New riverfront plantings have struggled
Last winter and spring, a landscape contractor for the Albany Waterfront Project planted a ton of shrubs along the Dave Clark Riverfront Path. Some of that work may have to be redone. If you use the...
View ArticlePark trees near power lines cut down
Tuesday’s bike ride along my riverfront beat took me through Monteith Park, where I could not help but notice that tree cutters were at work once again. But in no way was this a repeat of the winter of...
View ArticleWhat I learned from a food card visit
Sandwiched between Pacific Boulevard and Seventh Avenue in Albany, there is a lot that is partially paved but usually vacant. On a recent Sunday I saw a food cart there, so I stopped the bike for a...
View ArticleWhy is this overpass ramp still closed?
When the “Southern Pacific Railroad Overcrossing” in Albany was built in 1939, the state highway department provided it with proper ramps to get on and off. Many years later, ODOT made one of the...
View ArticleTime to check on chestnuts again
It’s that time of year when it rains horse chestnuts — if, that is, you stand under a towering tree of the species Aesculus hippocastanum and there’s a gust of wind. There are a bunch of those stately...
View ArticleWhere all those cars are coming from
Friday afternoon’s North Albany traffic tie-up was worse than most. The underlying cause was the same as always: Too many cars. The proximate cause, according to several commenters on Facebook Friday,...
View ArticleClosure of Cox Creek bridge tests drivers
The closure of Salem Avenue at Waverly Lake caused congestion and some consternation at the end of the workday Tuesday afternoon. I was glad I was on the bike and not in a car. One problem spot was...
View ArticleA mystery solved: Why pothole is square
A few weeks ago I was wondering about a strange little hole in the pavement on Fourth Avenue in Albany right where it meets Waverly Drive. Now the hole’s shape, square with vertical sides a few inches...
View ArticleWhy the train was trying to hurry
Another day, another train shot in Albany. But why not? Our town, after all, is a railroad town. Here, take a look: I titled that brief video “Amtrak is fast” because the train took just a few seconds...
View ArticleMore about Albany’s fee to fix streets
Now that Albany has a city law calling for a monthly street maintenance fee, though not yet the fee itself, let’s review a couple of things that law says. Once it is established, the fee will be added...
View ArticleAn old building, allowed to run down
The U.S. Department of Energy intends to demolish an old building off Liberty Street, on the campus of the former U.S. Bureau of Mines. The question is why has this four-story office building been left...
View ArticleBoardwalk closed on riverfront path
Users of Albany’s Dave Clark Riverfront Path found the short wooden section of the route unexpectedly blocked on Saturday. This section is sometimes called the boardwalk. It’s about 180 feet long and...
View ArticleMore vandalism at new piers and riverpark
On Facebook, Albany police reported new vandalism at Monteith Riverpark last week. On a bike ride, I went by there on Sunday to take a look. Video commentary coming up: First I checked on the western...
View ArticleBehold that big, colorful tree
I came across this big yellow tree in Albany’s Bryant Park on Sunday and wondered what kind of tree it was. One of the many gaps in my education is the branch of botany that would allow someone to...
View ArticleIntermodal center to get some ‘green’ life
It was a year ago, in October 2023, that I last parked the bike at the new but dormant intermodal shipping center in Millersburg. Now it looks as though this multimillion-dollar terminal will finally...
View ArticleAlbany traffic? There’s nothing to discuss
There are no problems with traffic in Albany, no current issues, no long-term concerns, nothing to keep track of, no topics worthy of an update. That, anyway, is the situation suggested by news from...
View ArticleOn crime, Oregon makes truth disappear
This week I talked with Linn County Sheriff Michelle Duncan and District Attorney Doug Marteeny about how the Oregon legislature has managed to keep the public in the dark about a couple of things...
View ArticleThe general election: Getting it over with
The 2024 general election is supposed to be on Nov. 5. But for the two of us in this household, Election Day was this afternoon. The ballots came in the mail early in the day. Then it took about five...
View ArticleQueen Avenue repaving almost finished
Traffic should soon be able to get back on Albany’s Queen Avenue from Pacific Boulevard as a contractor winds up a $4 million reconstruction and repaving project. Since June, North Santiam Paving, of...
View ArticleSaturday ride: Return to Draper Park
Five years ago, the first time I was there, I was impressed with Draper Park in Albany. The park seemed even nicer when I found myself there again yesterday, on Oct. 19, 2024. Here, check it out: In...
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