Trail workshop draws a crowd

Jeff Sims of the Sisters Ranger District discusses trails with a visitor to a

CATS trails forum.

Sisters community members "hiked" around the Sisters High School cafetorium last Wednesday night, munching on trail mix as they followed trails to various workstations where they learned about efforts to develop a trail network for Sisters.

The event was designed to further the exchange of ideas and information between the proponents of the Sisters Trail system and the community.

"It went very well," said Jerry Norquist, who heads up the Trails Committee. "This was a follow-up to our first meeting back in March when the vision of the trails concept was introduced. Lots of new people came to this event --maybe two-thirds hadn't been to the first meeting.

"This time we had a working session -- a 'roll up your sleeves' -- kind of thing."

Some of the new attendees included former Senator Bev Clarno, who has been a big supporter of the Safe Routes to School program, and County Commissioner Tom DeWolf.

As interested folk entered the cafetorium, they viewed a mock-up of the proposed trailhead kiosk (see related story, p. 17).

Next, they were handed a bag of trail mix and a map. The map gave the location of 13 different working stations.

Paper footprints, made by kids in the S.O.A.R. program, led the way to the various working stations, including City Transportation plans, School District High School plans, S.O.A.R. Bike Fest, Project Funding, and four different mapping stations.

"At one station," said Norquist, "people could look at a map and find where they lived, then figure out what quadrant they were located in. They could then go to that quadrant mapping station and give input.

"Each mapping station had maps for the people to draw on and take home with them."

One table had results from the survey which had been passed out at the first meeting.

The survey included questions such as:

• How should a community trail system in Sisters be used? (Activities ranging from horseback riding to jogging to snow shoeing were listed as possibilities).

• If you used a community trail system, where would you most want to travel to from your house? (Sisters, School, and Work were some of the responses given).

"We've received about 240 surveys back," said Norquist. "Walking received the number-one vote as far as trail usage, with bicycling and mountain biking coming in second and third.

"Most people indicated that they would be using the trails on a daily basis," Norquist said. "We also gave this survey to the students at the middle school, and the results we got back from them have been different. Horseback riding was the number one activity indicated by the students, and they said they would use the trails mostly on the weekends."

Nordquist wanted to make it clear to the community that the Sisters Trails system is a separate issue from the bike path that is being voted on in Tollgate.

"Our trail system will be for transportation and recreational use for the whole community," he explained. "The bike path is a homeowner's association issue.

"Our goal is to make sure Tollgate is connected to the community -- some of the feedback we've gotten so far from Tollgate residents is that they would like to be connected to Crossroads and to town -- without having to use the highway."

Norquist reiterates that the purpose of the Sisters trail system is to establish a safe, accessible network of trails that serve every neighborhood within the greater Sisters School District, connecting them to downtown Sisters, to school campuses, and regional trails within the Deschutes National Forest.

Benjamin Lindner, who is the vice chairman of the Central Oregon Chapter of Oregon Equestrian Trails, thought the whole evening was fabulous.

"It was a great presentation," Lindner said. "I've never seen such a well-organized public project."

Lindner lives in Tumalo, but is interested in the Sisters trail system because his organization has 200 members in Central Oregon, with about a quarter of those living in the Sisters area.

"I appreciate that the whole system will be equestrian friendly," he said. "There will be some interface issues, but that's to be expected. The equestrian aspect will be enjoyable for all kinds of people with horses -- and it will benefit the Sisters economy because of horse people who vacation here.

"It would be super if one could ride from an equestrian camp into town, buy an ice cream cone and a few souvenirs, and ride back. People come from all over the country to ride here -- they love Sisters."

For more information call Lorri Craig at 549-2287.