East Portland-Troutdale 2025 Policy Makers Ride Recap

A long line of people cycling enjoy the Columbia River along the Marine Dr. Path. Photo by BikePortland.org

On September 26th, 2025 the Oregon Trails Coalition hosted almost ninety elected leaders, agency leaders, and community leaders for a bike ride through East Portland, Gresham, Fairview, Wood Village, and Troutdale to:

• See inspiring community and regional trail segments including sections of the Marine Drive Trail, new Ch'ak Ch'ak Trail, still-under-construction Sandy River Trail, Gresham Fairview Trail, and Columbia Slough Trail.

• Learn about how community investments came to be along with projects under way like closing gaps in the Marine Dr. Trail and Gresham Fairview Trail, planning for a Columbia Levee Connector, and making on-street safety improvement though the Main Street Halsey program.

• Experience firsthand some of the tougher gaps in the network, including trail network gaps forcing riders to share the road with fast moving traffic on Airport Way, Marine Dr., NE Halsey, and 201st Ave, and talk about opportunities for future collaboration and investment in our regional network.

• Talk with local champions of green community investments and elected leaders including Metro Councilor Ashton Simpson, State Senator Khanh Pham, Multnomah County Commissioners Vince Jones-Dixon and Julia Brim Edwards, and more!

Watch the video coverage of the ride from Jonathan Maus at BikePortland.org

Want to ride the route? 2025 Policy Makers Ride Route on Ride with GPS

The Policy Makers Ride has a long tradition of inspiring new collaboration toward bold goals by bringing together elected leaders, the agency leaders charged with implementing projects, and community leaders advocating for the changes to the built environment that local families need to thrive.

Our 2025 route focused on:

• Connecting the trail system: focusing on filling in gaps for safety, mobility, way finding; addressing areas of underinvestment and connecting people to jobs and services.

• Connecting people to the Columbia River, Columbia Slough, Sandy River, and amazing natural areas. Beautiful parks and trails and water access are out of reach for many residents in this part of the region because of gaps in the system.

• Connecting Portland to the Columbia River Gorge with car-free access for Portland area residents and people flying into PDX. Troutdale is the Gateway to the Gorge!

• Opportunities for collaboration across agencies and jurisdictions in service of overlapping community goals like safety, affordability, livability, flood safety/climate resilience, and economic development.

One particular striking moment was gathering at the Sandy River overlook modeled after the Historic Columbia River Highway stonework on the new trail through the soon-to-be-open Sharon Nesbit Park in Troutdale. Kristen Stallman spoke about how years ago, partners across the region came together with a big idea: a trail network to connect Portland to all the beauty of the Gorge. And on Friday, we experienced two new trails segments completed barely a year apart bringing us closer to that vision. The challenge laid out before us: to find and get to work on the next big idea together!

Thanks to all of our speakers:

• Zachary Lauritzen and Steph Routh, our fabulous emcees!

• John Russell, who delivered critical ride safety info with a generous helping of one liners.

• Madi Carlson of The Street Trust, sharing about the Columbia Levee Connector project

• Glen Bolen of the 40-Mile-Loop who shared about the Marine Dr Trail gap just west of Blue Lake Park that will soon be filled, and the need to connect to the Gresham Fairview Trail

• Colin Rowan of the Urban Flood Safety and Water Quality District talking about interagency and community collaboration to address flood safety and other community goals at the same time

• Councilor Ashton Simpson speaking on Metro's many trail and park investments in the region, several of which riders got to experience first hand

• Chris Damgen of Port of Portland sharing about the Port's investment in the Ch'ak Ch'ak Trail and other Port facilities in the area.

• Kristin Stallman speaking about how the day's route showcases a piece of a larger vision connecting the Portland Metro area to Historic Columbia River Highway State Trail

• Marlee Boxler, City of Troutdale sharing about the soon-to-open Sandy River Trail and Sharon Nesbit Heritage Park as part of broader community development efforts in Troutdale

• Senator Khanh Pham speaking on the state transportation funding picture, the failure of the legislature to pass HB 2025, and her commitment to continue championing funding for transit, trails, and bike and pedestrian safety

• Greg Dirks of the City of Wood Village speaking about their city's work to improve safety and mobility for residents

• Multnomah County Commissioner Jones-Dixon speaking on the County's Eastside Transportation Safety Action Plan

• Sarah Selden, Community Development Director for the City of Fairview, speaking on Main Street Halsey project

• Jay Higgins, City of Gresham speaking about the Gresham Fairview Trail and soon-to-be closed gap between NE Halsey and NE Sandy.

• Julie Matney, of the City of Portland Bureau of Environmental Services to speak about incredible wetlands restoration work to manage stormwater and restore natural habitat in the city in the Four Corners Natural Area.

This year’s event was hosted by the Oregon Trails Coalition, with support from Metro, Port of Portland, Urban Flood Safety and Water Quality District, Parametrix, Alta Planning + Design, Vvolt, and Level Beer and planned by a steering committee including behind the scenes efforts from staff at Metro, Oregon Walks, Community Cycling Center, City of Gresham, City of Troutdale, Portland Bureau of Environmental Services, City of Fairview, City of Wood Village, Multnomah County, The Intertwine Alliance, and Bike Summer. Portland-based e-bike brands, Vvolt and Nomad Cycles both provided bikes, and Dan Kaufman of PDXK Productions provided top-notch mobile sound.

The ride was made delicious by East Portland businesses Parkrose Coffee Shop and Level Beer, Troutdale's beautiful The Highlands' partners: Wayfinder Beer, Gyro King, Checkerboard Pizza, Lulu's, and Bangkok Partners, and Wood Village's epic bakery, Tany's Cafe con Pan.

The Portland Metro's Policy Makers Ride originated with Jonathan Nicholas and Mike Houck of The Intertwine Alliance and Urban Greenspaces Institute, who were both in attendance.

All Photos Courtesy of Jonathan Maus at BikePortland.org.

From Top Left: Long line of bikers along Columbia River on Marine Dr. Trail, Glen Bolen addresses crowd on Marine Dr. Trail, the crowd assembles at Chinook Landing, bikers along another section of path, Metro Councilor Ashton Simpson addresses the crowd, riders on the still-under-construction Sandy River Trail in Troutdale, the overlook modeled after the Columbia Gorge Scenic Highway over the Sandy River in Sharon Nesbit Heritage Park (still under construction), Senator Khanh Pham addresses the crowd in Troutdale, retired Metro Trail Planner, Mel Huie and Brad from Nomad Cycles on Nomad's Hase Pino tandem/cargo bike by Salish Ponds, Multnomah County Commissioner Vince Jones-Dixon addresses the crowd in Wood Village, the ride goes down 201st Ave in Gresham, and soon-to-be filled gap in the Gresham Fairview Trail, emcee, Steph Routh, and others on the Sandy Blvd adjacent portion of the Gresham Fairview Trail, the ride on a section of the Columbia Slough Trail, three photos of on-street portions of the ride, Metro staff pose for photo, rider toast with Level beer at the end of the ride.