(Photo © J. Maus)
Recent work to complete the Banks-Vernonia Trail continues to reap benefits for Washington County. It’s been one year since the 26 mile linear path was fully completed and it has quickly become a magnet that’s attracting both riders and official recognition.
Back in May, the trail won a top prize at Travel Portland’s 2011 Tourism and Hospitality Industry Awards. On Tuesday, Washington County announced that a portion of the trail completed last year has won Transportation Project of the Year honors from the Oregon Chapter of the American Public Works Association.
(Photo: WashCo)
The portion of the trail honored was a segment that had been missing for years — less than a mile of the trail that officially connected it to the city of Banks. The project also built a trailhead that welcomes visitors with a parking lot and restroom facilities. The $1.4 million project was funded primarily through a federal Transportation Enhancement grant (a source of funding that is currently under assault by lawmakers in DC; additional funding came from a federal stimulus grant, ODOT, Oregon Parks and Rec, and Washington County)
along the trail.
(Photo © J. Maus)
In other Banks-Vernonia News, the trail appeared in the headlines of the Forest Grove News-Times (and its sister paper the Portland Tribune) yesterday. Washington County Commissioner (and outspoken advocate for bicycling) Dick Schouten led a ride from Banks to Stub Stewart State Park and back as a fundraiser for the Tualatin Riverkeepers. Schouten’s companions on the ride were the highest bidders at a recent auction.
One of the people who won the auction prize was Erin Peter, who, runs a non-profit, mental health counseling organization. Peters told the Forest Grove News-Times that, “I hadn’t done the trail before, and I couldn’t believe how great it was for cycling… I wish there were more such jewels, and I hope there will be soon.”
Schouten’s leadership and promotion of bicycling, and the presence of the Banks-Vernonia Trail as a successful example, are a powerful combination. The more attention and success the trail sees, the more momentum there will be to build more of them just like it. Let’s go!