In many ways, this Saturday is the grand opening Gateway Green never had.
This 25-acre bike park nestled between interstates 84 and 205 in east Portland opened in 2017, but that was well before the full plan of trails and amenities had been built out. And just when the final phase of construction was complete, Covid hit and scuttled any official celebration. Then by the time masks came down, TriMet construction fences went up as their Better Red project closed a large portion of the park.
Today there’s a lot to celebrate: TriMet’s project is complete and they’ve built a new bridge and path that leads directly between the park and their Gateway Transit Center, providing a much easier, safer, and direct connection for visitors. (Getting people on bikes to this park is very important because it has no on-site car parking.) And Portland Parks & Recreation has built a new entry plaza on the south end, complete with new benches, plantings, signage, downhill “gravity line” trails (where you don’t have to pedal), and more.
PP&R has worked with nonprofit NW Trail Alliance to put finishing touches on the trails and other amenities. The two new gravity line trails offer about 160 yards of new berms and ramps. Add the new south entry plaza to the existing entrances at the west and north, Gateway Green now welcomes visitors from the I-205 path with the respect and infrastructure fitting of a park of this stature.
“This is the grand opening that we never had. Now we are ready to celebrate.”
– Linda Robinson, park co-founder
On that note, I rode TriMet’s new bridge Thursday and loved how much easier it was to connect to from the Gateway Shopping Center. It will also give first responders a quicker route into the park whenever necessary.
On Saturday from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm the city and NWTA will offer loaner mountain bikes, face painting, a prize raffle, bike skills challenge stations, and other fun activities. If you’ve never checked out Gateway Green, this is a great opportunity to explore what it has to offer. Or if it’s been awhile, you owe it to yourself to give it another look.
The idea behind Gateway Green was first hatched in 2006 by Gateway area property developer Ted Gilbert and longtime parks advocate Linda Robinson. Their vision, first presented to BikePortland in 2008, was made real by dedication, private fundraising, and financial and administrative support from PP&R and the Oregon Department of Transportation (who sold PP&R the land it was built on).
“This is the grand opening that we never had,” wrote Robinson in an email this week. “Now we are ready to celebrate.”
— Need even more inspiration? Turns out Saturday is also National Take a Kid MTB Day! Event info here.
