In Northwest Portland's massive 5,100-acre Forest Park – one of the largest urban forests in the country — the biggest challenge is, somehow, making sure there's room for everyone.

As part of a citywide effort to increase off-road cycling opportunities, Portland is considering adding mountain biking trails in the park, located just west of U.S. 30 along the eastern slope of the Tualatin Mountains.

While opponents have given a plethora of reasons why expanding cycling in Forest Park is a bad idea, their most consistent concern comes down to this: Cyclists won't follow the rules.

But a few rogue riders shouldn't spoil the opportunity for the rest, as long as the city takes steps to seriously heed hikers' safety concerns.

In particular, some of the parks most vulnerable hikers deserve to be heard. Alex Schay, 48, is a frequent hiker along the park's popular Wildwood Trail – and he's just one reason why the rules are important.

Schay is nearly completely blind and has been hiking Forest Park for years with his guide dog Clifton.

"There will be places where a blind person or an elderly person or anybody really may not be able to safely step from the trail and get out of the way of a bike," Schay said. "The added challenge if you're blind is you're not going to be able to see what's around you to know whether you're safe to step from the trail."

Over a period of several months, Schay was able to train Clifton to find trailhead markers and navigate around rocks or knots along the trails.

The pair have hiked the entire Wildwood Trail – a 30-mile trek.

"I've taught him what he needs to stop me for and what he doesn't need to stop me for on a trail," Schay said. "But stepping off of a trail, in his mind, that's danger."

Which is why Schay wouldn't be able to avoid a potential cycling collision. In November, Schay testified to the Portland city council about his concerns, including the illegal cycling already taking place on pedestrian-only trails. For the blind, or the elderly, or the very young, a collision with a bike could be disastrous.

Schay is not alone. An online petition against increased bike trails garnered more than 1,200 signatures and 500 comments, many from people describing near misses or actual collisions with speeding bikes.

"They've got the whole Springwater Corridor, they've got Powell Butte, they've got Mt. Tabor, they've probably got other areas that I don't know about because I'm not a cyclist," Schay said. "They have a lot of places they can go, and I just don't think they need this, too."

Forest Park has approximately 70 miles of trails, with 28 miles open to cyclists. But most of those existing bike trails are eight-feet wide and made of gravel – not the experience cyclists are looking for. Fire lanes open to cyclists are too steep, they say, and don't drain well.

Jocelyn Gaudi, spokesperson for Northwest Trail Alliance, said her group is asking for trails that are sustainably built for single track cycling, which is a trail typically no wider than the bike itself. The city's draft plan suggests keeping the most popular hiking trails – the Wildwood Trail, Maple Trail and trails in the southern portion of the park — open to pedestrians only, but offers ideas to either convert some walking trails to bike use or build a completely new trail for cyclists.

Gaudi argues that providing well-planned, bike-specific trails will decrease illegal riding.

"We're not trying to push for access everywhere, but you've got to give us some place to ride," she said. "If you don't give us some place to ride, some of us in the community will find places to ride... If we have a good trail built sustainably and purposefully for off road cycling, why would the off road cyclists not want to ride there?"

She's asking for a lot of trust.

Cyclists, in turn, should be willing to build goodwill.

The city should be able to expand access to cyclists if it also increases signage, patrols and enforcement beyond the park's lone park ranger who does not have authority to issue citations to errant bike riders. (The ranger can issue written warnings and temporary park exclusions only.)

Cities like Boulder, Colorado – cited by Gaudi as an example of good mountain biking management ­– have integrated biking and hiking with minimal problems. But its parks system has close to 20 rangers for 151 miles of trail over 45,000 acres, plus roughly 180 volunteer patrollers and trail guides.

Portland could also formalize an agreement with the Northwest Trail Alliance asking members to commit to a minimum number of hours to patrol and trail maintenance.

According to a 2013 report by the Forest Park Conservancy, the biggest threats to the ecology of the park are climate change, invasive species and habitat loss and degradation. "Improper use and siting of trails" is part of that habitat loss, but cyclists alone won't spell the death of Forest Park.

During a roughly two-hour hike with Schay in Forest Park, two bikes legally on Leif Erikson Drive and two hikers with dogs — both improperly off leash – passed by.

And yet, no one has called for hikers to be banned from the park, right?

Those who don't follow the rules will endanger a good experience for everyone. They harm wildlife when they go off-trail. They harm people like Schay, who come here for relaxation without fear of injury from a speeding cyclist. And they harm elderly walkers who have decided, frankly, to no longer enjoy the park because of a too close encounter with a bicycle.

This is why education and enforcement are key to making Forest Park a welcoming place for all.

-- Samantha Swindler

@editorswindler / 503-294-4031

sswindler@oregonian.com