This article was published on: 01/11/14 12:00 AM
Mirror Pond change would create narrow river channel
Bend Paddle Trail Alliance’s suggestions for Mirror Pond
The Bend City Council, Bend Park & Recreation District board and Mirror Pond ad hoc committee have all expressed a desire to maintain Mirror Pond, a section of the Deschutes River that backs up behind a dam. Officials have mostly discussed preserving the pond by keeping the dam. But the Bend Paddle Trail Alliance wants officials to consider another option to maintain Mirror Pond. At a Mirror Pond ad hoc committee meeting Friday, members of the Bend Paddle Trail Alliance presented a drawing of their vision for the pond to the committee. The proposal includes:
1. A narrower river channel with increased water velocity between Galveston Avenue Bridge and the Drake Park footbridge. There could be zones designed to capture sediment, and this sediment would be removed “every 15 years or so.”
2. A safe passage for fish and boaters between Coyner Point and the location of the current Mirror Pond dam.
3. An alternative dam or flow structure to maintain the water level in Mirror Pond.
4. An extension of the river trail along the east bank from Drake Park to Pioneer Park
5. A series of rapids and pools from Coyner Point through the existing dam site
6. Redevelopment of the dam site and other properties in the “currently blighted area between (Bend Brewing Company) and the former park district headquarters,” to help pay for other parts of the project.
Image courtesy Bend Paddle Trail Alliance