BPRD putting brakes on disputed south UGB bridge plan

The Bend Park and Recreation District Board is deciding how to move forward with an expansion project on the Deschutes River Trail, but it appears that for the foreseeable future, it won’t include a controversial bridge at the south end of Bend’s urban growth boundary.

The park district said it is trying to find a balance by respecting the Deschutes River and the wildlife while keeping up with the needs of trail users. The river’s wild and scenic status led to a major debate, even legislation in Salem in recent years.

With those broader goals and the controversy still in mind, the board indicated at Tuesday evening’s meeting it is clearly now leaning toward not putting in a bridge on the south end of the River Trail. Board members said they don’t want to foot the bill for a project which has divided the community.

Board Chair Brady Fuller said they still hope to move forward in broader fashion, by taking a look at the entire trail system and ways to improve it.

“This needs to become a lot more then just focusing on a particular project,” Fuller said. “We are not building a bridge there. And it may happen at some point down the road, but it will only be after a big, community, collaborative discussion.”

“If you take away anything from tonight, we are going to be focusing on our trails elsewhere in town, but also looking at the entire system, which at some point way down the road might include connections there,” he added.

The park district will review resolution to move forward with that decision at an upcoming meeting.

On another topic at Tuesday’s board meeting, they also took a look at the results from a community-wide survey, conducted to make sure the district is keeping up with the community’s demands.

A controlled, statistically valid survey and a more open survey were conducted to get a feel for what the community values.

The turnout for the survey was about 18 percent, which is high, because typically the response rate is around 5 to 10 percent, officials said.

The statistically valid survey was able to hear from a diverse group.

Matt Mercer, the park district’s recreation director, said the feedback they get is important for the community.

“Overall, we found that we are serving the community pretty well, meeting their needs pretty well,” Mercer said. “But again, there is always room for improvement. There are always areas where we can put some more resources and effort into.”

Mercer said he’s really encouraged by the amount of interaction with the community throughout the process. He called that a a positive thing for the district.

The survey helps the board set goals for the park district’s new strategic plan, and a new five-year recreation programming plan.