In response to concerns from the public, the U.S. Forest Service has scaled down its plans for an expanded parking lot at Phil’s Trailhead, a popular mountain biking trail west of Bend.

The new parking lot will have 76 spots, an asphalt surface and a revamped toilet, said Scott McBride, recreation supervisor for the Bend Fort Rock District of the Deschutes National Forest. The agency proposed a 96-spot blacktop parking lot earlier this year.

While Forest Service surveys showed that trailhead use spikes to more than 110 cars and trucks around Memorial Day weekend, it typically has just over 40 parked there during the riding season.

“(So) this does allow for more users,” McBride said.

To make room for the larger lot, the Forest Service planned to cut 50 to 60 trees, McBride said. The plan approved by the agency Monday calls for 20 to 30 trees to come down.

The new Phil’s Trailhead will cost about $312,000, McBride said, about 20 percent less than the original proposal. The project also calls for $245,000 in changes to the half-mile road leading into Phil’s Trailhead off Skyliners Road — narrowing it, flanking it with ditches and adding speed bumps or dips.

As the popularity of Phil’s Trailhead — the main trailhead for a web of mountain biking and running trails — has grown in recent years, so have the parking problems.

By replacing the current gravel parking lot, the Forest Service intends to formalize parking and keep cars and trucks from parking along the shoulder of the road leading into Phil’s Trailhead.

“We are really trying to create a safe environment for everyone who wants to go to that popular trailhead,” said Jean Nelson-Dean, Deschutes National Forest spokeswoman.

The plan approved by the Forest Service might do the opposite, said Bend’s Wade Miller, a regular user of Phil’s Trailhead.

After reviewing the Forest Service’s approved plan, Miller said the two-way traffic around the lot and parking spots near the start of the trail system could make for conflicts.

“It seems that there will be cars dodging bikes and vice versa,” said Miller, who rides the trails about once a week during riding season.

McBride said the Forest Service opted for two-way traffic to minimize the amount of signs and paint around the parking lot. Like Nelson-Dean, he said the new parking lot would be safer than the current setup.

The project, which will be built in 2013 to coincide with roadwork on Skyliners Road, also includes an informational kiosk housing a map of the trails.

Ben Groeneveld, a Phil’s Trailhead regular, wonders why the agency doesn’t spread out parking for the trail system.

“I have always wondered why the focus has been on a single, large entry point into the trail system,” Groeneveld, of Bend, wrote in an email. “It seems like it might make more sense to disperse the load and create three or so smaller entry points into the trail system at locations 5 miles or so apart.”

McBride said the Forest Service doesn’t have any such plans. The Phil’s Trailhead plan is up for appeal for 45 days.

Trailhead plans

To see the U.S. Forest Service finalized plan for Phil’s Trailhead, and the documents that led up to it, visit http://1.usa .gov/I3VBUy.

New Phil’s Trailhead

The U.S. Forest Service has finalized plans for a new parking lot, restroom and other amenities at Phil’s Trailhead. Features:

• 1.4 acres

• 76 parking spots, including three ADA spots

• Asphalt parking surface

• ADA-compliant toilet

• Informational kiosk

The project will require the removal of 20 to 30 trees and cost $312,619.