It’s Public Input Time on Master Plan Details for Smith Rock State Park April 10
UPDATE APRIL 7, 2023:
The draft of the Smith Rock State Park Master Plan has been published for public review and comments prior to the Monday, April 10, 2023 public meetings:
Virtual (On Zoom): 3:00-4:30 p.m.
Register Here: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_SWEV1yFUSPKACru4bUcInA
In Person: 6:00-7:30 p.m.
Bend Parks & Recreation Riverbend Community Room
799 SW Columbia St.,
Bend OR, 97702
March 29, 2023
Back in 2017 and 2018, there were three public meetings for input on the first update to the Smith Rock State Park Master Plan from 1991. Now after a COVID hiatus, Oregon Parks and Recreation Department (OPRD) is back on track to present its vision for the next 20 years of future park development for Smith Rock, addressing feedback from the public after extensive assessments and analysis, weighing visitation needs with the protection of the natural, cultural, and scenic resources of the park.
The main concern of the public was parking. Over the years parking shortages due to a huge uptick in visitation especially since COVID have created dangerous conditions from overflow parking on neighborhood streets, with people walking down the middle of two rows of parked cars at times to get to where they parked. The county eventually closed shoulder areas to parking, exacerbating the shortage of spaces.
Back in 2018, there was a proposal to put a parking lot on the park-owned property off of 17th Street. This has now been replaced by changes to the North Point, Overflow Parking Lot, The Chute Parking Area by the current Welcome Center, and the Campground Bivouac area.
NOTE: This was current as of March 7, 2023 and is subject to change.
While we don’t have details on everything, we do on the Chute Parking and the new Welcome Center Area Parking. One of the ways the Plan proposes to address the parking by the current Welcome Center is to have approximately 100 spaces in a redesigned “Chute Parking” area, with a 100’ setback from Crooked River Drive. This redesign will reduce the current number of total spaces from approximately 160, however, the expanded parking included in the Welcome Center concept below will potentially offset the loss in total spaces.
Existing Chute Parking at Smith Rock State Park— click to enlarge
Proposed Chute Parking at Smith Rock State Park— click to enlarge
Education and experience was another area of intense public interest. A new expanded Welcome Center has already been funded by the GO Bond from the 2021 Oregon Legislature to revitalize parks and campgrounds. Replacing the current yurt, the Welcome Center will be located by the first parking lot as you enter the park, where RVs and buses can currently park. The current parking lot is planned to be expanded to utilize the center area, taking the parking capacity from 92 to 240, and expanding the short-term parking capacity for visitors that choose to stay on the Rim Rock Trail level. (The current trail will also be extended from the new Welcome Center.)
New Welcome Center Area for Smith Rock State Park
Management goals, strategies and development concepts will also address other concerns heard throughout the process, including congestion, trails, interpretive opportunities and management. Comments received during the comment period (April 10- May 15) will be collected and reviewed for inclusion into the draft document, which will then be presented to the Oregon State Parks and Recreation Commission for adoption at the June 2023 meeting. See the process below.
THE PROCESS:
One thing to keep in mind is that the Master Plan is an outline for a 20-year vision of projects, many of which that will still need to be funded. Here are the currently known stages of the Master Plan Adoption and subsequent schedule for the funded Welcome Center project.
On or before April 10: Draft gets released to the public and will be posted here. (We’ll post a notice on Facebook and Instagram)
April 10: Public weighs in on the draft at one of two meetings:
Virtual (On Zoom): 3:00-4:30 p.m.
Register Here: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_SWEV1yFUSPKACru4bUcInAIn Person: 6:00-7:30 p.m.
Bend Parks & Recreation Riverbend Community Room
799 SW Columbia St.,
Bend OR, 97702May-Sept 2023: Master Plan rolls out for adoption by the State Park Commission, local land use authorities, and then into State Rule
2023/2024: Schematic design and plans development scheduled for a new Welcome Center
2024: Deschutes County land use permitting for the new Welcome Center
2024/2025: Engineering documents development for the new Welcome Center
2025/2026: Construction for the new Welcome Center
Once the plan is posted, comments can be submitted by email OPRD.Publiccomment@oprd.oregon.gov or online form on https://bit.ly/OPRDMasterPlans, or in writing to: Oregon Parks and Recreation Department, Attn. Jenna Marmon, 725 Summer St. NE, Suite C, Salem, OR 97301. Comments will be considered through Monday, May 15, 2023.