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After three and a half years of planning, Portland Parks and Recreation is ready to officially present their 47-page Red Electric Trail Planning Study to City Council. Next week they’ll present the recently completed plan that was undertaken to,
“…investigate potential routes for an east-west trail that would extend the Fanno Creek Greenway Trail, creating a continuous, 16 mile bike and pedestrian trail between the Tualatin and Willamette Rivers.”
The Red Electric Trail gets its name from an old railroad line operated by Southern Pacific in the early 1900s.
Once completed, the trail would include several miles of off-highway, bike and pedestrian only trails and would provide much needed trail facilities and connectivity to residents of southwest Portland.
Study authors point out that while the primary goal of the trail emphasizes recreation over transportation, the trail would assist in encouraging kids to walk and bike to school (there are seven schools along the route), and in their conclusion they write,
“Having a through route for bicyclists will encourage cycling to work, school, visits, and errands…the proposed route would re-connect Hillsdale and Hayhurst to neighbors along the Willamette River, and the growing employment area of South Waterfront District.”
You can view a PDF of the study on the Portland Parks and Rec website.
This sounds like an amazing trail, and you can help remind City Council how important it is to Portland by showing up to testify on Wednesday, May 16th, at 10:30 am. If you live in an area that the trail would run through, you are especially encouraged to attend and share your thoughts.
- Red Electric Trail presented to City Council
10:30am, May 16th
City Council Chambers, City Hall (1221 SW 4th)