First look at freshly paved Bethany Creek Trail

It’s a start… What we really need is Washington county to start taking the safety of ALL road users seriously, and provide them with a space that is safe for ALL ages, while also encouraging the use of alternative modes of travel. In its current state, the county is only concerned with moving cars as fast as possible, with cyclists, pedestrians, and safety in general being left as an afterthought. I am absolutely appalled about how the county has handled expansion, and continues to travel in the opposite direction in terms of safety and mobility other municipalities have gone.

I’m willing to bet good money that Washington County is not going to allow their multi-use paths become homeless campsites like Portland and Multnomah County does. How do other cities and counties keep their non-motorized infrastructure open to non-motorized users? Every path I ride in Washington County is clear and safe.

<3 those precocious kids!

Nice, but that section of trail already existed as handpicked dirt and gravel. What I’m really looking forward to is extending it the next 3/4 mile or so north to Old Germantown. Now THAT will be a great safety improvement, and allow people riding between the Westside and Portland to avoid some dicey riding on Kaiser and (regular) Germantown.

Overall, I think that THPRD and Washington County should be applauded for the new trail segments that have been constructed post-2008… BUT, the system still falls short in many significant ways. There are still critical gaps in the trail segments where they cross the largest streets and highways (where cars are driving faster, and vulnerable road users need more protection). Crossings at 26, Cornell, TV Hwy, Farmington, Scholls Ferry, 217 and Allen all need major improvements, just to name a few.

Additionally, despite what most maps show as bike friendly trails, some of the older trail segments are anything but. Some of them even lack ADA accessibility. For example, the Waterhouse trail south of West Union to Jocelyn is made up of narrow sidewalk pavers, and lacks curb-cuts at three of the streets that cross it.

I hope that they will be able to address these gaps in the overall network in addition to the new segments they are adding near new development. It’s unfortunate that things are looking so dire for THPRD financially. While most of their maintenance staff haven’t been let go, I’ve heard from friends they’ve laid off close to 90% of their staff (mostly people who work at the various Rec Centers and Pools), so I’m not holding my breath on new capital projects except for those directly funded by SDC.

Not all the responsibility lies with THPRD however. I think that Washington County and Beaverton really need to step up their game for on street bike facilities as well.

I wish they’d continue it north of Springville along the power-line access and connect it up to Old Germantown Road. It’d be spectacular to be able to get to OGR without having to get on Germantown itself.

Glad for another trail, but what I find odd and a bit disturbing is that WaCo, Beaverton, and other cities have seemingly passed off responsibility for bike transportation to a recreational agency. THPRD’s expertise is not in this area. It shows from the design of this latest trail, from the crossings of major streets that other writers mentioned, to the section of the Fanno Creek trail that is chronically flooded, to sections of that trail that have dangerous drop offs. Additionally, THPRD has spent a lot of money in newly developed areas but seems to be letting older facilities slide into disrepair.
Really, the county should take the lead. Otherwise, it keeps the myth of the bike as a toy alive.