Portland Parks & Recreation (PP&R) has published an online survey/comment form about singletrack cycling in Forest Park. The collected information will be used to inform the final recommendations from the Forest Park Singletrack Cycling Advisory Committee to Commissioner Fish and Director Santner. Comments will be received until Wednesday, May 5, 5:00pm.

It is critical for cyclists to make their voice heard on this important issue. The future of mountain bikers' access to Forest Park will, in part, be determined by input from the public.

The survey can be found here (click on the "Comment Form" link). It requires that you register as a PortlandOnline user and will take between 5 to 15 minutes to complete. It may be useful to review the proposed Trail Actions Map (PDF) before completing the comment form.

The current proposal includes several elements which we support, including:

1. Construction of relatively short segments of trail in the south part of the park,
2. Reconfiguring some of the Firelanes to create a more singletrack like experience
3. Formalizing access to the Tolinda and lower Gasline trails;
4. A number of management recommendations that will require significant effort and commitment on the part of the cycling community.
   

In general terms, we support most elements of the current proposal. However, we think it should go further in providing short-term access to singletrack trails, which was a stated goal of the committee. We see this as a significant gap in the current proposal.

We encourage you to address the following issues in your comments:

1. Providing short-term, select-day access to a limited amount of existing singletrack trails within the park, in particular lower Maple Trail (between Leif Erikson and Saltzman Rd) and Ridge Trail;
2. Adding access to Firelane 7 and Water Line to the current list of recommendations;
3. Development of a significant contour line trail accessible to bikes (5-10 miles) over the long-term;

Thanks for taking the time to complete the survey and making your voice heard!

Tom Archer
NWTA President, Advocacy Director
tom@nw-trail.org