Deschutes County may bar street parking near Smith Rock; park may add spaces

Agencies to continue discussion next week

(Update: Adding video, comments from State Parks, county commissioners)

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- State parks staff on Monday proposed adding 25 to 50 parking spaces near Smith Rock State Park to alleviate overflow parking concerns by nearby Terrebonne residents, while Deschutes County commissioners said they may no longer allow parking along some busy nearby streets.

J.R. Collier, with Oregon Parks and Recreation, said the popular climbing and hiking spot currently has fewer than 500 total parking spaces.

Their goals include improving safety for the people who live near the park while ensuring adequate access to people who want to visit the park, which has been a long-debated issue for Terrebonne residents.

“We feel like at least the 25 spaces can be done relatively affordably and quickly,” Collier said. “So that could be done in the near term, before the next peak visitation happens.”

Collier said Smith Rock could expect to see peak visitation starting Labor Day, and he hopes they can add at least 25 temporary parking spaces by then.

County commissioners have been discussing neighbors' concerns for several weeks and visited the area on a weekend to see the issues first-hand.

“I just see the state’s decision space is different than the county’s decision space, and we’re here to coordinate,” Commissioner Tony Debone said. “There’s no animosity here, but if we close the roads, let’s make sure that there’s parking.”

Commissioner Phil Henderson also expressed support for the addition of more parking spaces at the park, rather than solely bar parking on nearby roads.

“I have always been resistant to shut access to public resources, unless the public resource really needs it,” he said.

The Terrebonne Neighborhood Alliance started a petition last month, urging commissioners to discourage parking on Wilcox Avenue or to only allow it on one side of the street. The petition also asked the county to address similar issues on 17th and 33rd streets.

On Monday, commissioners and state parks staff discussed banning parking along Wilcox and neighboring streets.

"We've got to take care of the parking problems as it is," Commissioner Patti Adair said. "It's amazingly clear that Wilcox should not have cars parked on both sides of that road."

Collier said to compound the issues, state parks are experiencing a tight budget crunch due to the coronavirus pandemic, and it limits their capital outlay. 

The topic will be back on the commissioners’ agenda next week.