PORTLAND, Ore. — Nestled between the gridlock of Interstate 84 and Interstate 205 is a true bike-focused space.
“There is something for everyone to do down in this park… whether it's for an hour or all day,” said Lisa Olivares, executive director of Portland-based nonprofit Northwest Trail Alliance (NWTA).
NWTA maintains and enhances numerous bike trails within a sixty-mile radius of the city from Sandy Ridge near Mount Hood to Stub Stewart State Park to where she’s standing at Gateway Green Park.
“Gateway Green wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for the years of work and vision from Friends of Gateway Green,” said Olivares. “They're a community organization that really had the vision to put this park in place in between the highways.”
A vision 15 years in the making finally came to completion on Oct. 5. Portland Parks & Recreation, along with NWTA and Friends of Gateway Green, held a celebration at the park for its grand re-opening. Over the last several years, improvements to the park included a new pedestrian and bike bridge from the Gateway Transit Center. Olivares said families and children will now have an easier time accessing the park, which is inaccessible by car.
The work coincided with Trimet’s Better Red Project along the MAX red line. New gravity runs for mountain bikers and restored trails in other part of the park are among the new things visitors will notice.
From beginner to expert, there are features here for all riders.
“I convinced my friend to come here,” said BMX rider Aaron Feeley. “He didn't think he could, because he thought that I was on a different level than him.”
Feeley and his friend, mountain biker Cyd Long, were riding the jump tracks and a little bit of the asphalt pump track.
“It's cool because it accommodates so many different kinds of riding and lots of different age groups, too,” Long said. “I've been here when there's been like, 6-year-olds here, and I'm 65, so pretty good age range.”
A new south plaza is the first thing people will see rolling in on the I-205 multi-use path from the south, while the park is also accessible from the north via Maywood Park.
“Get out there,” encouraged Olivares. “Give it a try. Don't be intimidated… And whether it means you can do the jump line or you just want to roll over some dirt, it's a really good time.”