Turner Creek Park

Last updated
Turner Creek Park
Turner Creek Park tennis courts.JPG
Tennis courts at the park
Type Public, city
Location Hillsboro, Oregon
United States
Coordinates 45°30′45″N122°57′14″W / 45.51250°N 122.95389°W / 45.51250; -122.95389 Coordinates: 45°30′45″N122°57′14″W / 45.51250°N 122.95389°W / 45.51250; -122.95389 [1]
Area 12.5 acres (51,000 m2)
Created 1990
Operated by Hillsboro Parks & Recreation Department
Status open
Website Turner Creek Park

Turner Creek Park is a municipal park in Hillsboro in the U.S. state of Oregon. Opened about 1990, the 12.5-acre (51,000 m2) park is located in the middle of the city along Turner Creek near southwest 32nd Avenue between Tualatin Valley Highway and Main Street. The park includes a playground, restrooms, several sports facilities, and natural areas with trails.

Hillsboro, Oregon City in Oregon, United States

Hillsboro is the fifth-largest city in the State of Oregon and is the county seat of Washington County. Lying in the Tualatin Valley on the west side of the Portland metropolitan area, the city hosts many high-technology companies, such as Intel, that comprise what has become known as the Silicon Forest. At the 2010 Census, the city's population was 91,611.

Oregon State of the United States of America

Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region on the West Coast of the United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. The parallel 42° north delineates the southern boundary with California and Nevada. Oregon is one of only three states of the contiguous United States to have a coastline on the Pacific Ocean.

Tualatin Valley Highway highway in Oregon

The Tualatin Valley Highway No. 29 is an Oregon highway which passes through the Tualatin Valley, between the cities of McMinnville and Beaverton. Between McMinnville and Forest Grove, the highway is signed as Oregon Route 47; between Forest Grove and Beaverton it is signed as Oregon Route 8. Oregon 8 becomes Canyon Road in Beaverton east of Hocken Road.

Contents

History

Turner Creek Park opened about 1990 near W. L. Henry Elementary School and southwest 32nd Avenue in the center of Hillsboro. [2] Construction included building dams and trails along the creek, with some labor provided by an alternative school program paid for by the federal government. [3] During construction the city received donation of nearly 100 trees from a local nursery and Portland General Electric, with volunteers providing the labor to plant the trees. [2] During the summer of 1992 some trees at the park died due to a drought. [4] The city sought to receive 75 live former Christmas trees in donations from local residents after Christmas in 1992 to plant at the park to replace those that died. [4]

Portland General Electric

Portland General Electric (PGE) is a Fortune 1000 public utility based in Portland, Oregon. It distributes electricity to customers in parts of Multnomah, Clackamas, Marion, Yamhill, Washington, and Polk counties - 44% of the inhabitants of Oregon. Founded in 1888 as the Willamette Falls Electric Company, the company has been an independent company for most of its existence, though was briefly owned by the Houston-based Enron Corporation from 1997 until 2006 when Enron divested itself of PGE during its bankruptcy.

Drought extended period when a region notes a deficiency in its water supply

A drought or drouth is a natural disaster of below-average precipitation in a given region, resulting in prolonged shortages in the water supply, whether atmospheric, surface water or ground water. A drought can last for months or years, or may be declared after as few as 15 days. It can have a substantial impact on the ecosystem and agriculture of the affected region and harm to the local economy. Annual dry seasons in the tropics significantly increase the chances of a drought developing and subsequent bush fires. Periods of heat can significantly worsen drought conditions by hastening evaporation of water vapour.

Christmas tree decorated tree used in the celebration of Christmas

A Christmas tree is a decorated tree, usually an evergreen conifer such as a spruce, pine or fir, or an artificial tree of similar appearance, associated with the celebration of Christmas, originating in Northern Europe. The custom was developed in medieval Livonia, and in early modern Germany where Protestant Germans brought decorated trees into their homes. It acquired popularity beyond the Lutheran areas of Germany and the Baltic countries during the second half of the 19th century, at first among the upper classes.

From 1993 to 1994, the city’s parks and recreation department worked with civic groups and used a grant to improve the natural areas of the park, which included consolidation of a variety of trails, plantings, and adding bird houses. [5] A wildflower garden was added in 1997. [6] Bisected by Turner Creek, the wetlands area of the park and the creek have experienced numerous sewer overflows beginning around 1995. [7] [8] [9] An older sewer line runs along the creek and passes through the park on its way south to the wastewater treatment plant operated by Clean Water Services at Rock Creek. [10] [11] The city was fined $32,000 by the state over its clean up of spills in 2006. [11]

Wastewater treatment Converting wastewater into an effluent for return to the water cycle

Wastewater treatment is a process used to convert wastewater into an effluent that can be returned to the water cycle with minimum impact on the environment, or directly reused. The latter is called water reclamation because treated wastewater can then be used for other purposes. The treatment process takes place in a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP), often referred to as a Water Resource Recovery Facility (WRRF) or a sewage treatment plant. Pollutants in municipal wastewater are removed or broken down.

Clean Water Services is the water resources management utility for more than 600,000 residents in urban Washington County, Oregon and small portions of Multnomah County, Oregon and Clackamas County, Oregon, in the United States. Clean Water Services operates four wastewater treatment facilities, constructs and maintains flood management and water quality projects, and manages flow into the Tualatin River to improve water quality and protect fish habitat. They are headquartered in Hillsboro.

The park played host to Heritage Christian School’s Latin Olympika games in 2003. [12] City residents rejected a bond measure in November 2008 that would have paid for improvements at Turner Creek Park among six other parks as well as a recreation center at 53rd Avenue Park. [13] As of August 2009, Turner Creek was one of only three parks in the city that had not been adopted under the parks departments adopt a park program. [14] A new playground was installed in a single day by volunteers in August 2018. [15]

Heritage Christian School (Oregon)

Heritage Christian School was a private, non-denominational Christian school in Hillsboro, Oregon, United States. Opened in 1997, the school offered classes from kindergarten through twelfth grade before closing in 2009. The school was part of the Classical Christian education movement and had 222 students in its final year.

53rd Avenue Park

53rd Avenue Park is a municipal park under development in Hillsboro, Oregon, United States. Partially opened in 2008, the park covers 43.5 acres (17.6 ha) along northeast 53rd Avenue in the middle of the city. Currently the park includes two multi-purpose sports fields covered with artificial turf with other sports amenities and a water fountain under construction. Plans call for a large indoor recreation center at the park including pools, basketball courts, tennis courts, and exercise facilities to go along with outdoor park items that include children's play equipment and walking trails. Land for the park was purchased from exercise equipment maker Soloflex beginning in 2001.

Amenities

Turner Creek Park Hillsboro trail.JPG
Trail down a small canyon
Turner Creek Park Hillsboro bridge and dam.JPG
Bridge and dam
The west section of the park contains natural areas

The 12.5-acre (5.1 ha) park includes athletic facilities, wetlands, and wooded sections. [16] Features include play equipment for children, picnic areas, restrooms, and parking. [16] Sports features are two tennis courts, one soccer field, and two softball fields. [16]

Tennis court venue where the sport of tennis is played. It is a firm rectangular surface with a low net stretched across the center. The same surface can be used to play both doubles and singles matches

A tennis court is the venue where the sport of tennis is played. It is a firm rectangular surface with a low net stretched across the center. The same surface can be used to play both doubles and singles matches. A variety of surfaces can be used to create a tennis court, each with its own characteristics which affect the playing style of the game.

The natural area on the west side of the park has paved and wood chip trails leading to a boardwalk and bridge across Turner Creek. [16] These trails run down a small canyon that separates the improved portions of the park from the creek and connect to the elementary school. [17] [18] About four acres are along the creek, which was changed to meander through the area which includes ponds and islands. [16] The city changed the stream by building small dikes that are closed in the summertime to collect water and create pools for use by wildlife, including great blue herons. [17] Other animals at the park include garter snakes, gulls, frogs, fish, and blackbirds among others. [18] Flora include purple iris, sedges, nodding beggar-tick, knotweed, jewelweed, and Veronica . [18]

Great blue heron species of bird

The great blue heron is a large wading bird in the heron family Ardeidae, common near the shores of open water and in wetlands over most of North America and Central America, as well as the Caribbean and the Galápagos Islands. It is a rare vagrant to coastal Spain, the Azores, and areas of far southern Europe. An all-white population found only in south Florida and the Florida Keys is known as the great white heron. Debate exists about whether it is a white color morph of the great blue heron, a subspecies of it, or an entirely separate species.

<i>Bidens</i> genus of plants

Bidens is a genus of flowering plants in the aster family, Asteraceae. The common names beggarticks, black jack, burr marigolds, cobbler's pegs, Spanish needles, stickseeds, tickseeds and tickseed sunflowers refer to the fruits of the plants, most of which are bristly and barbed, with two sharp pappi at the end. The generic name refers to the same character; Bidens comes from the Latin bis ("two") and dens ("tooth").

Knotweed is a common name for plants in several genera in the Polygonaceae family

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References

  1. ↑ "Turner Creek Park". Geographic Names Information System . United States Geological Survey. 2004-05-26. Retrieved 2010-03-22.
  2. 1 2 Potter, Connie (March 4, 1991). "Official see need for more parks". The Oregonian. p. B2.
  3. ↑ Potter, Connie (August 1, 1991). "Working their way upstream in river of life". The Oregonian . p. B2.
  4. 1 2 "West Zoner: Turner Creek Park seeks forest of holiday wishes". The Oregonian. December 10, 1992. p. 10.
  5. ↑ Ordal, Mary. "Turner Creek Park" (PDF). Greenspaces Program. Oregon Fish & Wildlife. pp. 17–19. Retrieved 2009-09-18.
  6. ↑ Gaynair, Gillian (May 12, 1997). "Service projects motivate students". The Oregonian. p. B2.
  7. ↑ Staff (December 20, 1995). "Untreated sewage hits Hillsboro's Turner Creek". The Oregonian. p. C2.
  8. ↑ Bermudez, Esmeralda (February 13, 2006). "Residents criticize city over sewage spills". The Oregonian. p. B2.
  9. ↑ "City to dye test Turner Creek sewer system". The Hillsboro Argus. April 15, 2009. Retrieved 2009-09-18.
  10. ↑ "Heavy rains bring sewer overflow to Turner Creek line". The Hillsboro Argus. January 6, 2009. Retrieved 2009-09-18.
  11. 1 2 "Hillsboro sewer overflows anger residents". The Oregonian. December 5, 2007. Retrieved 2009-09-18.
  12. ↑ Mandel, Michelle (March 10, 2003). "Going toga a toga". The Oregonian. p. E1.
  13. ↑ Suh, Elizabeth (October 9, 2008). "Metro West Neighbors: Hillsboro parks seek $44.5 million bond". The Oregonian. p. 13.
  14. ↑ "Hillsboro park adoptions bring multiple benefits". The Hillsboro Argus. August 21, 2009. Retrieved 2009-09-18.
  15. ↑ Singer, Olivia (August 22, 2018). "Hillsboro to get second playground built-in-a-day". Forest Grove NewsTimes. Retrieved 1 September 2018.
  16. 1 2 3 4 5 Appendix D: Park Descriptions, p. 32. Archived 2007-04-04 at the Wayback Machine . Parks Master Plan. City of Hillsboro. Retrieved on September 18, 2009.
  17. 1 2 Bodine, Harry (May 15, 1997). "West Zoner: Various new parks enhance Hillsboro's livability". The Oregonian . p. 1.
  18. 1 2 3 Peter, Susan; Shirley Ewart (2002). Exploring the Tualatin River Basin: A Nature and Recreation Guide. Corvallis, Or: Oregon State University Press. p. 42. ISBN   0-87071-540-2.
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