The Crescent Park Greenway Trail project will define a generation or two here in Hillsboro. In an attempt to create a connection to our rural and wild spaces, this bold project has great promise. It is a big project that will provide something unique and valuable to the people of Hillsboro when it is done. And getting it done may take decades. The project, being stewarded along by the Hillsboro Parks and Recreation Department, it moving ahead in a number of locations along its route and tonight at the City Council meeting a crucial step is being taken to move the trail ahead.
What is the Crescent Park Greenway Trail?
From the Project Website – https://www.hillsboro-oregon.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/22231/637636626501130000
Here is the alignment and timing of the trail. As you can see it has started at the Gordon Faber Recreation complex and will head North through the massive industrial complexes and date centers as it heads West. There will be many changes to the project, and obtaining all the right of way will not be easy. 
City of Hillsboro Project Map
Here is a closer look at the alignment being pursued now in the North Hillsboro locations.
Time to Build a Bridge
Tonight, the City Staff will get approval to use a $1 Million dollar grant from Metro to move forward a critical connector for the trail. The Bridge Over Brookwood or BoB will allow trail walkers to cross over the massive 6-lane speedway that is Brookwood Parkway. Without such a bridge, the trail would be unmanageable as crossing Brookwood now is an imposing task and certainly not something the City can send trail walkers headlong into when considering children, those with special mobility needs, and overall safety. The red circle below the yellow 5 is the crossing location just North of Top Golf.
The bridge will look something like this.
The questions around DEI and whether this crossing will provide for those with mobility issues will arise. If not, we need to bring it up. How would someone unable to climb stairs well (like me with busted knees), the elderly, or those in a wheelchair be able to cross this section of the trail? That has to be folded into this and become a key discussion point.
This crossing is a big deal and is needed. And what a spot for talented local artists to display their abilities and work. Can you imagine a massive Welcome To Hillsboro art installment on that crossing? That could be a real winner!
The project is in great hands, as the City of Hillsboro Parks and Recreation Department is, in my view, far and away the best the City has to offer and is so well run from top to bottom.
The Crescent Park Greenway is the sort of project that can be millennial and define Hillsboro and the surrounding areas for years to come.
Tonight – Here is the information from the City Council agenda for tonight.
Requested City Council Action: Consider the Parks and Recreation Commission’s recommendation to authorize the City Manager to approve and execute the Metro Grant Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) authorizing the City (Parks and Recreation Department) to accept and implement a $1M
grant award from Metro Regional Government.
Background:
Since creating and adopting the Crescent Park Greenway (CPG) Concept Plan in 2018, the City has been implementing its vision, a greenway and trail system that traverses the northern, western, and southern peripheries of Hillsboro. The regional trail and greenway is a unique amenity that is creating access to nature on the edge of the City, and providing active transportation and recreation opportunities such as hiking, biking, picnicking, and exploration.
Once complete, the Greenway will connect users to other trails within the community, as well as other regional trail networks that extend throughout Washington County. To date, the City has secured ownership, easements, or ROW for several sections of the greenway, and has successfully completed construction of segments in both North and South Hillsboro. A critical crossing, the Bridge Over Brookwood (BoB), is needed to safely connect the trail running west from Gordon Faber Recreation Complex (GFRC) to newly constructed segments that have been developer-built on the west side of Brookwood Avenue.
Seizing an opportunity to begin design work and feasibility investigations on the critical segment, the Parks and Recreation Department (Planning and Development Division) and the Transportation Department jointly secured a design consultant to prepare a $4.5M grant application for the 2025-2027 Regional Flexible Funds Allocation (RFFA) funding pool. This grant program is funded by the voter approved 2019 Metro Parks and Nature Bond.
In 2022, the City was awarded $1M to implement the project, triggering a re-scope of the larger $4.5M grant. The City engaged a consultant to prepare a new scope that redirects focus from a larger project (which also included trail design to the east of the bridge) to a refined Type, Size, and Location (TS&L) scope, ultimately identifying a Locally Preferred Alignment (LPA) for the bridge, partially funding ROW acquisition, and conducting
environmental and cultural tests at the site. The new scope went through a joint development effort with City reviewers from Public
Works, Parks, and Transportation Planning. In April of 2024, the new scope was submitted to Metro for review and was approved in June of 2024. Prior to disbursement of funds and the kickoff of the RFP process, the City must enter an IGA with Metro.
Cost:
The total grant award from Metro is $1,000,000. The required local match is $176,471 (System Development Charges), making the total cost of this phase of the project $1,176,471. Non-reimbursable scope refinement contract with Kittleson cost $4,770.
Recommendation:
Staff requests that Hillsboro Council authorize the City Manager to approve and execute the Metro Grant IGA in support of the BoB project.
The Full Report is available at this link – all 94 pages.
