Portland’s park light pole project ‘nearly complete’ after poles found unsafe

Michaela Bourgeois
·2 min read
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PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – A project to remove and replace almost 250 light poles across 11 Portland parks is “nearly complete” after the poles were deemed structurally unsafe, Portland Parks & Recreation announced.

The light poles — some of which were up to 100 years old — have been replaced at eight out of the 11 parks under Portland’s Light Pole Safety project, which is slated to be completed by the end of summer 2024, officials said.

The $11.5 million project comes after the light poles were found structurally unsafe, due to an issue with the pole’s anchoring systems, after a pole collapsed on a young boy and his nanny at Irving Park in 2022 after a hammock was tied to it.

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PP&R said Mt. Tabor is the next park scheduled for pole replacement starting May 6 to replace 88 poles. Contractors are looking into setting up temporary lights in the park with the pole replacement underway, according to PP&R.

The final two parks under the project include Lair Hill Park, starting in June, and Ladd Circle Park which is slated to begin in August.

Completed parks include Colonel Summers Park, Sellwood Riverfront Park, Irving Park, Sellwood Park, Montavilla Park, Mt. Scott Park, and Wallace Park.

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Officials noted the new light bulbs are 66% more efficient than the previous bulbs and will be DarkSky-friendly with light directed toward pathways. Additionally, the new poles were selected to replicate the previous ones as closely as possible.

The project comes after the Portland City Council passed an emergency ordinance in April 2023 assigning the replacement project to McKinstry Essention, LLC.

“We took extraordinary measures to partner with other jurisdictions to address an extraordinary project,” Commissioner Dan Ryan said earlier in 2024. “I’m proud of PP&R and my team and grateful to our partners, so a project that would usually take a City bureau years to fix will now take months.”

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