News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Traffic signals on Cascade Avenue, elimination of the intersection of Highways 20 and 242 and possibly a one-way couplet through town are recommended for Sisters by the Oregon Department of Transportation.
ODOT planners and engineers presented a draft Transportation System Plan (TSP) at a public meeting on Tuesday, December 12, at Sisters Fire Hall.
Planner Stephanie Popp said that ODOT hopes to decommission the "Y" intersection of Highways 20 and 242 and route traffic into town using the Hood Avenue extension.
"We're looking at this intersection as a problem basically for safety," Popp said.
The intersection creates a hazard for drivers turning left off of eastbound Cascade Avenue onto 242.
They turn against oncoming Highway 20 traffic and are often blinded by the setting sun in summer.
Developer Steve McGhehey proposed an alternative connection between 242 and 20 that would allow access to the businesses located along the stretch of 242 that would be closed.
Terry Taylor of Les Schwab expressed uneasiness about the proposed closure.
"It's not a great intersection, it doesn't look good and there's things we could do to fix it," Taylor said.
"But the drawings we've seen... closing it is pretty drastic."
Les Schwab has an entrance on Highway 242, but it officially fronts Hood Avenue.
The use of Hood Avenue would likely require some widening and changes in corner radiuses to allow truck passage. Those issues might complicate matters for ODOT.
"The original idea was to put 242 on Hood (Avenue), but we're still wrestling with that," said ODOT planner Peter Russell.
Time is short to make decisions about the intersection. According to Popp, a project is supposed to go out to bid in August 2001.
Traffic engineer David Knitowsky presented a plan to narrow travel lanes on Cascade Avenue and widen sidewalks to make the downtown section more pedestrian friendly.
Knitowsky acknowledged that his recommended plan for Cascade Avenue will not solve the problem of traffic back-up created when drivers make left turns.
Options that would have provided a left turn lane or left turn pockets were rejected because they would have required removing on-street parking.
Knitowsky argued that improving the local street system, including a connection between Camp Polk Road and Highway 20 running through the industrial park and across Forest Service land at the west end of town, will help alleviate congestion.
According to Knitowsky, a survey of Cascade Avenue merchants revealed that 24 out of 26 queried felt strongly about retaining on-street parking.
Engineers also believe that removing parking would encourage traffic to drive faster through town.
Knitowsky said he believes a one-way couplet, perhaps using Cascade Avenue for westbound traffic and Hood Avenue for eastbound traffic, would be a good solution for Sisters' traffic problems, particularly to ease the gridlock that occurs on busy holiday weekends.
However, he acknowledged that there was significant resistance to the idea of a couplet from members of the Citizens Advisory Committee that worked on the draft TSP.
Robert Shaw was one of those opposed to a couplet.
"Personally, I feel a couplet will divide the town in half," Shaw said.
Dick Davis, who owns Sisters Smoke and Oil on Cascade Avenue, argued in favor of a couplet. He said that gridlocked traffic means that nobody is willing to stop and lose their place in the traffic stream.
"I say go with a couplet," Davis said. "I'd rather have some business than no business."
Karen Swirsky of ODOT argued that couplets don't have to be downtown-killing traffic channels.
"There can be a well done couplet," she said. "I know it's hard to believe because most of the ones in Central Oregon are not well done."
One audience member expressed his skepticism, calling out, "Show us a good one."
Russell noted that the couplet is in the TSP draft "as a concept."
"We don't want a couplet until the 11th hour," he said.
The engineers and planners noted that the plan calls for traffic signals at Locust Street and Highway 20 and at the yet-to-be constructed McKinney Butte Road, which will intersect Highway 20 west of the Three Wind Shopping Center.
The TSP is supposed to cover the next 20 years of Sisters' traffic needs. The draft will be presented to the Sisters City Council, which will hold hearings before voting on a final plan.
Hearings may begin in January.
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)