Proposed ‘Scenic Bikeway’ would connect Hillsboro to Banks-Vernonia Trail

They should consider alternate route straight from Hillsboro to B-V bikeway.

It seems overly circuitous.

This is great news! I’ve ridden out there a lot, between Hillsboro, Banks, and Forest Grove, and I enjoy it a lot. I hope this comes together.

There’s nothing that says you have to take this route if you want to get there quicker. I imagine this route takes into account lower traffic roads and perhaps scenic value, etc., as would be more suitable for families who want to ride it.

Would somebody who has a great route for riding from MAX to the Banks Vernonia Trail post it here for those interested in riding out there now, before the Oregon Scenic Trail gets built?

So, uh, good. But it doesn’t really connect Hillsboro and Banks… Normally a “connection” in the transportation planning sense is something that is useful to go from point A to Point B. This route meanders all over the place, and has end points in Banks and Rood Bridge Park.

This could lead to a discussion, though, of “would it be useful to have a somewhat direct connection from Hillsboro to Banks?” And the answer will be a resounding “yes!”

The existing routes are okay, but roads are really really skinny, have blind curves and humps, and don’t have any signage letting people driving cars know that this route is frequented by bicycles.

Ted Buehler

So this is basically just a series of signs alongside existing roadways?

I personally would prefer that this route be a lot less circuitous, because I’m looking to take my kid camping at Stub next year, and any improvements to the safety of WashCo roads would be welcome. Adding numerous miles to the route is less welcome.

Most other scenic bikeways at least have some pretense of connecting A and B. Even the loops don’t generally zig-zag all over the place. As currently proposed, I don’t think this trail should claim any pretense as a “connector” route.

Looking forward to the hawk signals on 47.

I’ll take a longer distance over traffic for a weekend recreational ride.

My concern is that by identifying cycling routes, we also are creating a road hierarchy in which the remaining “auto routes” may be “improved” for higher speed travel with more lanes, straighter turns, and easier grades, thereby making them less safe or enjoyable for cyclists. A classic example of this is the speedway called Roy Rogers Road, which used to be the very ridable Beef Bend Road.

I firmly believe that all the two lane roads should be ridable, and rather than identify a “route” I would prefer a network. If we lowered speeds, and improved and maintained a shoulder, we could adopt a way finding system of markers like that used in the Netherlands and Belgium.
Thus one could create a personalized route suited to skill, time, interest and destination and be reasonably assured that it will be safe. The Netherlands’s “fietsroutenetwerken” is a system of numbered junctures or intersections marked by posts with the numbers, that correspond to maps one can view on line, purchase or consult on kiosks at major locations. “Routes” derived from the network could identified and classified according to difficulty, scenic quality, etc.

The key to a fietsroutenetwerken system is that all roads are equally suited to cycling and not dominated by high speed auto use.

Washington County has consistently reworked its rural road system to favor auto usage and has thereby eliminated many roads from cycling use that I enjoyed when I first returned to the Portland region in 1990.

To my way of thinking lots is wrong with Roy Rogers. It is a bland highway profile designed for high speed auto traffic. It is a connector that facilitates more driving in the suburbs and displaces the rural character of the area with people driving through farm land to connect suburban hubs.

In my opinion the bike lane does not correct for the overall degrading of the experience. If you rode Beef Bend before the change, you would have experienced a more bucolic country road. It had narrow shoulders but also had fewer drivers driving slower and more attentively. It was better as a riding environment.

I get the sense that you feel more comfortable on wide level roads with dedicated bike lanes — That’s what our DOT’s want to substitute for the current and diminishing network of winding narrow rural roads.

Roy Rogers like roads are fine for lots of people, but as I have gained in riding experience, fitness and confidence I have become more adventuresome and seek out a more genuine country experience on roads that preserve the rural character as it is.

Over and out….

This proposed route is so sinuous… I say extend the rails-to-trails all the way from Banks-Vernonia straight to downtown Hillsboro!! The rail line is lightly used anyway and a total eyesore and earsore cutting through downtown Hillsboro. It tracks end literally right next to the Blue line MAX… Hello bike riders, runners, walkers and families! The upside is pretty amazing.

On the route — does it connect? — depends on your definition of “connect.”

Riding from Hillsboro MAX to the start of the Banks – Vernonia Trail is 11.7 miles.
https://maps.google.com/maps?saddr=hillsboro+or&daddr=45.5390104,-122.9976391+to:Banks,+OR&hl=en&ll=45.569352,-123.052025&spn=0.102506,0.128574&sll=45.569352,-123.052025&sspn=0.102506,0.128574&geocode=Fc6ftgId_VKr-Cl55bxWXwWVVDGG7TNqhv8pfQ%3BFcLetgIdeTSr-CmnzxPAzxqVVDHNfyr5004feQ%3BFSQWuAId3Gyp-CkVhGeD6hyVVDHKW69VUMIfOA&oq=banks+or&dirflg=b&mra=dpe&mrsp=1&sz=13&via=1&t=m&z=13&lci=bike

Riding from the Hillsboro Airport MAX stop to Rood Park then on the new bike route will be 34 miles.

Realistically, I expect exactly zero bicyclists to choose a 34 mile route over a similar 12 mile route to get to the B-V trail from MAX.

Ted Buehler