Sustainability History Project

One important part of student work in the course Documenting Sustainability in the Pacific Northwest is to do five hours of community service. Below the fold is Sean Cochran’s write-up after he volunteered for Portland Sunday Parkways.

Portland Sunday Parkways, May 16, 2010. Photo Sean Cochran.

“The few days leading up to Sunday, May 16th were sunny, warm, and beautiful. The best stretch of weather Portland has seen since last September. Community organizers, bicycle enthusiasts, and volunteers all crossed their fingers while going to bed Saturday night, in hopes that they would wake up to the same gorgeous sunshine for the first installment of the 2010 Portland Sunday Parkways. Portland’s skies, however, had a different idea in mind…

“Portland Sunday Parkways is a new annual tradition that attempts to connect neighborhoods and people in a car-free environment. One Sunday a month, from May to September, a different portion of the city has routes set up to block all car traffic, allowing the optimal street conditions for bicyclists, joggers, and walkers to safely enjoy their neighborhood streets. The parks in the area become mini cities with food, music, games, and representation from local businesses and vendors.

“I arrived at Fernhill Park in Northeast Portland bright and early on Sunday morning. The weather looked like it was going to cooperate and I was ready to help with the set-up for the event. After receiving my pistachio green volunteer t-shirt, I began unloading tables and chairs. About 15 minutes later, I felt the first rain drop bounce off the end of my nose and before anyone could even open an umbrella, we were all treated to a unwelcome shower. I rolled up my pant legs, zipped up my jacket, and began setting up tables and chairs, hanging banners and signs, and helping the vendors prepare their mobile storefronts. People scrambled to hastily erect their canopies in the soaking rain, but I did not hear one person complain or pout. I could tell that nobody here was going to let a little Oregon waterworks dampen their day.

Portland Sunday Parkways, May 16, 2010. Photo Sean Cochran.

“By the time we were finished schlepping things around the soggy field, we were granted some reprieve from the rain. The streets filled up with bicycles and strollers and the smell of falafel and grilled chicken. Neighbors came together on their streets without the stench of gasoline fumes and the constant hum of automobiles. For the next few hours the neighborhoods of Northeast Portland were taken over by laughing children, happy neighbors, and a strong sense of community that is only made possible by simply slowing down and leaving the car in the garage.”

[Thanks to Sean Cochran for the text above and the images.]

Portland Sunday Parkways, May 16, 2010. Photo Sean Cochran.