Esther León
District 3
What is your experience with off-road cycling? Do you have a favorite trail to ride?
I haven’t gone on many off-road trails (as you mentioned in the preamble, the network is surprisingly poor!) but I love cycling the paved trails around Mt. Tabor. What a workout!!
The Off-road Cycling Master Plan (ORCMP) was published by the City in 2023 after a robust public process. It found that Portland suffers from a severe lack of opportunities for off-road cycling despite Portland’s cycling reputation. Are you committed to advancing the goals of the ORCMP in your district? Why or why not? Off-Road Cycling Master Plan for reference: https://www.portland.gov/bps/planning/off-road-cycling/documents
I do! I think this would give people the opportunity to explore and connect with our park system in new ways.
NWTA is a City of Portland partner with a proven track record in building, restoring, and maintaining high-quality, sustainable trails for multiple user groups, in addition to providing cycling and stewardship programming for Portlanders. To what degree would you help strengthen and promote partnerships with groups like NWTA to support City staff and improve our public parks?
I would like to see NWTA be given a direct line of collaboration and communication with Portland Parks and Rec to restore and maintain these trails.
For over 40 years, the City of Portland has blocked all efforts to provide meaningful multi-use trail access in Forest Park. Now, the City’s ORCMP (page 72) has a number of recommendations for Forest Park that bring environmentally sustainable multi-use trails online and follow the Forest Park Natural Resources Management Plan process. Are you willing to make sustainable off-road cycling trail improvements a priority to improve trailhead congestion, environmental concerns and access for all Portlanders to Forest Park?
Yes