If you could follow Periwinkle Creek from south Albany all the way to its mouth, you would end up in Bowman Park on the Willamette River. But you can’t.
Why didn’t I see shopping carts or other trash in Periwinke Creek on Sunday? Because a great bunch of volunteers hauled tons of refuse out of the creek the day before.
On Saturday the bike and I returned to the paved bikepath alongside Periwinkle Creek. Sure enough, a long section south of Queen Avenue had been cleared of the tall grass that threatened to cover the path before.
Last week, this view of Periwinkle Creek in Albany was spoiled by the presence of a bunch of abandoned shopping carts half submerged in the stream. On Tuesday, as you can see, the carts were gone.
A wooden bridge across Albany’s Periwinkle Creek leads from a dead-end stub of 12th Avenue to the northern end of the Periwinkle Bikepath. The bridge needs work, and so does the creek below.
The first signs appeared last week that 107 apartments planned off Geary Street near Queen Avenue are now going to get built.
Close to nature: Riding by Albany creeks
One reason old Albany’s Willamette Neighborhood makes for a great place to ride a bike — besides not much traffic — is that nature is close at hand.
Tags: Albany creeks, Periwinkle Creek, storm drains, storm runoff, urban creeks, urban stream syndrome, wildlife