Josh Leake
District 4
What is your experience with off-road cycling? Do you have a favorite trail to ride?
I have a hybrid bike and commuted from NE to District 4 for 10 years until I was hit by a car. Today, I live in NW Portland and use my bike all the time. I love going on rides around the city. I love going on the Springwater Corridor. During the summer, I like to drive up to Whistler in the summer with bikes in my truck and go off-road cycling there.
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
Advocating for more recreational area that can be multi-use, allowing for off-road biking is a priority for my campaign. Portlanders deserve more activity without costing money.
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 think partnering with industry experts improves lag time in project development and needs assessment. Why recreate the wheel if it works and exists elsewhere?
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?
Accessing Forest Park in an environmental friendly and multi-use format makes sense. I would defer to the Park Bureau expertise in selecting and identifying locations or best use cases. I honor the beauty and tranquility of our Forest Park, but also see the need to find alternative and additional paths for use by all Portlanders including those interested in biking off-road. Safety is my top priority and I would want to include my concern for avalanches and the safety of all off-road bikers and request that the trails selected as multi-use be those that can handle the ordinary and ongoing use by off-road enthusiasts.