Hood extension opened

A major change in the way Sisters area residents get around town has begun. The new Hood Avenue extension was opened Thursday, June 11, with a small ribbon-cutting ceremony.

The extension cuts across the commercial-zoned northern portion of Pine Meadow Ranch to link up with the McKenzie Highway (242). The roadway will eventually cut across the future Forest Service scenic by-way portal to link up with Highway 20 near the Three Wind Shopping Center.

According to PMR developer Steve McGhehey, the Sisters Ranger District has put contracts out for bid for that portion of the project. PMR will also build part of that road.

Mayor Steve Wilson, who cut the ribbon to open the road, said that the extension is an important step in dealing with traffic in Sisters.

"I view this as one of the red-letter days of the next five years of Sisters' future," Wilson said. "Because this is the first extension of the transportation plan that will relieve congestion on the streets of Sisters."

Once the link-up to Highway 20 is completed, all residents west of Sisters will have the alternative of avoiding Cascade Avenue as they come into town, bypassing the infamous "Y" intersection of highways 20 and 242.

Sisters' City Planner Neil Thompson also lauded the extension as an example of "beneficial" growth that can solve existing problems in a community.

He sharply criticized those who have opposed the PMR development.

"There are people who have borrowed the honorable title 'land use watchdog' and have corrupted its purpose," Thompson said in a prepared speech. "They have taken on the mantel of 1,000 Friends of Oregon, bringing dishonor to that organization, making a mockery of its mission."

Thompson said that the Sisters Comprehensive Plan, which grew out of the efforts of the 1,000 Friends of Oregon and state land use regulation, directed Sisters' growth toward the direction of PMR and that the developers have been faithful to the intent of that plan.

He praised the PMR developers for their efforts to "follow the rules" and the comprehensive plan.

"I go to planning seminars and often the discussion will swing to wistful thoughts about what an ideal developer would be like," Thompson said. "Invariably when I hear those wistful descriptions, (PMR partner) Dorro Sokol, Doug Sokol, and Steve McGhehey come to mind.

"They aren't greedy developers, they're good neighbors."