Reporting on Gorge's HCRH Permits

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Charley
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Reporting on Gorge's HCRH Permits

Post by Charley » October 1st, 2022, 7:51 pm

As reported in Bike Portland, this year's permit system was a success:

https://bikeportland.org/2022/09/30/col ... urn-364612

I've written a lot on this forum about my opposition to a variety of FS permit systems, and this article reminded me of why I don't oppose this particular permit system.
  • This system excludes users from a specific, highly impacted area (while still allowing some useful access to nearby areas like Angel's Rest)
  • The system applies to times and dates that allow regular users to work around its requirements (one could park early in the morning or late in the evening, or hike in shoulder seasons, which are largely snow-free)
  • This system has clear goals (reduce parking conflict and traffic)
One thought I had about the Gorge permit system is that, compared to the Central Cascades system, the Gorge system has sufficient "loopholes" to allow dedicated, knowledgeable, regular users access to their favorite areas. For example: just park early in the morning, or walk over to Multnomah Falls from Angel's Rest!

Most visitors aren't savvy enough for this to be valuable, so the system permits those who truly care enough to get creative to retain access, while reducing more "touristic" kind of use- especially auto-based use. I know my privilege and fitness are showing, but I do think that there's some value to this kind of plan, because it would reduce opposition from people who really care about their own access, while still reducing use among people who are, in this case, causing most of the impact.

Compare this focused system to the Forest Service's Central Cascades Wilderness Plan:
  • A huge swathe of terrain is no-access, including many of the paved trailheads, and applying even to travel through the area while not even parking at a nearby trailhead
  • Before it got whittled down, the system absurdly applied to shoulder seasons- which aren't remotely as crowded, and weekdays, which also aren't as crowded, according to the FS's own visitor data
  • All of this to "to preserve the natural beauty and wilderness experience," which seems vague enough to be subject to statistical fudging


An aside- thinking philosophically, does the "wilderness experience" really "improve", if fewer people are allowed to enjoy it? I mean, if we allowed one person, at a time, access to a protected Wilderness the size of Wyoming, that would be an incredibly wild experience! But wouldn't it be better for more individuals to enjoy a wilderness experience, even if it necessarily had to be somewhat less wild? There's obviously a trade-off to be made here, and the FS seems too weighted toward "greatest good" as opposed to "greatest number". If you've been reading about long-termism or effective altruism, this will be a familiar argument.
Believe it or not, I barely ever ride a mountain bike.

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wildcat
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Re: Reporting on Gorge's HCRH Permits

Post by wildcat » October 1st, 2022, 9:22 pm

Well. Maybe with any luck they'll reinstate it next year. Then maybe I could finally make that 80+-mile ride out to Cascade Locks that I had been threatening to do earlier this year, but ultimately didn't because of the fkin' mosquitoes!

Did it appear that traffic in the old road was reduced with the permit system, compared of previous years?
Life in Chacos
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retired jerry
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Re: Reporting on Gorge's HCRH Permits

Post by retired jerry » October 2nd, 2022, 6:11 am

yeah, exactly, well said Charley

maybe, for example, the Green Lakes trailhead is (was) overrun with cars and dangerous, so limiting access there makes sense, but it's way overkill to do entire wilderness areas.

there are a couple loopholes

you carry your permit with you so if you can get a permit for anywhere, and the ranger asks, you can show it to him. You wouldn't have to get it for the trailhead you actually started from

you can get a permit for a different day as long as it's before the ranger checks your permit.

you can just ignore all of this because they have so few rangers checking

you can wear dust protection and go when the area is overwhelmed with forest fire smoke and there are few other people, like this summer

jvangeld
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Re: Reporting on Gorge's HCRH Permits

Post by jvangeld » March 17th, 2023, 11:13 am

Now the Portland Tribune reports that the permit system will not apply to the entire waterfall corridor this year. Because there wasn't sufficient funding. The parking lot within I-84 will still require a timed-entry permit.

https://www.portlandtribune.com/news/od ... 4b854.html
Last year cars commuting along the popular roadway, with access to many of the sights in the Gorge, had to purchase a ticket online ahead of time. The goal was to reduce congestion and improve safety for vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians, which partner organizations, like the Oregon Department of Transportation and U.S. Forest Service, said was a success.

But no dedicated funding source was secured for the permit program, nor could staff be found to work the entry points.
Jeremy VanGelder - Friends of Road 4109

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Charley
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Re: Reporting on Gorge's HCRH Permits

Post by Charley » March 17th, 2023, 9:02 pm

jvangeld wrote:
March 17th, 2023, 11:13 am
But no dedicated funding source was secured for the permit program, nor could staff be found to work the entry points.
Good grief. Oh well. I went to Angel's Rest today and I thought about this permit system a few times. I guess it'll be one less thing to think about this summer.
Believe it or not, I barely ever ride a mountain bike.

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wildcat
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Re: Reporting on Gorge's HCRH Permits

Post by wildcat » March 19th, 2023, 2:15 pm

Well. That sucks ass.

Maybe they'll change their minds by summer, but I doubt it.

So does this mean they're eliminating it for the section between exit 28 and Mult Falls? The writeup, as is typical for the commercial mass media, was very vague.
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idoru
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Re: Reporting on Gorge's HCRH Permits

Post by idoru » March 23rd, 2023, 1:49 pm

To Charley's point, I definitely appreciate the way that it was implemented last year. I have a penchant for morning hikes and enjoying the sunrise along trails, so it was great to be able to hit Wahkeena at 5AM and still miss most of the crowds when looping through Multnomah Falls on a Saturday, without having to pay for a permit and plan ahead.
wildcat wrote:
March 19th, 2023, 2:15 pm
So does this mean they're eliminating it for the section between exit 28 and Mult Falls? The writeup, as is typical for the commercial mass media, was very vague.
The Portland Tribune article was paywalled for me, but I found this KGW article that seems to suggest that permits will only be required for parking at Multnomah Falls:
"Turns out, Multnomah Falls was the center of where the congestion was happening and it expanded outward," said Terra Lingley, ODOT's Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area coordinator.

For that reason, timed-use permits will be required over the summer to park in the Multnomah Falls lot off exit 31 of Interstate 84. The dates and times for those permits are not available yet, but they will be required from Memorial Day to Labor Day.

A flagger will be stationed at the crosswalk leading from the north side of the highway across to the falls and Multnomah Falls Lodge to help with traffic congestion and pedestrian safety. If the parking lot is full, flaggers will move drivers along.

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