Turner Creek Park
Tennis courts at the park
Map
TypePublic, city
LocationHillsboro, Oregon
United States
Coordinates45°30′45″N 122°57′14″W / 45.51250°N 122.95389°W / 45.51250; -122.95389[1]
Area12.5 acres (51,000 m2)
Created1990
Operated byHillsboro Parks & Recreation Department
Statusopen
WebsiteTurner Creek Park

Turner Creek Park is a municipal park in Hillsboro in the U.S. state of Oregon. Opened about 1990, the 12.5-acre (51,000 m2) park is located in the middle of the city along Turner Creek near southwest 32nd Avenue between Tualatin Valley Highway and Main Street. The park includes a playground, restrooms, several sports facilities, and natural areas with trails.

History

Turner Creek Park opened about 1990 near W. L. Henry Elementary School and southwest 32nd Avenue in the center of Hillsboro.[2] Construction included building dams and trails along the creek, with some labor provided by an alternative school program paid for by the federal government.[3] During construction the city received donation of nearly 100 trees from a local nursery and Portland General Electric, with volunteers providing the labor to plant the trees.[2] During the summer of 1992 some trees at the park died due to a drought.[4] The city sought to receive 75 live former Christmas trees in donations from local residents after Christmas in 1992 to plant at the park to replace those that died.[4]

From 1993 to 1994, the city’s parks and recreation department worked with civic groups and used a grant to improve the natural areas of the park, which included consolidation of a variety of trails, plantings, and adding bird houses.[5] A wildflower garden was added in 1997.[6] Bisected by Turner Creek, the wetlands area of the park and the creek have experienced numerous sewer overflows beginning around 1995.[7][8][9] An older sewer line runs along the creek and passes through the park on its way south to the wastewater treatment plant operated by Clean Water Services at Rock Creek.[10][11] The city was fined $32,000 by the state over its clean up of spills in 2006.[11]

The park played host to Heritage Christian School’s Latin Olympika games in 2003.[12] City residents rejected a bond measure in November 2008 that would have paid for improvements at Turner Creek Park among six other parks as well as a recreation center at 53rd Avenue Park.[13] As of August 2009, Turner Creek was one of only three parks in the city that had not been adopted under the parks departments adopt a park program.[14] A new playground was installed in a single day by volunteers in August 2018.[15]

Amenities

Trail down a small canyon
Bridge and dam
The west section of the park contains natural areas

The 12.5-acre (5.1 ha) park includes athletic facilities, wetlands, and wooded sections.[16] Features include play equipment for children, picnic areas, restrooms, and parking.[16] Sports features are two tennis courts, one soccer field, and two softball fields.[16]

The natural area on the west side of the park has paved and wood chip trails leading to a boardwalk and bridge across Turner Creek.[16] These trails run down a small canyon that separates the improved portions of the park from the creek and connect to the elementary school.[17][18] About four acres are along the creek, which was changed to meander through the area which includes ponds and islands.[16] The city changed the stream by building small dikes that are closed in the summertime to collect water and create pools for use by wildlife, including great blue herons.[17] Other animals at the park include garter snakes, gulls, frogs, fish, and blackbirds among others.[18] Flora include purple iris, sedges, nodding beggar-tick, knotweed, jewelweed, and Veronica.[18]

References

  1. ^ "Turner Creek Park". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. 2004-05-26. Retrieved 2010-03-22.
  2. ^ a b Potter, Connie (March 4, 1991). "Official see need for more parks". The Oregonian. p. B2.
  3. ^ Potter, Connie (August 1, 1991). "Working their way upstream in river of life". The Oregonian. p. B2.
  4. ^ a b "West Zoner: Turner Creek Park seeks forest of holiday wishes". The Oregonian. December 10, 1992. p. 10.
  5. ^ Ordal, Mary. "Turner Creek Park" (PDF). Greenspaces Program. Oregon Fish & Wildlife. pp. 17–19. Retrieved 2009-09-18.
  6. ^ Gaynair, Gillian (May 12, 1997). "Service projects motivate students". The Oregonian. p. B2.
  7. ^ Staff (December 20, 1995). "Untreated sewage hits Hillsboro's Turner Creek". The Oregonian. p. C2.
  8. ^ Bermudez, Esmeralda (February 13, 2006). "Residents criticize city over sewage spills". The Oregonian. p. B2.
  9. ^ "City to dye test Turner Creek sewer system". The Hillsboro Argus. April 15, 2009. Retrieved 2009-09-18.
  10. ^ "Heavy rains bring sewer overflow to Turner Creek line". The Hillsboro Argus. January 6, 2009. Retrieved 2009-09-18.
  11. ^ a b "Hillsboro sewer overflows anger residents". The Oregonian. December 5, 2007. Retrieved 2009-09-18.
  12. ^ Mandel, Michelle (March 10, 2003). "Going toga a toga". The Oregonian. p. E1.
  13. ^ Suh, Elizabeth (October 9, 2008). "Metro West Neighbors: Hillsboro parks seek $44.5 million bond". The Oregonian. p. 13.
  14. ^ "Hillsboro park adoptions bring multiple benefits". The Hillsboro Argus. August 21, 2009. Retrieved 2009-09-18.
  15. ^ Singer, Olivia (August 22, 2018). "Hillsboro to get second playground built-in-a-day". Forest Grove NewsTimes. Retrieved 1 September 2018.
  16. ^ a b c d e Appendix D: Park Descriptions, p. 32. Archived 2007-04-04 at the Wayback Machine Parks Master Plan. City of Hillsboro. Retrieved on September 18, 2009.
  17. ^ a b Bodine, Harry (May 15, 1997). "West Zoner: Various new parks enhance Hillsboro's livability". The Oregonian. p. 1.
  18. ^ a b c Peter, Susan; Shirley Ewart (2002). Exploring the Tualatin River Basin: A Nature and Recreation Guide. Corvallis, Or: Oregon State University Press. p. 42. ISBN 0-87071-540-2.

External links

Hillsboro, Oregon
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