Tualatin Hills Park and Recreation District

In August of 2008, the Park District opened the newly constructed Beginner Skate Park at the HMT Complex, 158th & Walker Road, Beaverton. The project began as an idea by the THPRD Athletic Center Advisory Committee. Planning staff then applied for and were awarded $175,000 in Local Government Grant Program funds from the Oregon Parks & Recreation Department.

Grindline Skateparks of Seattle was selected to design and build a poured concrete skate project suitable for beginners of all ages. The Skate Park site includes the traditional concrete bowl, rails, benches and concrete tabletops for grinding and several other beginning-level amenities for tricks and airborne skill maneuvers. Since the opening of the Skate Park, skaters of all ages have made a run at the bowl and tested their skills.

Watch video footage of the opening day here:

In September 2007, the Park District and Portland Community College (PCC) opened a new 32-acre sports and recreation facility on the PCC Rock Creek campus. The facility includes four baseball/softball fields with three overlapping soccer/lacrosse fields, two synthetic turf fields, six tennis courts, two practice fields, field lighting, parking, an interior multi-use trail system, creek enhancements, play equipment, picnic pavilion and restroom/concession facilities. The entire facility provides park and recreation opportunites to the students and visitors who frequent the PCC Rock Creek campus as well as local neighbors and the community at large. Shortly after the opening, the Park District received the 2007 Oregon Recreation and Parks Association (ORPA) Design Award for this project.

Autumn Ridge Play Equipment

As part of its annual play equipment replacement program, THPRD installed new play equipment at Autumn Ridge Park to replace the aging play equipment originally installed in the late 1980s/early 1990s. Project planning began during the winter of 2007-08, which included a neighborhood meeting in early February 2008. The new play equipment was installed in early June 2008.

The new play equipment is designed to inspire "open-ended" play and is modeled after European playgrounds. This style of play has been very popular in Europe for more than 20 years and is now gaining fans in the Portland area and other parts of the U.S. Studies have shown that this style of play tends to be healthier and more active for children (compared to traditional composite play structures) and promotes more creative play. In addition to the new play equipment, drainage improvements were made to the play area to reduce the amount of water that flows onto the pathway (next to the play area).

The new play elements installed at Autumn Ridge Park are the first of its kind for the Park District and have been extremely popular with neighborhood children and adults alike.