Cristal Otero
District 3
What is your experience with off-road cycling? Do you have a favorite trail to ride?
One of my best memories of biking is a trip my sister and I took from Olympia to the Washington coast. We rode the whole way, with parts of the trip on trails and other stretches along the highway. I still remember how different the experience felt when we reached a trail and could ride away from traffic. It was quieter, safer, and we could actually enjoy where we were instead of concentrating on the cars beside us.
Most of my cycling since then has been for transportation and recreation rather than mountain biking. I used to bike much more regularly in Portland, but after working from home for several years my bike fell into disrepair and I have not fully rebuilt that habit yet.
I live near the Springwater Corridor, MAX and neighborhood greenways, so I continue to see the value of trails that do more than provide recreation. They can connect neighborhoods, give people a way to travel away from vehicle traffic, create places for kids to ride, and provide access to nature.
I do not have a favorite Portland singletrack trail yet. But that Olympia-to-the-coast trip is probably the experience that most shaped how I think about the difference good trail infrastructure can make.
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
Yes. Portland has already done the planning, and I would rather move appropriate projects into implementation than commission another study that reaches the same conclusion.
I made a similar point in responding to BikeLoud about Seville, Spain. What impressed me about Seville was not simply that it built bicycle infrastructure, but that it treated a connected network as something to complete. Portland should bring that same implementation mindset to off-road cycling: identify the highest-value connections in the Off-road Cycling Master Plan, establish a realistic sequence and timeline, and fund projects rather than leaving them indefinitely on a map.
In District 3, I would prioritize projects that provide both recreation and useful neighborhood connections. Soft-surface trails can create safe places for children and adults to ride away from traffic and can sometimes fill gaps more affordably than fully paved infrastructure.
I would also measure whether implementation is geographically equitable. A citywide plan should expand access in neighborhoods with fewer recreation and trail opportunities, not simply add amenities where they are already concentrated.
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?
Strongly. I support partnerships when they bring additional expertise, resources and community participation into the parks system without replacing City employees or basic public responsibilities.
Northwest Trail Alliance is a good example because the partnership is not limited to trail construction. It combines trail expertise and volunteer stewardship with youth programming and recreation. That kind of partnership can make a public investment go further.
I would look for longer-term agreements that clearly identify what Portland Parks and Recreation provides, what the partner contributes, and what outcomes we expect. That could include trail construction and maintenance, habitat restoration, youth programming, equipment access, volunteer stewardship and outside fundraising.
I made the same distinction in my Portland Parks Foundation responses: partnerships should add capacity, not become a substitute for public services. With major maintenance needs and constrained budgets, Portland should make it easier for capable community organizations to contribute specialized knowledge, volunteers and outside resources while keeping public access and public accountability at the center.
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, but I would not fund these improvements by taking money away from basic park maintenance or recreation services.
Portland should use a relatively small amount of City capital funding strategically to compete for state and federal trail grants and bring in matching resources from partners such as Northwest Trail Alliance, foundations and other organizations. Oregon’s Recreational Trails Program, for example, funds non-motorized trail projects and allows volunteer labor and donations to count toward part of the required local match.
I support moving the Forest Park recommendations through the required natural-resource review and then implementing appropriate projects in phases. Start with a limited number of improvements, monitor erosion, habitat impacts, congestion and conflicts among users, and expand what works.
Forest Park is one of Portland’s most important natural areas, so environmental protection has to be the baseline. But if we can combine outside grants, community partnerships and targeted City matching funds, we can improve access without creating another large obligation for Portland’s already strained parks budget.