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The final pieces of an ambitious project to beautify a string of Columbia River Gorge destinations are finally falling into place.

The Gorge Hubs are a series of by the West Columbia Gorge Chamber of Commerce to provide destinations for travelers, particularly hikers and bicyclists moving along the Historic Columbia River Highway State Trail.

鈥淭he chamber did this to attract people to stop in their communities,鈥� said Jessel Champoux, lead designer with Portland landscape architecture firm Shapiro Didway. 鈥淪o, there are economic development opportunities for these communities instead of them being a pass-through, and that was a huge emphasis for us.鈥�

The Gorge Hubs will share standard design features and pedestrian and cyclist amenities. Yet each one will include details unique to its respective community.

Now, the ones near the trail’s west end, in Wood Village and Troutdale, have been given a .

Wood Village’s Hub will be in Donald L. Robertson Park, where cyclists can begin their journey east into the Gorge. The park will have amenities including picnic shelters, restrooms and water facilities.

Meanwhile, Troutdale’s Hub will be adjacent to its Depot Rail Museum, where Atlanta-based Southern Pride Equipment Painting renovated a vintage Union Pacific caboose in 2016. A small plaza and railway-inspired wooden shelter will be built next to the caboose. Bike racks and a fix-it station will also be included.

As with other Hub sites, a decorative stone wall, similar to those found along the Historic Columbia River Highway, will form an instantly recognizable perimeter.

Standard Hub signs will be placed off of the highway to direct travelers, and portable restrooms and wooden picnic tables will be provided on new concrete pads near an existing walking trail.

鈥淚 think it’s a fine balance,鈥� Champoux explained. 鈥淓ach of the parks has standardized amenities because it’s for supporting tourists. 鈥� There’s also parking in both locations and a standardized, consistent look, but it’s unique to each town center too.鈥�

The context of location was very important to consider, she added.

鈥淚t’s a balance of both,鈥� she said. 鈥淐onsistency is important because the objective is that people recognize it as a Hub so they will stop.鈥�

Both Wood Village and Troutdale received from Metro a Regional Travel Options grant allowing development of engineering documents for their respective Hubs.

Elsewhere in the Gorge, the Cascade Locks Hub was dedicated in 2016. It’s located in the city center, next to Overlook Park. The Hood River Hub opened in 2015 in downtown with new public restrooms.

The easternmost Hub, in The Dalles, is in Lewis and Clark Festival Park. And in Mosier, where the concept was born, a well-developed Hub sits in the town center to welcome cyclists and provide basic conveniences. Plans exist to expand the Mosier Hub in the future.

For now, design documents will be used to secure final funding for construction of the Wood Village and Troutdale Hubs.

鈥淲ood Village, I anticipate that will be built first,鈥� Champoux said. 鈥淭here’s a lot more stuff happening on site in Troutdale in addition to a bike hub, so I think that will take a little longer to build. But they’re going to go after funding, and the goal is to build both as soon as possible.鈥�