ParkScan Portland is an interactive website that lets community members communicate their park concerns or compliments directly to a Portland Parks & Recreation supervisor.
With ParkScan, park users become active partners in the stewardship of Portland's public parks. And with the community's additional eyes and ears, Portland Parks & Recreation is alerted to maintenance needs much more quickly.
FAQ
How Does ParkScan Work?
Community members report observations about Portland's parks using our online form. The observations are sent electronically to a parks maintenance supervisor for action. When the supervisor responds, an email alert is sent to the community member who made the observation. All current and past observations and responses can be viewed and searched by criteria such as park name or observation type on the Observation Search page.
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How do Portland's parks benefit from ParkScan?
From Waterfront Park to Mt. Tabor, Portland's parks offer a wide range of recreational opportunities. The more than 200 parks in the Portland Parks & Recreation system are maintained by hardworking crews across the city‚ but Portland Parks & Recreation staff members cannot be present in our parks every minute of every day.
As the most frequent visitors to Portland parks, community members can help care for their parks by reporting the conditions they notice while visiting. ParkScan observations quickly give supervisors the information they need, and that added speed helps keep Portland's parks healthy places for fun and play.
ParkScan Portland Annual Reports, which compile data about the past year of observation, will also be a great way for the community to learn more about how their parks are maintained, and will help Portland Parks & Recreation target areas for improvement.
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Who can use ParkScan?
Anyone, from park visitors to neighbors to business owners, can report maintenance conditions on the ParkScan website and view past observations. To make a report, users must complete a free and easy registration on PortlandOnline. Click here to register.
ParkScan staff is happy to offer free training sessions to groups such as neighborhood associations, park advocacy organizations, business associations, or schools that wish to regularly survey parks and report conditions. Contact us for more information or to schedule a training.
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When can I expect the condition I'm reporting to be fixed?
That depends on what the condition is. Conditions that make parks dangerous or unhealthy are acted upon immediately. Some conditions may be part of daily maintenance routines, while others may be scheduled for maintenance only a few times per year. Larger, more in-depth repairs and improvements may require a capital improvement project.
If you're interested in doing an improvement project in your park, visit our Community Initiated Improvement Projects page to learn more.
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Why can't I find my park on ParkScan?
ParkScan Portland's database includes hundreds of neighborhood, community, and regional parks maintained by Portland Parks & Recreation staff, but it doesn't currently include every park in the city. If your favorite Portland Parks & Recreation site isn't listed on the Parks page, visit the My Park Isn't Listed page to find out how to make a report.
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How did ParkScan come to be in Portland?
ParkScan was developed in 2003 by the Neighborhood Parks Council (NPC), a San Francisco park advocacy group, to track maintenance conditions in San Francisco parks and playgrounds.
Portland Parks & Recreation is the first parks department to partner with NPC to create a ParkScan website of its own. Funded by a grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, ParkScan Portland launched in approximately 40 East Portland parks in Fall 2008. In Spring 2009, ParkScan Portland expanded to more than 150 parks across the city.
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