Oakridge - small business & mtn biking trail development

[Metlakatla]

Originally Posted by Thom52

OK, now I just am missing the issue here, I guess.
Oakridge seems to be happy, with booming economy, doing whatever it is they have been doing all along, without falling into the death spiral of many tiny towns that run out of money and jobs and spiral into depression and meth. Seems like a live and let live approach is all that is needed. No harm no foul. Am i missing some point of leverage that makes the town HAVE to listen to the mtn biker's "needs"? Seems like it would be easiest to be an obscure destination for the hardy folks that want to get off the beaten path, and then they just leave and "clog up" the nearby places like Crater lake, Bend and Ashland for a place to stay and spend? ....Places where they seem to feel the need to promote the influx of jobs and money?

On the other hand, if you do not want the town to "cater" to this group, it would seem that expecting them to spend money there anyway, is a bit contradictory....or optimistic? Is this a problem with the mtn bikers, or differences of opinion of folks within the town?

I don't think I said that Oakridge has been hopping right along with a booming economy. It's certainly had its issues, including social workers in Eugene encouraging welfare recipients to move there because of cheap rent. My point is that mountain biking isn't the savior that some keep trying to pretend that it is. That's why articles like this annoy so many people, especially when they contain false information (which has now been fixed because I wrote to Outside magazine and pointed out their mistake).

The title of this thread also seems to imply that Oakridge is ripe for small business development, but I don't see that, either. Like I said, the handful of businesses that opened with the objective of catering to this group have gone under with the exception of the pub. I think the bike shop does pretty well, but it's been there quite awhile.

[Metlakatla]

As far as live and let live, that's a great concept, but the struggles came from a Chamber of Commerce and a City Council that were heavily skewed toward adopting an official stance of being a mountain bike mecca. Quite a few business owners didn't go along with that. It was my opinion that the mountain bike proponents were a bit unrealistic about what they thought the activity could do for the town, and history has proven me right. It's a seasonal activity that just isn't going to sustain more than a couple of businesses in a community the size of Oakridge.

You know, I'm pretty much giving my observations here rather than trying to draft an argument for or against mountain biking, but I feel that everyone in this thread wants to argue. So go ahead. Pretty sure none of you have ever done more than drive through it on 58, though.

[Currygirl]

There is no way for horse riders to safely share the trail with mountain bikers. They come rattling around a curve crouched over like a predator and rushing at the horse at many miles per hour. The deaths of horses and riders cannot be undone.