Originally uploaded by PAgent

I took the kids for a bike ride down the Fanno Creek Trail today. This multi-use path (MUP) starts at Denney Rd. in Beaverton, and meanders down along Fanno Creek to Woodard Park. If you don’t mind riding on the street, you can cross Highway 99 to Main St. in Tigard, and catch an extension of the path that runs all the way south to Hall Boulevard near the Tigard Public Library. It’s a wonderful slice of green space, and you can nearly always find it populated with happy people jogging, walking, biking, pushing strollers, and walking dogs.

It looks like the entire greenway surrounding the trail is getting a facelift. Over the last few years, many of the old, splinter-filled wooden play structures along the path have been replaced with new play structures. On this trip, we noticed plenty of signs advertising the “Fanno Creek Enhancement Plan”, a plan to improve the entire greenway by converting existing patches of soggy turf into wetlands, removing non-native plants, and planting native plants.

Near Hall Boulevard, we observed a couple of gentlemen struggling with a large inflated plastic sphere. It became clear that they wanted the sphere to be supported by an inflatable cylindrical base. Unfortunately, the base was not cooperating, so the sphere was persistently sagging off to one side. When questioned, they indicated that their intention had been to fill the sphere with colored balloons, so that it resembled a gumball machine. There was also discussion of adding lights around the periphery, to make it resemble an atom. I wish them luck. No one said Art would be easy.

In a related note, an informal meeting has been scheduled to discuss the idea of forming a Friends of Tigard Trails Group. If you use public trails in Tigard, or are interested in the maintenance and expansion of the Tigard trail system, the meeting is set for 6:30-8:00 pm, Wednesday August 2, 2006, at the Tigard Town Hall, 13125 SW Hall Blvd.