This excerpt from Google Maps shows the section of the Periwinkle Bikepath, between Hill and Oak streets, that the Boys & Girls Club would like to close.
If you occasionally find it convenient to walk or ride your bike on the historic railroad right-of-way between Hill and Oak streets, you might want to use it more often and defend your right to do so.
This 800-foot section of the city-0wned Periwinkle Bikepath runs right through the Ron Loney Campus of the Albany Boys and Girls Club.
Because of the frequency of vandalism and other crime along the path, the club would like it closed to public use.
On June 4, the Albany Parks, Recreation and Tree Commission talked about the club’s proposal to have the city “vacate” or abandon the path. This would allow the club to put up a fence and keep the riffraff out.
The commission heard from a club representative, who told of problems with graffiti, thefts, and other crimes.
Kris Schendel, the senior code compliance officer with the Albany police, said officers are frequently called there, but the problems keep coming up.
The commission ended up voting to recommend that the path be vacated so it would become part of the Boys and Girls Club property.
It wasn’t clear whether the recommendation would go to the city’s Transportation Advisory Commission or the Albany Planning Commission before going to the city council.
Closing public pathways because of crime or vandalism has happened twice in recent years, once near South Albany High School and later near Sunrise School, though the Sunrise shortcuts were unusable because the school had already fenced them off.
This year, however, a request by neighbors to vacate a shortcut between Linn and Willamette avenues in east Albany did not succeed, and people can still use that path.
The path through the Boys and Girls Club and, across Oak Street, along the south side of Lowe’s once was the right-of-way of the Southern Pacific’s Mill City Branch.
Oregon state rail planner Bob Melbo recently reminded me of the history in an email:
“SP abandoned a 12.69-mile segment of it between Albany and Shelburn in 1929, which made possible creation of Albany’s airport. Before it was SP, it was the Corvallis & Eastern Railroad and before that it was (briefly) the Oregon Central & Eastern, and before that the Oregon Pacific Railroad which aspired to be the western end of a new transcontinental line ending at Yaquina Bay. While the OP hoped to build east to Boise to connect with the Oregon Short Line (Union Pacific), construction never got further than Idanha.”
East of Oak Street, the path leads to Kinderpark and connects with the rest of the Periwinkle Bikepath.
West of Hill Street, the railroad right of way still exists and leads to the Albany yard now used by the Portland & Western Railroad. Rail cars are often stored on the remaining track.
It’s not clear how the City of Albany got title to the section between Hill and Oak. Discussion at the parks commission suggested that many years ago there was talk of extending the bikepath west of Hill, but there are no such plans now, and the railroad would not allow it anyway.
Parks Director Kim Lyddane said that if the Periwinkle Bikepath is ever extended, it would go north a long the creek toward Bowman Park. But there are no current plans in that direction either. (hh)
The shape of the city property that contains the bikepath follows the right-of-way established by the Oregon Pacific Railroad in the 19th century.
Maybe the Boys & Girls Club shouldn’t allow Family Tree Nursery to operate, since real estate covenants prohibit daycare on that site?
Your solution is less childcare in Albany? Ridiculous. You should be ignored by everyone.
I said no such thing, so you are the one being ridiculous. However, from what you said, somebody named Goatstroker advocates lawbreakers molding our children. I don’t even have to go into the you being too gutless to use your real name part.
That path is the quickest and safest way to get to fred meyer. Safeway and the library if you close us older generation will have no easy way to get to shops the city has closed the bus stop. On hill st at 12th
The City did that “to better serve the children” in some convoluted manner. You would think “The Club” would have advocated against that?
And yet when the folks over by the National Guard Armory want to have a public right of way closed permanently for the same issues, they get told no. I guess it’s the Good Ol’ Boys Club that gets the relief. (pun intended)
The right of way was there first for good reason perhaps the boys and girls club should help maintain it more and if they don’t like it being a popular place people frequent they should fence thimself off from the whole pathway but oh wait that wouldn’t work then the kids and their parents wouldn’t be able to use the pathway as access just like the people they’re complaining about maybe this is more about just wanting to make a gated private campus to the east you know so certain people are no longer able to be around it’s troublesome to think people who do not prefer the vital importance of this path to remain are seeking for a land grab to privatize it so no one can use it but yet the boys and girls club will ask for a gate and lock so they can still access the park for field trips. There are many ways we tolerate each other in this society I am happy that different groups of people have been able to access this pathway I think it is probably one of the more important connecting pathways we have. We have and need in the city to help people get from one point to another without walking a whole bunch of what is unnecessary effort to go all the way around when there is a straight path already there. I think at its narrowest point it should also be restored to its original wider right of way as I think that would help reduce some of the problems that are happening there.
Ridiculous to even suggest closing this path. Punish law abiding citizens instead of enforcing the laws, makes sense.
Woah. Interesting info about the history of this area in town. I grew up right off Hill Street and as a teen I rode my bike all over. My Dad constantly told me to not use that part of the path to get to my grandma’s house because of homelessness and such. (But being a teen I didn’t always listen. Yet, I never got assaulted so all is well that ends well I guess.) I still like riding bikes and because I live on a Highway, I store my bikes at my parents house and my children and I bike from there. Yes, there’s still graffiti and shady stuff that goes down from time to time but let me tell you, it is still better than it was in the 90s! Putting in Kinder park and clearing out a ton of bushes from the park area helped out that entire path as a whole, including the little segment by the boys and girls club.
I live adjacent to that piece of the bike path and don’t recall any problems in the past. Most problems are in Kinder park itself. Sounds to me like they are trying to recieve this for their own personal use. How are the kids going to get to kinder during the summer programs, or the clubs mini vehicles? Are they going to walk them around the block? I seriously doubt it. If the city vacates, the portion not specifically on the clubs property should be returned to the residences affected.
Exactly, doesn’t make any sense to give it to the club. If you’re going to do it split it up with adjacent tax lots in a way that makes sense.
In a vacation of right of way, adjoining properties on both sides each get half of the vacated property. In this case that’s the Boys and Girls Club and the adjoining properties on the east end of the path.
This path is used by many people not just the few the BG club state is a problem. I have met some very nice people who use this path. I use this path as well. Many people walk their dogs stop and visit with our puppy.
I agree that this is a plan to snatch, grab fence off for their own private use!! This is the first we have heard of this plan! Hum is there not a thing called right to know as a homeowner of this said plan? Homeowner rights seem to be overlooked often in this town! Another example of money talks!! Thank you Hasso and I believe your comment to be correct about going back to the homeowner’s to the East!
Didn’t the PD get a couple bicycles some years ago because they were such a GREAT IDEA? Why not have a bike patrol through these problem areas. Bikes should be Police Models with a silent hub to sneak up on wrong doers.
They could toss a bike in the back of a truck to get to the trail head, then cop hops bike and rides trail and meets truck at the end of the trail. On to the next trail. Maybe the cops switch driving/cycling?
Random times, day or night.
Until the Police make their presence known, this is going to be a problem.