Whitewater Park Proposal Fails for Oregon City's Willamette Falls Project

"A whitewater park will not be a part of the Willamette Falls Legacy Project in Oregon City," reports Jamie Hale.

Local, regional, and state officials are pinning ambitious redevelopment goals on the Willamette Falls Legacy Project, which Planetizen has been tracking since 2014. The whitewater park idea was scrapped to avoid any potential delays or additional costs for the public Riverwalk from downtown Oregon City to the falls.

Here's how a vision to build a whitewater recreation park takes root:

The whitewater park proposal, a long-time pipe dream from local recreation group We Love Clean Rivers, has generated excitement for its economic potential and recreational appeal. It started to gain traction in April, when the proposal received glowing support from local tourism groups Travel Oregon and Clackamas County Tourism and Cultural Affairs.

The cost of the proposed park, estimated between $12 million to $25 million, proved too high, however. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife also expressed concern for the park's potential to create hazards for salmon migration.

There is hope still that the proposal could someday be a reality. According to Hale, "the Willamette Falls Legacy Project officially announced it was 'rejecting full integration of a whitewater park into the public project,' but remaining open to the idea of 'the whitewater park as a parallel but separate project with no added cost to the Legacy Project.'"