Bend bike ride has an election destination

This November, Bend Parks and Rec voters will decide if they want to pay for a $29 million bond measure. On Sunday, supporters of the measure wanted to offer a first-hand look at where the improvements would be. So they took a bike ride.

Measure 9-86 would help the park district make major improvements around the city.

The land-use group 1000 Friends of Oregon organized a bike ride tour.

The group invited the public to meet at Riverbend Park and took a 10-mile ride looking at where some of the improvements would be, including new undercrossings at Newport Bridge and Portland Avenue and a new bridge at Drake Park.

“There’s a lot that can happen,” said Pam Hardy, 1000 Friends advocate. “This is only the stuff that’s easy to bike-ride to. There’s more stuff happening down south, there’s stuff happening in the southeast, stuff happening in the northeast. This is just the stuff that is really easy to do.”

They also went up to Gopher Gulch to look at the piece of land the park district is hoping to acquire.

If passed, there would be a property tax hike of $4 a month on a $200,000 house.

Supporters say this is an opportunity for future generations in Bend and would make the community more walkable and bike-friendly as well.