A rendering of Gateway Green
If things go according to plan, ground will be broken on what could be Portland, Oregon’s premier bike park in the next few weeks, in a program called the Dirt Lab at Gateway Green.
Mountain Bikers in Portland, Oregon have been waiting a long time for a patch of dirt to call their own. Although there are destination worthy trails within a day’s drive, access to a vehicle is required, as well as time. Most riders need to budget up to two hours of their day just commuting to the trail head, making after work riding difficult.
An un-utilized patch of land located at the junction of the I-84 and I-205 freeways could provide riders a local destination and cut down some of those necessary car trips. The site will feature single track trails, a bike skills area that includes a pump track, jump lines and other technical features and a gravity fed progressive flow line.
Dirt Lab @ Gateway Green from Kitchen Table Democracy on Vimeo.
The project has been in the works for years, muddled in red tape. Due to the lack of access, (the area is accessible to the public via a bike path) and property boundaries that required cooperation between multiple stakeholders, progress has been painstakingly slow.
Dirt Lab @ Gateway Green Crowdfunding Campaign is now underway
This is the second round of crowdfunding for the Gateway Green project. In 2013, the “Build Gateway Green” campaign raised over $123k, surpassing their crowdfunding goal, with the funds going towards design work, developing the master plan into schematics needed to obtain permits and construction financing.
Where will the funds from the Crowdfunding go this time?
Gateway Green received a Metro Grant that requires matching funds to be awarded. The way the grant works, there is a 2:1 match requirement in order to receive the funds.
Learn more about the project at GatewayGreenPDX.org
Click here to donate to the project.
