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Salem Parks

The pride and joy of any town is the public park system. Salem boasts hidden gems located inside neighborhoods, larger community parks with reservable areas for weddings, reunions, company picnics, and athletic tournaments, plus special event parks for concerts, festivals, movies, and run/walk events. Salem is fortunate to have historical sites and park features not found anywhere this side of the Mississippi. Salem's thriving volunteer base works in tandem, contributing assistance to support these wonderful City resources.

  • D Street Community Park

    1. Address:D St NE
      Salem, OR 97301
    Amenities:
    1. Undeveloped Parks
    Categories:
    1. Parks in North Salem

The City of Salem purchased 5.75 acres from the State of Oregon for D Street Park in December 2020. The neighborhoods surrounding the park, Northeast Neighbors (NEN) and Northeast Salem Community Association (NESCA), continue to enjoy the open space.

D Street Park is an approximately 6-acre community park located on the south side of D Street NE between 23rd Street NE and 25th Street NE. As a Community Park, D Street Park will be designed to serve the three-mile geographic area surrounding the park, with active and passive activities and reservable features such as a covered shelter and one or more sports fields.

Preparing for Park Use

The new park property resulted from the subdivision of the former north campus of the State Hospital. In preparing for park use, the City of Salem built sidewalks and made other improvements on the edges of the new property in 2021. Park system development charges were used to acquire the property and improve the park street frontage.

The City also put in a new sewer line to serve the future park. The sewer line location will not preclude future activities at the park, which will be established through the park master plan process with community input in 2025 and 2026.

Inside the park space, along the existing walnut trees, the City will plant a second row of trees so that the park space keeps its current character as the older trees begin to decline. The health of mature walnut trees along the south side of D Street, which are now City street trees, are in also in decline. Approximately five are being monitored and could be subject to removal based on hazard assessment by City Urban Forester.

Key Milestones To-Date

  • December 3, 2020 – The City purchased the northwest portion of the North Campus property
  • January/February 2021 – Utility work within 23rd Street to extend sanitary sewer service to the park
  • Spring/Summer 2021 – Street frontage improvements around the park completed. Sidewalk were added on D Street and replaced on 23rd Street. On the east side of the park, 25th Street was extended with sidewalk.

Next Steps: D Street Park Master Plan

D Street Park is undeveloped open space, with neighborhood access and local use. In 2025 and 2026, the City will ask for community input to guide and plan future improvements to the park site, through a park master plan process.

Sign up to get email updates about the D Street Park master plan project

Contact

Rob Romanek
Parks Planner
503-588-6211
rromanek@cityofsalem.net

Public Works Department
555 Liberty St. SE
Room 325
Salem, OR 97301

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