It’s goodbye to the humble gravel lot at Bend’s favorite mountain biking destination.
The planned makeover of the parking lot at Phil’s Trailhead east west of Bend got the official green-light Tuesday from Forest Service officials, clearing the way for 76-space asphalt parking lot at Phil’s.
The project will get underway next summer in conjunction with a paving and reconstruction project on Skyliners Road. By coordinating the two projects, the Forest Service estimates that it will save significant dollars on equipment and construction materials.
As part of the parking lot expansion, the Forest Service will remove 20-30 trees to accommodate the 62,000 square foot parking area.
In addition to the expanded parking, the agency plans to install an ADA accessible double vault toilet and three disabled accessible parking spaces. There will also be a visitor kiosk and a drop off area.
The agency also plans to improve the access road to the trailhead, widening it to 22 feet and installing speed controls.
By law, there is a 45-day appeal process open to the public before the decision is finalized.
This article appears in Apr 19-25, 2012.
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East of Bend?
I avoid the parking lot at all costs. Many less crowded ways to access the trails system.
Next summer? 2012 or 2013? Thanks.
If you don’t like parking lots, ride from town.
I agree, ride from town or park at one of the many access points…I vote “no” on taking out trees to “pave paradise, and put up a parking lot”.
Waste of money. The dirt lot works just fine for what it is… a place to park your vehicle. The money spent to make a fancy new parking lot could be better used elsewhere… Like building more/better trails and making signs to help the goobers figure out how to actually keep their bikes on the 5′ wide singletrack when passing.
Just an excuse for the forest service to charge a fee to park there. The dirt lot works fine for those who drive and park and there is no need to change a thing. Wait and watch- there will be a fee for parking sometime in the future.
Cody is right. They wouldn’t invest in a parking lot if they didn’t plan to see a return for it. Everyone knows Phil’s trail system is legendary and no one cares if it has a fancy parking lot or not. Its not a prissy golf course.
How is it that parking lot isn’t working? I ride from town, but cars & trucks don’t seem to have problems parking. No offense to people with special needs, but if you can ride a mountain bike, why do you need special parking?