News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
A traffic signal at the intersection of Highway 20 and Camp Polk/Locust Street appears to be a long way down the road.
There is enough traffic at the busy intersection to warrant a signal, and school and law enforcement officials are worried about safety there. But funding for the project is two or three years away - if it ever comes through.
Peter Russell, a planner for the Oregon Department of Transportation, and Steve Wilson, an ODOT traffic engineer, discussed the project with the Sisters City Council in a workshop on Thursday, January 28.
According to Russell, the city can request that a signal be included in ODOT's transportation system plan, which is currently being developed. That would not guarantee that a signal would be installed; it would still be subject to ODOT planning considerations. It would, however, boost the chances of getting a signal funded.
Wilson noted that the city can also line up for funding at the annual Statewide Transportation Improvement Plan (STIP) hearing scheduled for February 18 in Bend. But applying through STIP would also take about two years and it wouldn't lock in funding for a light either.
"It's going to be fighting with our other modernization projects and we don't have a lot of money in that pocket," Wilson noted.
Funding is not the only question. ODOT would still have to conduct a study to determine if a signal is a workable and appropriate solution for traffic problems at that intersection.
The City of Sisters could pay for a signal itself, but the price tag of approximately $150,000 is almost certainly too steep unless the city obtained a grant. And the city is currently working hard to get grant money for the sewer system.
Though funding and installing a traffic signal is in doubt, public officials have no doubt that something should be done to enhance safety at the intersection - particularly for the children at the elementary and middle schools adjacent to the corner.
"We haven't had any tragedies there, but it has all the elements of one," Sergeant Rich Shawver of the Deschutes County Sheriff's Office told the council.
Shawver said he favors a signal as "a right first step."
School board members Connie Morris and Bill Reed did not endorse any particular solution, but they did express concerns about student safety.
However they, along with SOAR director Tom Coffield, noted that safety concerns are actually more acute at the corner where East Cascade meets Locust Street - about 100 feet north of the highway intersection.
Coffield noted that the schools have a crosswalk and a crossing guard at the location, but traffic on Locust Street remains a concern throughout the day. SOAR participants often chase balls out onto the street and heavy, fast-moving traffic is a real concern, Coffield said.
He believes a signal at the highway intersection might help regulate the traffic further north on Locust Street.
But since a signal is years away at best, the council also asked about other alternatives.
Councilor Lon Kellstrom asked if there is "an opportunity to limit or prohibit left turns on Cascade (Avenue).
"That seems to jam things up pretty bad," he said.
ODOT's Wilson said that the highway department could restrict or prohibit left turns, but wouldn't do it unilaterally.
"It's not something we'd do without the support of the city," he said.
Wilson and Russell acknowledged that ODOT is looking at roundabouts as a way of dealing with problem intersections. But the agency would have to determine if a roundabout would work at that location and, according to Wilson, it is doubtful that there is enough right-of-way available to construct one.
A pedestrian overpass would require extensive ramping and an underpass, according to Russell, requires terrain that would funnel people toward it.
The city plans further meetings.
Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.
Reader Comments(0)