It is March 10, 2009. I have just come from Stafford Road north of the Tualatin River bridge, above the entrance to Shadowwood and across from Mossy Brae. These names evoke images far removed from the scene that greeted me today ~ names that once, just days ago, said everything about this beautiful and historic Oregon place that now resembles a battlefield.
It is, in fact, a battlefield. Another key engagement has been lost in the ongoing war with the forces of greed and gridlock. The conquest of Stafford Road from Lake Oswego to I-205 is a fait accompli.
It started with the addition of two more lanes to I-205 between I-5 and the Stafford exit. Then came the two-lane roundabout at Wankers Corner, ostensibly to relieve congestion, but in reality to accommodate growth. Lake Oswego’s push into North Stafford ~ its picture-perfect pathways, its ball fields and dog parks, its enormous retirement village ~ transformed country into city.
But this spot beside the Tualatin River is ~ was ~ one of those places Governor Tom McCall referred to when he spoke of what it is that makes Oregon so special. Scores of venerable cedar trees have fallen to chain saws. The natural curves of the narrow road snaking down to the bridge will be replaced by a wide, straight, sterile, treeless road cut leading to a wide, cookie-cutter bridge ten feet above the current one with its latticed steel struts, eliminating the charming views of the river now enjoyed by motorists.
I have personal reasons for mourning. As a kid living in Lake Grove, I would hop on my bike and seek out fishing spots on the Tualatin. A favorite was on Shadowwood Road, immediately downstream from the bridge. Later, I was privileged to know Cassidy Bouts, the loveable eccentric who built many of Shadowwood’s houses. Several friends live on Mossy Brae Road. And I’ve always loved the old log cabin with its rustic, river-cobble chimney, glimpsed through a thick stand of cedars. It, too, is about to fall victim, a loss beyond fathoming.
It’s special for broader reasons as well. Here, in pioneer times, a ferry boat transported wagons and stagecoaches bound from the territorial capital, Oregon City, to the Tuality Plains, where Oregon’s first settlers, former Hudson’s Bay trappers, put down roots. They grew the produce that fed the California gold rush. Stephen Meek, brother of Joe Meek, the territory’s first sheriff, ran the stage line over the road now known as Rosemont, and down Stafford Road. There was a stage stop a short distance from the river, where horses and passengers were fed. Think about travel in those days!
A bridge replaced the ferry. The road was widened, but not by very much. Asphalt was laid down over dirt, but the graceful curves were kept. There was enough left there for anyone with a trace of imagination to see how it must have looked and felt in the 1850s. Until a few days ago.
We have lost another small slice of our heritage, and gained nothing that serves a deep need. Sure, we’ll move more vehicles at a faster clip, and call it progress. But progress to where, and to what end?
Postscript
If there is anything to smile about in this outrage, it is the sign at the north end of the devastation. When builders were riding high on the housing bubble, one such named his two-lot development “Stafford Triangle,” undoubtedly with middle finger extended toward the slow-growth folks. The sign reads ~ no lie ~ “Elegant Stafford area, near the Tualatin River.” The elegance here, ironically, was due to the wealth of cedar trees and the two-lane, curving road. With no buyers in sight, and building prospects slim, the property has been turned over to a real estate company. Good luck.
Update
March 12, 2009. Today, the West Linn Tidings fed its readers this dispassionate lead sentence: “Contractors have chopped down trees to make way for a wider bridge….” The article quotes Clackamas County project Manager Stan Monte as saying the county will eventually widen Stafford “all the way up to Lake Oswego.” Five lanes? We’re talking Beaverton! We’re talking McLoughlin Boulevard! Why is this necessary?
Obviously, these projects have been in the works for many years. Why is the public never informed it time to influence decisions? What have they got up their sleeves now? I plan to do some digging. Stay tuned.