ODOT thumbs its nose at Sisters

Two Sisters City Councilors took the city's official opposition to an Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) passing lane project west of town to the Central Oregon Area Commission on Transportation (COACT) last week.

It was a waste of time. The area commission had no interest in weighing in on the project.

ODOT wants to build passing lanes between the Cold Springs cut-off and Cascade Meadow Ranch (westbound now; eastbound later). The agency says it's necessary to promote safety.

Opponents of the project - including members of the council - have conclusively demonstrated that ODOT's own accident data doesn't support the agency's position. The problem out on that road is snow and ice and deer. The city council passed a resolution opposing the project, though it is outside its juridiction.

City councilor Brad Boyd thinks the council was expertly "played" by ODOT Regional Director Bob Bryant, who steered them to COACT instead of to the Oregon Transportation Commission, where some action might be taken to stop the unpopular project.

It's simpler - and worse - than that.

Bryant and ODOT are simply ignoring the City of Sisters and fobbing the council off with useless forums to register complaints against a project that is going to happen no matter what.

Bryant says he suggested COACT as "a possible forum for more floor time for their resolution" opposing his project. It's just more of ODOT's operational philosophy on public input: "The dogs bark and the caravan moves on."

The decision is made; the project is moving forward, and the citizens of Sisters and the surrounding area have no real recourse.

We expect that the city will continue to voice its opposition to this unnecessary and unwanted project, whether it's effective or not. It is important that the Sisters community take a stand, even if it's going to get run over.

And in the future Sisters will have to keep a wary eye on an agency that cares little for its needs and nothing for its views.

Jim Cornelius, News Editor

Author Bio

Jim Cornelius, Editor in Chief

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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