News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
The boon and bane of Sisters existence...
Sisters will have a couple of traffic signals in the next few years and eventually a one-way couplet will shuttle traffic through downtown.
The Sisters City council adopted its Transportation System Plan on Thursday, June 28. The plan was crafted by David Evans and Associates, an engineering firm that works on contract with the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT).
A Citizens Advisory Committee composed of local residents and business people significantly shaped the plan.
According to Neil Thompson, the most immediate effect of the plan approval is that it enables the city to assess Systems Development Charges (SDCs) for transportation. The city charter requires charging the highest rates allowed by law.
The plan sets priorities for transportation infrastructure projects.
Traffic signals at Locust Street/Cascade Avenue and at a new intersection of Barclay Drive and Highway 20 near Ponderosa Lodge are rated as high priorities.
Mayor Steve Wilson noted that many local residents will consider it "a sad day" when their little town gets its first traffic signal. However, he indicated, the city is bowing to the inevitable as traffic increases.
The extension of Barclay Drive from the Sisters Industrial Park to link up with Highway 20 is also a high priority. The city council just signed an agreement with ODOT to start work on that project.
Another high priority is the realignment of the "Y" intersection of Highway 20/242 at the west end of town. The awkward intersection is considered dangerous. ODOT and the city must seek funding (an estimated $155,000) for that project.
A one-way couplet is listed as a low priority, to be constructed sometime after the year 2010.
The low ranking of a couplet went against the recommendations of David Evans and Associates.
"A one-way highway couplet is needed today to meet ODOT's mobility standards," the engineers wrote. "However, the Citizen Advisory Committee ... was generally against the idea of a couplet."
ODOT also strongly prefers a Hood/Cascade couplet, an idea rejected by citizens and city councilors who fear such a route would damage the ambiance and livability of the downtown corridor.
"The city council reviewed the recommendation from the consultant for a Cascade Avenue/Hood Avenue couplet and requested that the recommendation be changed to a Main Avenue/Hood Avenue alignment," the plan notes.
The Citizens Advisory Committee submitted proposed traffic fixes such as removing parking and creating left turn lanes from Cascade Avenue in order to mitigate congestion and delay the need for bigger projects.
However, those proposals were not recommended in the TSP because planners believe they would adversely affect Cascade Avenue businesses.
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.
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