Tollgate path almost completed

Tollgate residents will soon be walking and biking through their neighborhood on a new three-mile long path.

This spring the trail was cleared. Then last week Robinson & Owen Heavy Construction laid down 2,500 cubic yards of gravel to serve as a base for paving. This week crews are preparing to pave. The path will be completed in early May.

Tollgate property owners voted to build a new pedestrian/bike path last October. The paved six-foot wide path costs $122,000 for which each property owner is assessed $277. The path runs on the inside of the Lariat and Lasso loops.

Robinson & Owen co-owner, Rod Robinson, has lived in the Tollgate neighborhood since 1990. In that time, he has seen the area grow and traffic increase.

“I think the community really needs it,” said Robinson. “I know it’ll be a lot safer.”

Robinson added that kids like to ride their bikes to the pool in the summer and the path will keep them out of harm’s way.

The Tollgate Board of Directors has been concerned for the safety of the 1,200 to 1,400 residents who walk and bike through the busy roads of the neighborhood, which is just west of Sisters. Tollgate Board member Steve Mathews formed a committee to review the pedestrian path after votes on similar paths failed. Mathews and his committee talked with their neighbors to make changes more amenable to the residents.

The committee modified the design to lower the cost compared with previous proposals. Also, the path now being constructed meanders along the road to reduce the number of felled trees.

Mathews said once work was underway, residents were happy and have already started walking along the half-done path. “Almost everybody sees the merit in it now,” said Mathews.