With perhaps the ungainliest name ever given a city green space, Summit Slope Park is finally ready to be celebrated with a May 1st dedication ceremony. Details on the upcoming party are below. Parks is promising news on the recently approved John Street Enhancement Project (now that’s a good name!) that will expand the open space near Summit Slope and it’s p-patch by adding a bioswale planting area.

The path from parking lot to park and p-patch was a long and winding one that even passed through Perugia, Italy at one point. The path included a skate dot feature that, um, brought neighbors together. City funding covered the basic design but many features were left to be covered by community support. The Capitol Hill Community Council committee Unpaving Paradise worked with the city to arrange that funding. These days, they’re helping to organize the p-patch community that utilizes the new urban gardening space. Breaking ground last spring, the park was completed at the end of summer 2010.

At the May 1st gathering, the neighboring E Olive Way Starbucks will provide refreshments while Broadway’s Umpqua Bank is bringing the ice cream, we’re told by Parks.