This branch hangs over the Clark Path, 5 foot 9 inches from the ground, on the evening of July 4, 2026.
The Dave Clark Path along Albany’s Willamette riverfront could use a general sprucing up, such as trimming of vegetation along and especially above the path.
After a tree hanging low over the path conked me on the head and sent me and the bike sprawling on June 10, the Albany Parks Department got a tree service to cut the tree and clear that section of the path.
But other sections still have limbs and branches hanging down and hitting people on the head if they are tall enough.
On Saturday, for instance, I felt a glancing blow on my helmet not far from my June 10 crash, though without the same consequences.
The branch, it turned out when I got out the tape, was 5 feet 8 or 9 inches from the ground. People on bikes are not likely to see it because they are scanning the path surface for debris and other obstructions.
Elsewhere on the path, roadside vegetation has narrowed the usable width of the pavement. And the concrete pavement itself is cracking and breaking up in a couple of places.
On the lowest section of the path between Main and Sherman streets, encroaching vegetation makes it even harder to see if anyone is coming around the corner there.
Most of the length of the riverfront path was ignored in the $22 million Albany Waterfront Project, except for plantings that have since died or been crowded out by weeds and vines running wild.
With many neighborhood and bigger parks to maintain, Albany’s parks crews can’t work on the city’s paths as much as they should or would like. Which is why we should be extra careful and slow when traveling on that path. (hh)
This mess of branches and leaves was hanging over the riverfront path on Saturday.
Roadside bushes narrow the Clark Path near its blind corner.
Hasso, technically, you conked the branch with your head, That falls in line with the woke attitude that some folks have, “I was traveling at 14 mph and a branch stood still so I could attack it with my head.”………………………you know this is a joke.
If you don’t have the money to maintain them and keep them safe, then you never had the money to begin with.
How about having neighborhood teams volunteer to maintain a section of the trail, like volunteers do on US highways, and get a placard for their efforts.
A very good idea.
And a chainsaw
Hasso, it is obvious you care deeply for your community. I enjoy reading your travel adventures on your bicycle. Be careful my friend.
It seems that when the City does address these kind of issues, they only do the bare minimum required. It’s the govt. attitude of don’t look for extra work to do even if it saves more work in the future.
I frequent Albany’s riverfront multiuse path daily and have been for years and I agree that the city can do a better job at maintaining the path (I bonked my head too on those thick heaving branches looming into the path also).
I think a good question about the path vegetation would be is: what happened to the planting contract a few years back when the riverfront park was complete? They planted all that dry resistant decorative landscape architecture and under contracts like that they usually plant them like they do, come back following months and replant those that died, but they never came back and replanted the plants that died. So now, there is just a jungle of all variety of noxious weeds including poison oak and all these dead expensive decorative plants (some trees even) alongside the multiuse path. I hope the city at least got some money back from that contract because some companies take on bids like the riverfront planting upgrades and cant fulfill the contract and then it goes to the lawyers office and can take years to get the cash back to the city. I think that may be the case why the city hasn’t touched the darn weeds but we will see, maybe someone has more info.
The City has no money to fix the potholes in the streets (as we all keep saying ad nauseum), no money to maintain roadside vegetation, city paths, city parks, etc.
Now that their cash cow, CARA, is over, and a law is in place that Albany cannot form another urban renewal district (which is what CARA was) without a vote of the people, at least the property tax money we pay will go to schools, fire depts., police depts., parks, and all governmental agencies that we depend on.
It’s been painfully aware to me for a long time that our city government does not have the wherewithal or dollars to properly steward the natural areas that they own and are theoretically responsible for. They spend all there effort chasing unsustainable growth with the unrealistic hope that it will bring in additional tax dollars to fill there coffers. And then just possibly they would have the money to take care of the backlog of things that should and need to be done to preserve our collective quality of life and environment long into the future. It’s a pipe dream!
At this point I am incredibly grateful that Dave Clark’s idea/dream of creating a riverfront path from Albany to Salem never got of the ground.
Hasso ,and anyone else who uses those paths on a regular basis should take it upon themselves to carry a saw and or clippers and just cut those obstructions themselves.
How about a gas / branch tax to fix the problem….Must be climate change again..oh my
Is it okay for any citizen to cut back the bushes as long as we haul the debris out with us?
I don’t mind doing it, but don’t want to get a ticket for vandalism.
I don’t know who’s in charge of vegetation on paths, city owned lots or the canal but I’ve never seen it look this bad. What is going on? You know people would get fined if private lots look like this. It’s ridiculous. It makes Albany look trashy