Portland off-road cycling plan faces call for reset

A decade later, the plan is under scrutiny

Bikeportland.org has revisited Portland's Off-Road Cycling Master Plan a decade on, with a clear conclusion: if the city wants a real urban off-road trail network, the existing master plan should be scrapped.

That matters because a master plan is not just a document. It is the framework that determines whether off-road cycling remains an aspiration or becomes something riders can actually use. If the current plan is no longer viewed as a workable path toward a connected urban trail network, then continuing to operate inside it risks preserving the same limitations rather than solving them.

Why this matters for riders

For Portland cyclists, the key issue is not simply whether off-road riding is valued, but whether the planning structure is capable of producing a real network. Bikeportland.org's framing suggests the debate has moved beyond small adjustments and toward whether the city needs a full reset.

For serious riders, that is the meaningful takeaway: infrastructure outcomes often follow from planning assumptions. If the plan is wrong, the riding options that follow are likely to be constrained as well.

Full details are at the linked Bikeportland.org source.