The Barbara Walker Crossing earned recognition from two major organizations this week: Collaboration of Design + Art in Public Spaces (CODA), an international clearinghouse for connecting designers and artists, and The Portland Garden Club.
CODA's international jury gave the Crossing top honors in Transportation and the Crossing also won one of the three People’s Choice awards, selected from among hundreds of entries worldwide. Have a look at the amazing company we're keeping. This is the first time the CODAawards process has resulted in a double winner.
The Portland Garden Club awarded the Portland Parks Foundation with the Garden Club of America Club Civic Improvement Commendation in recognition of the creation of the Barbara Walker Crossing, connecting and providing a safe and scenic passage on the Wildwood Trail between Portland’s Forest Park and Washington Park.
Completed last October, the Crossing was the Portland Parks Foundation's largest project to date and Portland's first "crowd-funded bridge."
An act of design activism, the Crossing was co-conceived by architect Andrew Wheeler and artist Ed Carpenter to elegantly solve a problem of the Wildwood Trail's dangerous, at-grade crossing of Burnside. Designed and shepherded by Carpenter for a decade, it ultimately was built by the Portland Parks Foundation in collaboration with Portland Parks & Recreation, Portland Bureau of Transportation, and Metro. Over 900 individual donors contributed, along with major pro bono work done by the design/construction team, led by KPFF, R&H Construction, Walker Macy, and SOJ. Oregon's Kitchen Table helped with the crowdfunding campaign. Thank you to everyone who voted to help us win the CODA People’s Choice award and thank you to the huge team that made the project a reality—especially the hundreds of Portlanders who donated to make this the first crowdfunded bridge in Portland!
