wildflowers they planted survive and thrive. I’m glad to see Albany investing in the waterfront.