Mary Phister of Talent runs on the Bear Creek Greenway near Ashland. Many people say they avoid the Greenway in Medford due to worries about crime, but the rest of the 20-mile path outside Medford is still being used for its intended purpose.

The 20-mile-long Bear Creek Greenway — which runs from Ashland to Central Point — gets a bad rap.

In Medford, a roughly 3-mile stretch of the asphalt ribbon that follows Bear Creek is dotted with homeless camps and trash. Open-air drug use is common. Needles are seemingly everywhere. Overdoses and arrests happen on a regular basis, and many residents have said they are hesitant to use the path. 

Then there is the “other” Greenway, the 17 miles north and south of Medford where the path is still used for its original purpose — families pushing strollers, people on bicycles, residents enjoying outings around the many parks that dot the Greenway, including Lynn Newbry Park in Talent and Blue Heron Park in Phoenix.

“I always get a little bit nervous when folks think of the entire Greenway as … that Medford experience,” says Jackson County Roads and Parks Department Director Steve Lambert. “The majority of the Greenway, in my opinion, is safe for folks to use.”

To illustrate his point, Lambert recently invited a reporter and photographer on a driving tour of the trail, from the north end in Central Point to the dog park in Ashland. Starting at Dean Creek Road off Blackwell Road, Lambert points out the northern terminus of the Greenway, where several bike users and dog walkers can be seen heading south on the trail. Two joggers move in the opposite direction with a toddler in tow.

Moving along a section of the path near The Expo, Lambert points to a large area previously overgrown with blackberries that is being redesigned by the city of Central Point to create a park-like green space. The section includes several ponds, a wetland and riparian areas. Recreational components could include a dog park, a natural playground, a pump track, a Frisbee golf course or mountain bike skills course.

While the fires of 2020 were devastating for the communities of the Rogue Valley, the fires cleared vegetation, Lambert says, improving visibility and helping path users feel safer. Also since the fires, county and Oregon Department of Forestry crews have been diligent about reducing fire fuels.

In an adjacent wooded area where the creek bends away from the trail, between a trailhead and the fairgrounds, deputies patrol on dirt bikes looking for homeless camps, he says. Near the Rogue Valley Square Dance Center off Table Rock Road, an area previously overrun with homeless camps, tents have been cleared and the area is patroled by law enforcement, he says.

“I remember coming in with a couple of backhoes and five or six dumpsters years ago,” Lambert says. “A lot of effort by a lot of different agencies has been made to keep things cleaned up.”

Continuing toward Medford, Lambert admits the portion of the Greenway through Jackson County’s most populous city can be intimidating. During the drive, several homeless people yell toward Lambert’s car, and a few path users engage in open drug use.

From Railroad Park off Table Rock Road to the area just south of Bear Creek Park, Greenway users are “having a different experience than the rest of the county,” Lambert says.

Part of the issue is that this stretch is close to the services needed by people living on the streets. Annually, the city of Medford spends $1.8 million for the parks and police personnel who work predominantly on the Greenway, according to figures from the city. 

Steve Ryan, a Medford cyclist who rides all parts of the Greenway, said in an interview this week that he applauds efforts to clean up along the Greenway, while acknowledging that Medford’s portion is still far from ideal.

“It just feels like, with state policies like Measure 110, some hands are tied for sure, and nobody knows how to make the problems go away,” Ryan says. “I don’t think that Medford is intentionally making its part (of the Greenway) as crazy as it is. I know they’re doing their best, and I’ve seen the parks department and police working out there constantly.

“Hawthorne Park is definitely a disaster. … The restrooms are really unsafe and should just be closed. They’re used more by bad actors than the public. It makes me wonder if they got more events going, if people would move along.”

Ryan says he has never hesitated to bike the Greenway, but understands why families with children — and women who are cycling or jogging alone — are avoiding the portions through Medford.

Amber Jacobson, president of the Southern Oregon Runners club, agrees with Ryan. Oregon’s oldest and most active running club, Southern Oregon Runners, which started in 1969, hosts all sorts of running events and races — several of which use the Greenway — including the popular Turkey Trot, a Thanksgiving event that features an 8-mile run, a 2-mile run and a 5K. 

Prior to 2021, the Turkey Trot started at The Expo in Central Point and followed the Greenway through Medford. Sketchy conditions on the Greenway in Medford spurred the club to change the course. Now it starts in Talent.

“Once you got past The Expo, it would start to get pretty bad,” Jacobson said in an interview. “The Pilot (truck stop) area was bad. The Hawthorne (Park) area was really bad. … It just got to be so crazy, so we moved it.”

“The south side — anything past Blue Heron (Park) — is what I would deem safe enough to run on. You’re more likely to maybe see a bear out that way, but I’ll take my chances with a bear over a methed-out dude blocking the path. Now we go north for our 2-mile from Talent. And we go south for the 5K and the 8-mile into Ashland. … From Lithia (and Driveway) Fields through the Medford portion, it’s like the underworld. … It’s a whole other city happening over there.”

John Fries, a member of the Siskiyou Velo bike club, says members of his club use the Greenway regularly, minus the Medford portion.

“The club has rides that go through the Medford portion sometimes. In groups, we don’t really worry about it too much, but I know a lot of individual riders … people that maybe aren’t club members, or if they’re riding by themselves, they won’t ride through there, especially women who are concerned about safety,” Fries said in an interview.

“I’ve been through there by myself a lot and I’ve never encountered any physical attacks or anything, but I’ve seen a lot of trash and people lying right on the Greenway. … Often there are obstacles to avoid.”

After leaving Medford and meandering through Phoenix on his driving tour, Lambert points to public art displays, areas being restored along Bear Creek — and an entirely different vibe than the one in Medford.

“We have a lot of stuff going on in this section,” he says. “We’ve got nearly $3 million in grant money coming toward this section, most of it for fuel reduction and fire mitigation purposes.”

The grants include $900,000 for invasive species control, almost $1.8 million in federal highway funds for restoration work in the Almeda Fire burn scar, and $700,000 for removal of dangerous trees and ground fuels reduction, jointly funded by Talent, Phoenix and Jackson County.

“Two years ago, if you looked out here … you would have seen nothing other than a 10-foot wall of blackberries,” Lambert adds. “Now it’s open, and you can actually even see and hear the creek.”

Passing Phoenix Industrial Studios, an industrial and retail complex along Highway 99 known for Clyde’s Corner pizzeria, pottery shop and other attractions, Lambert points out a small cycle shop, Firebird Bikes. The owner, Dale Griffith, moved in earlier this year especially because of the location’s proximity to the Greenway, Lambert says. He is hopeful more businesses will follow suit.

“I’ve talked to tons of people who ride from Ashland down here and get a pizza, grab a beer or whatever. We’re excited for people to see it for the economic value as well,” says Lambert.

“We’re trying to ask the questions to figure out, ‘How can we start seeing the Greenway as an economic generator and connect it to downtown cores and send people to it — from a bike tourism standpoint — in the long run.”

Ending his guided tour near the Ashland Dog Park, where a steady flow of dog walkers, stroller-pushers and other path users are evident, Lambert says he hopes the Greenway will eventually start at Emigrant Lake and connect to the Rogue River Greenway. That path, being built in sections north of Gold Hill, is envisioned as a 30-mile path from Central Point to Grants Pass. 

“The ultimate goal is for the Bear Creek Greenway to go from Emigrant Lake up to that northern terminus,” he says.

“Typically when you have a lot more legitimate, intended uses, you’re going to see less of those other behaviors that the public doesn’t like to see. … For a good portion of the valley, the Greenway serves not just as a recreational opportunity, but as an important transportation corridor.

“Our goal is for people to start seeing the Greenway as an asset and not a problem,” Lambert adds. “Getting people out to actually experience it is a big part of that shift in thinking.”

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect the location of Phoenix Industrial Studios.