The Trolley Trail is officially under construction, and it was “all aboard” Tuesday during a kickoff celebration along the trail at Stringfield Family Park in Oak Grove.
Metro Councilor Carlotta Collette helped break ground on the Trolley Trail this week. Metro joined government agencies, community groups and neighbors to commemorate the future six-mile pathway, which traces an old streetcar line between Milwaukie and Gladstone.
“The Trolley Trail is probably one of the best examples of projects that take real long-term devotion and regional cooperation,” Metro Councilor Carlotta Collette told nearly 100 people at the groundbreaking, which was hosted by North Clackamas Parks and Recreation District. Collette recalled being implored by community advocates, shortly after joining the Metro Council in 2007, to “get this thing built.”
The Trolley Trail, which has been part of the region’s long-term vision for 40 years, has brought together a broad coalition of partners including Clackamas County, the City of Milwaukie, the Oregon Department of Transportation, the Oak Lodge Water District, Congressman Earl Blumenauer and the citizen group Friends of the Trolley Trail. Metro has supported the project in several ways:
- acquiring right-of-way to build the trail through the region’s voter-approved Natural Areas Program
- working with the community to develop a master plan for the trail
- supporting construction with federal flexible transportation funds, which account for more than half of the region’s trails spending during the past decade
- awarding a Nature in Neighborhoods grant for a “green” park-and-ride station along the future Portland-Milwaukie light-rail line, which will complement the trail.
“Trails like this help connect the whole region,” Clackamas County Chair Charlotte Lehan told the crowd Tuesday, calling the Trolley Trail “a great milestone for Clackamas County.”
Trail partners hoisted shovels of dirt, ceremonially breaking ground on the project. Construction is expected to wrap up this fall with a larger community celebration.
At least one longtime fan will return to see the finished product, Collette said in her remarks. Metro’s regional trails planner, Mel Huie, plans to bring his 91-year-old mother. She first traveled this route on the old streetcar in 1948, riding from her Gladstone home to downtown Portland for her honeymoon.
“I know I’ll be excited to welcome her back,” Collette said, “and I know all of you will, too.”