By Mary Owen
Two projects are in the works to benefit the Detroit area: a scenic bikeway and a new nonprofit organization.
“The Detroit Lake Foundation will be a nonprofit that will benefit the greater Detroit/Idanha community,” said Bob Franz, with the Detroit Lake Recreation Area Business Association.
“The foundation will be able to accept charitable donations as well as grants. By working through the foundation, the hope is that it will attract enough funds to enable us to go forward with lots of much-needed community improvements and be beneficial to future plans and growth of our community,” he said.
Spokeswoman Yvonne Messmer said the Detroit Lake Foundation will be the 501(c)(3) arm of the Detroit Lake Recreation Area Business Association (DLRABA). A committee is working through bylaws, goals, potential projects and other details.
“Our main purpose is economic development through tourism in the Detroit area,” Messmer said. “If we can get the 501(c)(3), we’ll be able to go after various funding sources that are available specifically to 501(c)(3)s, and probably do bigger projects.”
Messmer said DLF will be a natural fit and easy for people to understand, and will look at “sticks and bricks” projects, such as helping the city of Detroit create a city park.
“We could do a covered area for event space,” she said. “Currently, DLRABA can take donations, but with the foundation, these donations will be tax-deductible. That’s another plus.”
DLRABA is an all-volunteer group that promotes several events during the year, hosts an area website and Facebook page, and provides Detroit with port-a-potties and flower baskets as well as some cleanup assistance. The business organization is spearheading a 72-mile Scenic Bikeway application to the state of Oregon, a collaborative effort with the communities of Detroit and Estacada.
“We call it the Two Rivers Pedal, because it follows the Breitenbush and Clackamas rivers,” Messmer said. Highway 46 that connects the two cities. “It passes by three hot springs, two developed and one undeveloped, and beautiful mountain vistas going each way.”
The application has received preliminary approval and is in its final stages. Once the designation is established, the state will assist with road signage and advertising the Two Rivers Pedal on RideOregonRide.com and Travel Oregon, sites that promote bicycle tourism in Oregon, Messmer said.
Oregon has the only Scenic Bikeways program in the nation, with world-class, single-track mountain bike trails that wind through deep forest and along wild rivers, as well as nine bikeways and the number is growing. Messmer hopes the Detroit-Estacada Bikeway will be number 10.
“We’re on year two for our application,” she said. “We’re in the final stretch. We’re pretty excited about that.”
Messmer heads the Bikeway Committee that is working with the Mt. Hood and Willamette Forest services as well as with Marion and Clackamas counties for support of the project. Additionally, the towns of Estacada and Detroit will support the Two Rivers Pedal Bikeway by working with businesses that cyclists may want to utilize, she said.
“Traffic volume for that area is very minimal,” Messmer said. “The road isn’t open all year long, but during summer, it’s a favorite for cyclists, whether motorized or not. It’s paved and does have a shoulder.”
Once the bikeway is officially established, Messmer expects the cities to host a cycle event or be part of a multi-day cycling event.
“There will be lots of opportunities once this is established,” she said. “We’re looking forward to getting this going.”
For information about the Foundation, call Dean O’Donnell , 503-931-1885. For more on the Bikeway, call
Yvonne Messmer, 503-931-8308.
