Sisters citizens argue against couplet

Sisters area residents dug in their heels over a proposed one-way couplet on Monday, June 21, at Sisters Middle School.

The City of Sisters hosted the first public workshop to gain feedback on plans to build a Hood Avenue/Main Avenue couplet. While a few visitors considered a couplet a feasible option, the resounding cry heard Monday night was one which has been repeated for months: locals don't want a couplet.

Reasons cited for opposition to the couplet, which is intended to relieve traffic off of Cascade Avenue during peak hours, are numerous. They include fears over losing business on Cascade Avenue, losing parking spaces on Hood Avenue and Main Avenue if the couplet became the state highway, and compromising pedestrian safety through various access options to the couplet.

Instead, some residents suggested building a bypass and others suggested reducing parking on Cascade Avenue or adding turning lanes to better accommodate pedestrian, bike and vehicle movement.

"I think ODOT (Oregon Department of Transportation) is cramming the couplet down the throat of the community," said Bruce Berryhill, resident. "I hope they dump the whole couplet plan and build a bypass."

A bypass is not an option, mainly because it is too expensive, said Matt Hastie, meeting facilitator and representative of Cogan Owens Cogan, the city's consultant, which manages the Couplet Refinement Plan.

Hastie told the dozens of people at the workshop that building a bypass typically costs 10 times the price to build a couplet.

Monday's workshop came after the city has spent in excess of $50,000 for expenses to plan a couplet.

The city has worked with a Couplet Advisory Committee, ODOT and two engineering consultants in extensive meetings since November to design a couplet option which will meet ODOT approval. The road couplet was also listed as an option in the Sisters Transportation System Plan (TSP) as far back as 1998, said Peter Russell of ODOT.

Still, talk about the couplet as a transportation plan began as early as 1981, said John Keenan. And according to Keenan, who sat on the first city transportation committee, even then a couplet was not favored.

"We spent $20,000 trying to solve the traffic issue," Keenan told everyone at the meeting. "The problem was only for 10 days a year. One alternative was always to keep Cascade Avenue as Highway 20. But ODOT continually wants to cram the couplet down everyone's throats and not put in left-hand turn lanes, pedestrian signals, etc. Those things have never been thoroughly looked at."

Representatives of ODOT disagree. Peter Russell of ODOT told The Nugget the option of enhancing Cascade Avenue was explored, when officials started outlining the TSP.

"We put a lot of thought into it," Russell said. "Business owners did not want parking removed because it would hurt their business. That is one of the reasons we looked at the couplet, because we thought removing parking would be detrimental to businesses."

Russell said adding turn lanes would not work because Cascade Avenue does not have the required space to accommodate cars which would back up in the turning lane.

He said creating a two-way turn lane in the middle like those seen in Bend would threaten safety.

"With the middle open, you end up playing dodge ball and it's dangerous for pedestrian because they are looking at cars turning both ways," Russell said. "So we looked at that and the answer is no, it doesn't work."