At the December meeting of the Multnomah County Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee, committee members (including Matt Picio, who reported the story to BikePortland.org, and BTA staffer Emily Gardner) were surprised to hear that the Springwater Corridor in Gresham would, like all other Gresham parks, be closed from 8:00 pm to 6:00 am in during winter months.
(Does it count as transportation if you're having fun?)
A quiet storm of displeasure grew among all those who use the Corridor not just for fun but also for transportation. Since public roadways are not closed at night, it hardly seems fair – or good transportation policy – to close non-motorized transportation corridors at night. The crux of the issue is that Gresham is treating the Springwater like all its other parks, and not like a transportation corridor.
But some encouraging news has come via John Mermin, a Metro planner, who, remembering a similar fight over the Eastbank Esplanade in the 1990s, asked the Federal Highway Administration whether the path could be closed at night if it was built with transportation funds.
The answer he received was:
“In considering the question of closure of the Springwater and Gresham/Fairview Trails I first had to determine the source of Federal funds that were used to construct these trails. Both trails were constructed, at least partially, with STP Transportation Enhancement (TE) funds. In reviewing the TE guidance I found some Q and A’s on the TE Program that answer the question.
Question 16 asks if a TE funded bike pedestrian facility can be funded solely for recreational purposes. The response states, “According to 23 USC 217(i), ‘No bicycle project may be carried out under this section unless the Secretary has determined that such bicycle project will be principally for transportation, rather than recreation purposes’.”
Given that response I’ve concluded that the Springwater and Gresham/Fairview Trails are principally transportation facilities and their hours of operation cannot be restricted. FHWA expects that ODOT will inform the City of Gresham that the trails will no longer have restricted hours of operation and will be available for use by the public 24 hours per day.”
The Multnomah County BPAC will discuss this further at their regular meeting next Wednesday evening (7:00 to 9:00 pm in room 112 of the Multnomah Building, 501 SW Hawthorne Boulevard). If you care, consider attending.
This is very good news. Refer to what is happening on the River Plan right now. npGREENWAY’s comments included the fact that the North Portland Willamette Greenway Trail needs to be open 24 hours as a piece of transportation infrastructure, not solely a recreational park.
There are many of us who use this trail all year long for commuting to down town Portland. There are no other options for traffic free East -West routes from Gresham to Portland. I would also suspect that having us commuters frequenting the trail after dark would put a chilling effect on all the illegal activities that occur. Otherwise, the city would have to increase patrols on this trail after dark to keep crime down.
interesting post. to be truthful i am not sure i got every point completely. but, wanted to chip in and leave a comment anyway. are you a journalist by trade?, because your posts are really strong.