First look at Metro’s plans to build new singletrack trails north of Forest Park

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Detail of Metro’s trail plans.

We have important updates on a story we shared yesterday about a historic step forward for off-road cycling in Portland.

As you might have heard, Metro is on the verge of finalizing a plan that would develop several mountain parcels north of Forest Park. Two of the parcels are slated to include singletrack trails built specifically for mountain biking. If built, these trails would represent the largest network of off-road bike trails ever developed in Portland. In advance of a final public meeting about the plans that will be held tonight, Metro has published the meeting materials on the project website.

In addition to giving you a more detailed look at Metro’s plans, I also want to elaborate on a point I made in yesterday’s story about the people who are organizing opposition to the bike trails. A key point in their case against Metro’s inclusion of the trails in these plans is a contention that the land was purchased solely to protect habitat and that, “a mountain bike park is contrary to the terms of the levy.”

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A backwards incentive in Portland, where bus rides cost more than parking spaces

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We’ve made driving both cheap and convenient even though it causes a whole lot of problems.
(Photo © J. Maus/BikePortland)

Though lovers of bikes, transit and walking hate to admit it, driving a car is often the most convenient way to get around Portland. Until we start reconfiguring our roads to give more space to bicycling and dedicated transit lines, that will likely remain the case years into the future.

An odd thing about driving is that not only is it usually convenient; it’s also usually pretty cheap.

The question is, why are we also going out of our way to make driving so cheap?

At least, that’s the question asked Sunday by Tony Jordan, a member of the committee that’s currently advising the city on whether it should raise its downtown parking rates from $1.60 to $2 per hour.

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Advocates line up to support singletrack in Metro parcels north of Forest Park

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Detail of Metro trail proposal shown back in May.

If all goes according to their plans, Metro could build about a dozen miles of new biking trails in the North Tualatin Mountains Natural Area, a 1,300 acre section of hills just north of Forest Park. The agency will unveil their recommendation for where trails should be built and who should be allowed to use them at a meeting tomorrow night (11/17).

If the trails in this plan get built, they will represent the most comprehensive network of singletrack (made for cycling) in the history of Portland.

Metro used a voter-approved levy to purchase four parcels off NW McNamee and Skyline Roads and has spent the last year in a planning process to decide how to manage public access. The stakes are high because the new trails will be built a mere 12 miles from north Portland — far closer than any other similar riding opportunities in the region. The land is currently undeveloped with only rudimentary dirt roads running through it.

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First look at ODOT’s draft of a new biking and walking plan

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Plan cover.

The Oregon Department of Transportation has released a draft of their new Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan.

This plan is the result of two and-a-half years of meetings and outreach and it’s the first time ODOT has updated its biking and walking plan since 1995 (an update to their design guide in 2011 notwithstanding). It’s a crucial document because the policies and strategies in this plan will set the framework for what ODOT decides to build going forward.

A coalition of transportation advocates that includes the Bicycle Transportation Alliance, Oregon Walks, the Sustainable Transportation Council, the Oregon chapter of the Safe Routes to School National Partnership, and two members of the plan’s own advisory committee have already penned a letter to ODOT with their concerns about the plan.

We’ll be taking a closer look at the plan in the coming weeks. At first glance it appears to be a solid start, but could use some strenthening in order to make a real impact.

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bikeportland search function

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I use (used) this a lot. Like the ability to explore archived conversations. The old version was not great; the new version is so terrible it is almost worse than no search function (sorry to be so blunt). Folks have made some suggestions for how to piggy back onto google to search this site:

Suggestions for bikeportland

Suggestions for bikeportland

But I would like to think that there would be a (fairly straightforward/free?) way to upgrade the internal search function here so that we could get back at least to the level of service (LOS) we had before the recent switch.

Thanks very much!

Grant Petersen at Rivelo

Rivendell Bicycle Works founder, Grant Petersen, will be the special guest at our holiday open house on Saturday, December 5, from 1PM until 5PM.

Come by for some egg nog, cheese, and cookies.

Our logical, but not legal, address is 401 SE Caruthers St, Suite 103. We’re at the corner of SE Water Ave and Tilikum Crossing in the reddish building with the glass roll-up doors.

The Monday Roundup: German scofflaws, winter tips, John Wayne threat, and more

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Click to download.
(Image: Google Maps)

This week’s Monday Roundup is brought to you by Cascadia Ciderworks United, makers of fine cider made right here in Portland.

Here are the bike-related links from around the world that caught our eyes this week:

Offline maps: Google Maps can now pre-download maps of areas you plan to journey.

John Wayne Trail threat: A major biking path in eastern Washington is under threat because two state reps are taking “concerns of adjacent landowners” way too seriously. (More details.)

Tips and tricks: To stay safe at night this winter, convince your city to stripe narrower traffic lanes and install speed cameras. Wouldn’t it be nice if more news outlets at least mentioned this alongside lights and reflectors?

Beyoncé on a bike: GearJunkie aims for a balanced exploration of whether and when an image of a woman on a bicycle goes from sexy to sexist.

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City applies for funding of Flanders bikeway bridge, 70s Bikeway, and more

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The Red Electric Trail, a dream for southwest neighborhood activists, could get over $600,000 in funding if a city grant request comes through.

City Council voted 5-0 yesterday to authorize grant applications for five major bikeway projects. The $9 million in grant requests would help the Bureau of Transportation fund a host of key projects, some of which have languished on lists and in the hearts of advocates for many years.

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City ponders new bike lane striping design for N Interstate Ave

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Looking southbound on Interstate at Tillamook, about to enter 315 feet of traffic “free for all.”
(Photo © J. Maus/BikePortland)

Anyone who rides south on North Interstate Avenue between Tillamook and the Broadway Bridge/Larrabee split can understand why the Bureau of Transportation wants to re-stripe it.

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Latest Headlines

State lawmakers ponder $27 million cut from Safe Routes to School, mass layoffs, and more

PBOT staffer brought to tears after questioning from city councilors

Feds pitch in $250,000 for Cesar Chavez road diet

Oregon House Rep Travis Nelson airs concerns about North Willamette Blvd project

From the Archives

With six kids and no car, this mom does it all by bike