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Cedar Mill and Tillbury parks open

Cedar Mill has long been one of the most “park-poor” areas in the Tualatin Hills Park & Recreation District. Although the District began in 1955, it hadn’t started aggressively acquiring property when a lot of the area was developed. A few “remnant” properties that were difficult to develop were donated or sold cheaply by developers, (The Bluffs Park, for example). Starting around the turn of the century, the district began to focus on providing more recreation facilities for us.

A $100 million Bond Measure was approved by district voters in 2008, to “to preserve natural areas, develop new trails and trail connections, and upgrade or expand parks and recreational facilities across the district.” Local projects that have been completed include much-needed upgrades to the Sunset Swim Center, the Phase II trail at The Bluffs, and the trail at Jordan Woods.

Cedar Mill Park

Now the project to completely redevelop Cedar Mill Park can be added to the list. The five-acre park had been closed since early June for construction. Since then, District staff and contractors have been busy renovating the park with new tennis courts, sports fields, trails and play equipment.

The project included the redevelopment of the baseball/ multipurpose sports field at the adjacent Cedar Mill Elementary School. The work followed an agreement with the Beaverton School District in 2013 for shared use of the school property.

The soccer field at Cedar Mill Park and the baseball/multipurpose field on school property will open in the spring after the new grass matures. In addition, the new tennis courts will open as soon as striping and installation of nets is complete.

Drainage has been improved, with a water-retention facility installed at the park’s low point in the northwest corner. The district is confident that the remaining open lawn area west of the new tennis courts will be adequate for the Cedar Mill Park concert to resume next summer. Very few of the large firs and cedars in the park were cut, and the district has planted many natives to enhance the environment.

A few of the trees that were cut down were used as "nature play" elements in the natural area		The district is confident that the remaining open lawn area west of the new tennis courts will be adequate for the Cedar Mill Park concert to resume next summer

The trail connecting NW 107th to the park and the adjacent Cedar Mill School is now paved. Principal Brian Horne says, “I have noticed families walking to school on the new path and I am sure as weather improves we will see more.”

He continues, “What it means for Cedar Mill students is a much improved field space and baseball diamond. The new watering system and drainage will allow us to use the field space for longer blocks of time during the school year.”

Parking was difficult during construction, but Horne says, “The folks in charge of the project were great about sharing information and I know they were doing their very best to stay on the time table. With any construction project there are going to be the “unknowns,” and I think this is what slowed things down just a bit. A great group of people to work with and a job very well done!”

Roger Tillbury Park

The main Roger Tillbury Park entrance has no available public parking

Roger Tillbury Park is a 13-acre property located between Leahy Road and Cornell with the main entrance on SW 93rd. It’s a neighborhood park, tucked away among several new housing developments. There’s no on-street parking anywhere near the entrance. Neighbors who attended the community meetings prior to development were adamant about preventing either on-street parking, or a small parking area that was suggested in the preliminary plans.

A great view of the valley is visible between the neighboring homes, at the hightest point of the park

Park amenities include paved and soft-surface trails, a playground and a small lawn, and some “nature play” installations with stones and logs. THPRD’s Natural Resources staff have begun enhancement of the park’s natural area—removing non-native weeds and plants and replacing them with native plants and shrubs. That is scheduled for completion next winter.

The bulk of the park property is a steep forested area that drains into a branch of Johnson Creek. The district has plans for a second phase of construction that will span a creek and allow trail access to the southern end of the park. Funds for that phase are currently unavailable. Residents of Trillium Hollow Cohousing, which is located across the creek at the southeast corner of the park, also plan to allow the public to access the park through their property on Leahy.

Nature Play areas in Tillbury feature logs and stonework. Someone has created shelters from branches, we hope it was neighborhood kids!

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