A forest road near Oakridge is on track to be designated as an Oregon Scenic Bikeway.
Aufderheide Drive connects Highway 126 near McKenzie Bridge with Highway 58 near Oakridge. Since 2013, advocates have been peddling the road as a candidate for the Scenic Bikeway designation.
Connor Nolan with Travel Lane County said since the first proposal, supporters have addressed some concerns about road safety and condition. He said if the designation goes through, the road will be promoted as one of the premier bike routes in the state.
“It’s really to attract those high-spending visitors to our rural communities for this unique, marquee cycling experience," he told KLCC. "And then hopefully (they'll) eat, play, stay, do all the tourism things, in these areas."
Nolan said Lane County is home to three existing Scenic Bikeways. The most recent addition was the Covered Bridges Scenic Bikeway in Cottage Grove, which earned its designation in 2011.
On Monday, Oregon Parks and Recreation and Cycle Oregon are hosting a virtual public hearing on the proposal. Nolan said the group hopes to have a final plan up for review in the fall.
The online meeting is at 11 a.m. on Monday. You can find a registration link here. The agenda for the meeting is here, and that page also contains a link to the Zoom meeting.
