Portland’s Parks Board is currently deliberating on the merits of Portland’s Off-Road Cycling Master Plan (ORCMP). The outcome will be a set of Parks Board recommendations flowing back to the Bureau of Planning and Sustainability, as well as to City Council for consideration when the ORCMP comes before them for their vote.
NWTA has provided written testimony to the Parks Board, illuminating where we do and do not support the current plan, and making specific recommendations for changes. We’ve recommended the following:
• That all trails in Forest Park be considered by ORCMP’s recommended comprehensive trail plan.
• That the Trail Improvement Concepts be positioned as input to the comprehensive trail plan process, not as implementation recommendations.
• That the comprehensive trail plan fully address relative demand, typical outing length, and desired user experience for all users; current user demand and carrying capacity; trail design for all modes of use; trail and lane decommissioning; migration from the as-built system to the desired outcome; and user management, including trail sharing.
• That the comprehensive trail plan process be expedited.
• That the ORCMP addresses how comprehensive trail plan output is reconciled with stipulations currently imposed by the Forest Park Natural Resource Management Plan.
• That the Trail Design Guidelines for Portland’s Park System become the sole reference for trail design citywide, encompassing Forest Park.
• That the ORCMP set a citywide goal for soft-surface, narrow to mid-width off-road cycling trails of 0.2 trail miles per 1,000 residents.
• That the ORCMP set a goal, to be achieved by the comprehensive trail plan, of access parity between cyclists and pedestrians in Forest Park’s Central Unit.
You’ll find the facts and logic behind our recommendations in the full text of the testimony.
The Bureau of Planning and Sustainability remains open to your comments on the Off-Road Cycling Master Plan. Submit your comments by December 31 via the ORCMP comment form, interactive map, or simply email [email protected].