merziac

AND it is fantastic, AND there are only 5 miles left to complete 73 miles from Portland to The Dalles without having to ride on I84.

The new tunnel at Mitchel Point is well under way and could be done in another year from now.

Next the segment from Viento state park to Mitchell Point will get underway, scheduled for this year.

Last will be 1.6 miles from Ruthton point to Hood River, this includes going under I84.

None of this last 5 miles is easy, even when compared to much of the rest of it, none of this was/is any less epic than the first time it was all built.

The environmental, historical, political, practical, logistical, preservational, technical challenges and hurdles are staggering, good thing the incredible amount of $$$$$$$$$ needed for this can't be siphoned off and squandered elsewhere.

This is my favorite place to ride, I can't wait for it to be done. Should have gotten out there for another ride before it started pouring rain, plenty of unstable rockfall when its this wet.

https://odotopenhouse.org/historic-highway-state-trail

merziac

Seems like I heard or saw 4.1 million at some point that will surely be far more by the time we get there.

It was also posited that this is far more challenging with a freeway exit that really jacks things up where real estate is very limited when even more is needed for a buffer.

Andy_K 

i completely forgot about that! You know, sometimes I just get carried away.

SquireBlack 

There have been quite a few efforts to limit car traffic on the Historic Highway. Last summer we took an out-of-town relation down the gorge, and stopped at the Multnomah Falls parking lot on I-84. We knew that we would need "tickets" to see the falls and the lodge, but stopped anyway to take a look. There was construction fencing all around the falls and lodge. We didn't by tickets; we went to Cascade Locks for a hike and saw some of the other waterfalls on the way back. At that time there was a shuttle bus with stops at the major waterfalls; this was also handy if you wanted to hike point-to-point, but was quite expensive, IIRC. Many of the loop hikes in the Gorge are still closed because of damage from the fire a few years back.

Two years ago I rode the whole stretch form Portland to The Dalles bridge as part of a short camping tour. Yes, this did require a few (4?) miles on the shoulder of I-84, as well as a portage down the steps. It also required some use of the "two-foot gear" on the hill east of Cascade Locks. The climbs to Crown Point and Rowena Crest were fairly easy — the Historic highway was engineered for model T Fords with 5% grades ;-) My return route was to cross The Dalles Bridge, and ride highway 14 back to The Bridge of The Gods. That was the only part with obnoxious traffic: many tucks and little to no shoulder; what shoulder that does exist is often littered with rockfall. I was so sick of the traffic by the time I reached The Bridge of The Gods that I crossed back into Oregon and re-rode the Historic Highway stretch again, in the westbound direction. So much nicer! Yes, there were cars on the stretch from Ainsworth to Troutdale, but they were going slowly, and there were no trucks.

If one is determined to ride both sides of the gorge, rather than to retrace one's route, I recommend using WA highway 14 eastbound. I once rode all the way from The Dalles to Umatilla in that direction. There is usually a decent shoulder in the eastbound direction, and you get the best views over the river. Heading westbound, you are sandwiched between the trucks and the cliffs. Also, riding on Saturday morning minimizes truck traffic.

Mr. 66

I read the article and a couple of the linked articles. Classic wording, you will have less access, have to pay, and you will enjoy more. A little double speak, I would assume that there will be issues and the price will go up.

gugie 

I read this selfishly, bike access doesn't change, fewer cars.



In reality, anyone here ever drive out to Multnomah Falls? It's a total zoo if you're in a car, Waiting an hour or so in a traffic jam just to park isn't fun for anybody. Outside of a reservation system, what solution does anyone have for a limited resource (parking) where demand >> supply?

Andy_K 

This is how riding in the Gorge makes you feel.

bikingshearer 

Not quite double speak. The people who get tickets or take public/tour transit or ride a bike will definitely enjoy the experience more. Probably a lot more.

The folks who will be most affected (negatively) are the people who want to drive up there more or less on the spur of the moment. I agree that is unfortunate they will be SOL, but people are loving that stretch of road to death. As gugie suggests, there are not a lot of other options, at least not that I can see.

I do note that this is a test run. If it works and the puclic is okay with it, they'll keep doing it. If not, back to the drawing board. Seems like an eminently reasonable approach to me.

non-fixie 

I visited Venice last year, and came away quite depressed. The city has basically been touristed to death. No Venetian can afford to live there anymore, as all housing is now Airbnb'ed to foreigners,and the remains of the city are now being trampled on by the daily busloads of visitors. I actually felt guilty, just for being there.

CliffordK

It used to be that all parks, campgrounds, etc were free. Then over the years they have started adding more and more fees.

I believe that recreation should be part of what is provided by the state. And, often the cost of collecting tolls and fees eats up a significant part of the actual fees.

It is also annoying the patchwork of passes. So, one ends up with county passes, state passes, federal passes, single park passes, etc. So, perhaps I'd get to Multnomah Falls once every few years. And a few other parks around. But it doesn't really make a lot of sense to get a pass for access to a single park.

And now fees to drive on Oregon roads?

Andy_K 

The same thing has happened with a lot of the national parks here in the U.S., most notably Yosemite.

As a wise man once said, "No one goes there anymore. It's too crowded."

CliffordK

An option would be to design a park & ride (either bike, bus, or some kind of tram). It might take some state effort to get it rolling.

I don't believe there is a low elevation bike path between Troutdale and Multnomah falls, but that might help get more people riding.

One could put the park & ride on the east end near Dodson. Then encourage bike rentals to get to the falls.

If one could get enough people on bikes and buses, one could potentially close more sections of the historic highway.

SquireBlack 

There is such a route: the shoulder of I-84. I doubt that this would get more people riding. What's wonderful about riding the gorge is the views along the way, and the classic old highway construction: 5% grades and 100 ft radius curves.

merziac

And we will likely never see the the RR give up any ROW for anything else.

CliffordK

Ok, so you could also travel by kayak. Although, even with all the dams, I think there is moderate river flow.

CliffordK

I think recreation has changed significantly since the 1960's. Certainly population has boomed.

Yet, I fear that the government has struggled to keep up.

We do have some new cycling infrastructure, but many of the parks and trailheads are very old, with few being added.

We have 363 miles of Oregon coast, yet the few beach access points are regularly packed.

One can't just create new waterfalls... well, one might be able to... but there are many spectacular sights hidden away that nobody sees.

Then the challenge is getting people away from the one most popular site and scattered around visiting the smaller sites. Also get people off the road and up the trails. Walk behind the upper Horsetail falls!!!

We do have to also make an effort to protect nature and wildlife from the human impact. It is sad to see that almost the only starfish one can find are separated from beach access by tidal channels.

gugie 

Supply < Demand

No matter what you do to make the two meet, somebody's not going to be happy.

CliffordK

Backfill half the Columbia to make a bigger parking lot?

downtube42

This is a global phenom, from the biggest national parks to the smallest towns. Most of the formerly independent lodges, BnBs, shacks, and lean-to's around the Gorge and Mt Hood National are now owned by large corporations. Good luck finding a place to sleep for one night; they'd rather be empty.

Drillium Dude 

Stop making more people. Sorted

(...only half-kidding...)

DD

gugie 

Yeah, everybody will be happy with that...

RustyJames 

“FAL EN ROCKS” sounds like the name of an Irish rock band

bulgie 

Thanos was right!

merziac

They are making great progress at Mitchell Point!

https://bikeportland.org/2022/03/02/...e-gorge-349560

gugie 

Oh yeah I can!
Article says 77 miles from Troutdale to The Dalles, I measure 46 miles from Troutdale to Hood River, which would include the tunnel section. That would make it pretty reasonable for a S24O, if you cheat a bit and drive out to Troutdale to park from Portland.