TO: Mayor and City Council
THROUGH: Krishna Namburi, City Manager
FROM: Gretchen Bennett, Acting in Capacity Community Services Director
SUBJECT:
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Mid-year project request to improve trail access and create a development and management plan for the Wallace Natural Area.
Ward(s): Ward 1
Councilor(s): Tigan
Neighborhood(s): West Salem
Result Area(s): Natural Environment Stewardship; Welcoming and Livable Community
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SUMMARY:
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Sections of Wallace Marine Park and Wallace Natural Area have been used for shelter by individuals experiencing homelessness in areas within the FEMA-mapped Willamette River floodway and riparian zone. Over the past 12-18 months, City staff has supported assisting people with resource and referral, and the removal of temporary shelters and associated solid waste with focus in the southern portion of the Wallace Natural Area. Paving the existing trail and developing a long-term Natural Area Development and Management Plan provides an opportunity to continue transitioning the area toward the intended purpose of a natural area park as outlined in the Comprehensive Park System Master Plan: primarily undeveloped land for conservation with compatible recreation. The plan would identify improvements beyond paving of the trail, including removal of access barriers for park users, management of user impacts, and strategies to stabilize and enhance ecological conditions.
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ISSUE:
Shall City Council authorize the creation of a mid-year park improvement project - “Wallace Natural Area Enhancement Project” - in the FY 2026 Extra Capacity Parks Fund 260, funded with Parks System Development Charges?
RECOMMENDATION:
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Authorize the creation of a mid-year park improvement project - “Wallace Natural Area Enhancement Project” - in the FY 2026 Extra Capacity Parks Fund 260, funded with Parks System Development Charges.
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FACTS AND FINDINGS:
Site Overview / Location
Wallace Marine Park and Wallace Natural Area are located in West Salem along the west bank of the Willamette River. Wallace Marine Park encompasses approximately 94 acres and is classified in the Comprehensive Park System Master Plan as an Urban Park, meaning it is designated to serve the entire city and, through its regional-scale softball complex and other facilities, also attracts visitors from across the region.
Adjacent to the northwest, Wallace Natural Area comprises approximately 58 acres and is classified as a Natural Area, intended primarily for conservation, with limited compatible recreation such as trails and nature observation. Together, the two parks protect a significant riparian forest corridor along the Willamette River.
The Union Street Railroad Bridge passes through the southern portion of Wallace Marine Park, connecting West Salem to downtown Salem via the Union Street Family Friendly Bikeway, Riverfront Park, and Minto-Brown Island Park through the Peter Courtney Minto Island Bridge. The parks’ forested floodplain includes a mix of native species such as bigleaf maple, Oregon ash, and black cottonwood. Several low-lying side channels and sloughs within Wallace Natural Area likely provide off-channel habitat for fish and wildlife, including salmonids and reptiles.
Nearly all of Wallace Marine Park and the entirety of the Wallace Natural Area lie within the FEMA-mapped floodway of the Willamette River, subject to seasonal flooding and fluctuating river levels.
Current Conditions
For many years, people have sheltered within areas of both parks in unmanaged conditions. This use has contributed to safety concerns, environmental degradation, and limited the City’s ability to perform regular maintenance, including control of invasive plant species and ecological restoration. Emergency response has also been required periodically, including rescues during flood events.
Wallace Marine Park includes a mix of paved and unpaved trail segments. In contrast, Wallace Natural Area lacks a formal trail system-most routes are informal, user-created “social” trails. A primary north-south unpaved route (the “main route”) functions as a service and access corridor during dry conditions but becomes muddy and largely impassable in wet weather.
Recent Actions
Over the past 12-18 months, City staff-working collaboratively through the Salem Police Department, the Salem Outreach and Livability Services (SOS) Team, and Parks Operations-have seen a significant reduction in the number of individuals sheltering within the Wallace Natural Area. These efforts have focused on the southern portion of the site, extending north from the Union Street Railroad Bridge to the Wallace Marine Park Softball Complex.
Parks staff have also installed new operational signage in these areas indicating that camping is prohibited, reinforcing the City’s restoration and management objectives.
Need for All-Weather Access
Improved all-weather access along the main route is necessary for public safety, park management, and ecological restoration. Paving the existing route as a shared-use path would allow year-round access for staff to manage vegetation, remove debris, patrol, and respond to emergencies. A conceptual alignment and extension of paving the unpaved route is identified in the project location map included as Attachment 1.
In addition, formalizing and paving the route provides an opportunity to improve recreational access for pedestrians and cyclists, creating a managed, durable corridor that connects with the existing path network within Wallace Marine Park and regional trail connections beyond, including a proposed shared use path connection to Marine Drive. As such, the proposed paving - as a park improvement - will enhance public safety, recreation, and conservation outcomes.
Need for a Wallace Natural Area Development and Management Plan
While paving the primary access route is an immediate operational priority, a broader development and management plan is needed to guide future improvements and stewardship. The plan will involve community engagement to define a long-term vision for balancing ecological restoration, access management, and compatible recreation. It will also evaluate user safety, habitat protection, and site enhancement strategies, positioning the natural areas park for sustainable management over time.
Consistency with Policy and Recommendations
The Comprehensive Park System Master Plan, Chapter 6 (Recommendations), specifically calls for developing a master or development plan for the Wallace Natural Area prior to implementing recommended trail development and associated site improvements.
Additionally, the Wallace Natural Area is included on the City’s Parks System Development Charges (SDC) Project List-commonly referred to as the “309 List.” Only projects on this list are eligible for SDC funding. While Wallace Marine Park is not on the 309 List, Wallace Natural Area is, allowing SDC funds to be used for both the path improvement and development planning and long-term visioning components.
Project Scope / What the Project Will Do
The proposed Wallace Natural Area Enhancement Project will:
• Pave a main north-south route through a large portion of Wallace Natural Area to provide all-weather access for emergency and maintenance vehicles and to serve as a shared-use path for pedestrians and cyclists.
• Fund and conduct a community-based planning process to prepare a Natural Area Development and Management Plan, addressing:
o Removal of access barriers for park users;
o Measures to improve user safety and comfort;
o Management of visitor impacts on sensitive resources; and
o Ecological stabilization and enhancement of the riparian forest.
Project Schedule
This project is proposed as a mid-year addition to the FY 2026 Adopted Capital Budget, with design work to begin immediately to enable construction of the paved path during the 2027 construction season. Creation of the development and management plan will occur concurrently to ensure future improvements and restoration efforts are coordinated and ready for implementation.
Project Cost and Budget Adjustment
The total estimated project cost is $1,039,000, including $250,000 for creating the Natural Area Development and Management Plan and $789,000 for planning, design, permitting, and construction of the paved shared-use path. In the FY 2026 budget, $200,000 of expenditure authority will be moved from unspecified to this new project, if approved. The overall SDC budget will not increase in the current fiscal year. The remaining $839,000 to complete the project will be added to in the FY 2027 budget and 5-Year Capital Improvement Plan.
BACKGROUND:
A master plan for Wallace Marine Park, approved by City Council in 2003, included a vision that extended across the park acreage now designated as the Wallace Natural Area. However, that plan was developed with a 20-year planning horizon, which has since elapsed. As a result, staff no longer considers it a reliable or shared community vision for guiding future development or enhancement of the Natural Area.
The park acreage currently comprising the Wallace Natural Area was reclassified from Urban Park to Natural Area through a City Council action that occurred between adoption of the 1999 Comprehensive Park System Master Plan and the current version adopted in 2013.
The proposed Wallace Natural Area Enhancement project is located north of the Oregon Department of Transportation’s Center Street Bridge Seismic Retrofit project, and the two efforts are not expected to conflict or impact one another.
Rob Romanek
Parks Planning Manager
Attachments:
1. Attachment 1 - Project Location Map