Parks Commision Position 2

Dan Weiner

Ian Cropper

Rick Vann

RVMBA did not receive a response from Rick Vann

What is your personal experience in the watershed and its trail network?

Dan

As a mountain and gravel biker as well as an avid hiker, I have spent a great deal of time in the Ashland Watershed. I am familiar with the vast majority of the trail system from the Ski Park all the way to town.
Further, I am a long time Family Membership holder for RVMBA and have spent many days doing trail maintenance with the volunteer crews.

Ian

I have spent countless hours up in the watershed, but as a kid and an adult. While I was living in Colorado, the trails were a bit different there (a lot more x-country trails, fewer downhill trails). I spent most of my time biking there and less time running.

Here though, it has flipped. I'm almost exclusively a trail runner and have covered nearly every stretch of trail up there that one can on their feet. I just checked my Strava the other day, and I've run the Toothpick-via-Tolman segment 101 times since moving back here. It's am amazing resource we have that unless you've spent a significant amount of time on other trail systems, it might be easy to take for granted. One example of how my experience on our trails has different from a place like Boulder is trail heads & signage.

While on a trail survey with former Parks Commission Chair Mike Gardiner, he said something to me that I've spent a lot of time thinking about since. He said "we build trails, we don't build trailheads". That always struck me as odd and sounding similar to saying "we build houses, not doors" or "We build freeways, not onramps". And boy, does that show. Any trailheads we do have, like White Rabbit or Wonder are a fortunate coincidence, but for so many others, we have invested in the feature, but not the access.

So overall, I would say that my experience in the watershed and with it's trails has been transformational. These trails helped me to go from infrequent 2-3 mile runs to training for and running ultra marathons. At the same time, one can see that we could do better, both on the trails and leading up to them.

How do you see the role of outdoor recreation in our local economy and what specifically, if anything, would you propose the city do to foster it?

Dan

I feel the role of outdoor recreation is a critical part of the future Ashland economy.
According to Earth Economics, in 2022 outdoor recreation contributed $16 billion in spending within Oregon. It supported 192,000 full and part time jobs. This was a 4% year on year increase and has been on a slow but steady up tick since people rediscovered the outdoors during the pandemic.
The Ashland trail system has garnered significant praise of late but as other communities actively develop their trail systems, Ashland runs the risk of getting left behind.
Ashland must be proactive in exploring and developing all outdoor recreation business opportunities available within the region to ensure a competitive edge.

Ian

When googling "What to do in Ashland Oregon", you'll see TripAdvisor's number 1 recommendation be a visit to Lithia Park. It beats out Shakespeare.
We have world-class rafting within an hours drive, a top-10 in the country trail system for biking, world-class running trails, and a ski mountain within 30 minutes.
On paper, we should be swamped with outdoor enthusiasts, and yet, we're only attracting a small fraction of our potential.
In relation to our economy, we literally have a funnel that shoots out all of those enthusiasts straight into our economic heart; BTI, Snark, Jab, Lizard, Red Queen, Time Warp, Bull Gap, Wonder, Fell-on-Knee, and almost every trail we have feeds people straight into our downtown, and with the exception of a few places, we do a poor job of capturing that traffic.

While the Parks Department is a little more limited than City Council in what it can do to our downtown area, there are things we can do, like partnerships with local businesses, like allowing business to adopt or sponsor trails, hosting more races that attract a broader group of people, charging for parking at trailheads for cars with out-of-county license plates, and so much more. My job focuses a lot on marketing funnels, and how to maximize them, and we have a funnel with a lot of the value it can produce going untapped. It's time we tapped it.

What is your position on expanding the mountain bike and hiking trail network on City land? If you support an increase in trails, how specifically would you work to accomplish this?

Dan

I feel that well planned expansion of the mountain biking and hiking trail network on city land is one component of the greater trail development effort required to allow Ashland to remain the destination of choice for outdoor oriented travelers.
Unfortunately, City land is not enough to meet the needs. Engagement and partnership with both public and private landowners will be critical in developing the trail system Ashland deserves. This model has worked well in many other communities in Oregon and as a Parks Commissioner, I would be committed to developing those partnerships.

Ian

Yes, I support the expansion of biking and hiking trails and I see 2 ways of going about it.

  1. Build more trails (especially that can help relieve traffic wear-n-tear on Jabberwocky)

  2. Work on getting some illegal trails legitimate.

When you get named one of the top-10 mountain biking destinations in the country, you don't just say "that's cool". You go to work to optimize.
We're on that list with Crested Butte and Park City! And having biked and run at both, I can tell you that we have invested in our trails the least. I also would want to clearly identify trails that are marked as "multi-use" that really aren't. Like White Rabbit on the east-side. They either need to be constructed as such, or marked differently.

Youth mountain biking is gaining popularity in Ashland but access to mountain biking trails for all ability levels remains extremely limited. What is your position on the Glenwood Hillside Trail Proposal http://records.ashland.or.us/WebLink/DocView.aspx?id=137247&dbid=0&repo=CITY-RECORDS which would give more access to beginners, improve safety on Winburn Way, and link the watershed trails to downtown where riders can access our local businesses post-ride?

Dan

I think the Glenview trail proposal is interesting and deserves the full attention of the City and Parks Department. My understanding is that consideration for this trail development is included in the Park Master Plan and I support its inclusion.
One defining characteristic of the Ashland Watershed and thus the trails it supports is its steepness. While this is fantastic for intermediate to advanced riders interested in a downhill riding experience, it leaves out a huge demographic who are either just learning or who prefer more cross country style riding.
I believe there are other opportunities to develop trails in and around Ashland that will be accessible to a more diverse demographic and I think this is critical to allow this sector of the local outdoor recreation industry to realize its full economic potential.

Ian

I'm convinced that this is the case because of all the red-tape we have around building trails.
If it takes an immense amount of money, time, administration, surveys, public opinion, then it's natural to try and get the most bang-for-your-buck. You want to build trails that do the most good and appeal to the most people, which sadly, is rarely those starting out and trying to learn. My hope is that if we can make it easier to build trails, then we wont have to always build trails for the thrill-seekers or experts, but can do a better job to diversify our network.

With regard to safety, I think the current Parks department was wrong in deciding against the Glenwood Hillside Trail. I'm waiting to hear the news someday that a kid just finishing a run down Jabberwocky was struck by a car backing out on Winburn way. For those that couldn't fathom having bikes running through Lithia park because of the increased risk of getting hit, I would ask if they would feel safer with a sign on the trail saying "No Bikes" or a separate, adjacent trail exclusively for bikes. How many hikers have gotten hit on Red Queen, or Jabberwocky, or BTI? None that I've heard about.

What else would you like us to know regarding your goals if you are elected?

Dan

The Ashland Parks and Recreation Department’s stated mission is “to provide and promote recreational opportunities and to preserve and maintain public lands”.
While this must be at the core of the commission’s activities, it is my belief that all decisions made must also take into consideration: 1) How their decision will impact current community members 2) How their decision may impact and attract or deter new community members and 3) How their decision may impact or promote the Ashland economy.
If all decisions take these 3 questions into consideration, I feel the Ashland Parks and Rec department will continue to serve the broad interests of Ashlanders as well as be an economic driver for years to come.

Ian

I think we have a rift in our community between hikers/walkers and bikers. Some bad actors have certainly not helped, and some overly restrictive regulation hasn't helped either. Fortunately, the community has come a long way since 2012 when an actual booby trap was created across a trail and nearly decapitated a rider, but the animosity is still there. We can build more trails AND reduce erosion
We can allow greater access AND improve trail safetyI think some specific changes might include solutions from both sides, like adding more trails AND having better enforcement of trail use. There's is going to have to be some give and take. I'm convinced that by listening to the concerns, getting to the roots of the issues, there doesn't have to be a reason that we can't help facilitate everyone from recreating the way they enjoy.