Sisters gets back to work on traffic

The City of Sisters has gone back to the drawing board to try to deal with the town's growing traffic problem.

The city held the first in a series of transportation planning workshops last Wednesday, December 5.

Mayor Brad Boyd began the workshop with the statement: "We want to examine all the possibilities so that everyone's opinion is heard and all the options are on the table. There is nothing engraved in stone."

The first challenge may be convincing Sisters that the planning will actually accomplish something.

Some expressed concern that in spite of numerous community involvement proceedings over the last 20-plus years, nothing has happened that has placed Sisters any closer to solving its transportation problems. Jean Wells, a veteran of many transportation committees, led the charge, asking why the current process will be any different than the frustrations that have emerged in the past.

Mayor Boyd responded: "This year the process is completely different. We have all the parties involved from the beginning. In the past the plans were developed without everyone being involved from day one. Solutions that were recommended then ended up being unworkable. This time that won't be a problem, as everyone who is involved will be in the initial decision-making process."

The workshop included not only representatives from DKS Associates, Jeanne Lawson & Associates and Alta Planning and Design, who have been hired as consultants by the city to develop the Transportation System Plan (TSP), but also representatives from the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT), Deschutes County and a large number of concerned local folks.

The goal of involving such a diverse group, according to Mayor Boyd, is to have a plan that, although not be perfect for everyone, will at least be acceptable to most.

The new TSP will be comprehensive and will include not only vehicular traffic engineering but also plans to assist bicycle and pedestrian movement through the community. The project will also result in the preparation of a Safe Routes to School Plan for Sisters Elementary School and Sisters Middle School.

Options that were presented at the workshop included doing nothing and living with what we have, the creation of a couplet, the widening of Cascade Avenue, the development of an alternate route around Sisters and a blank page where ideas that had not been mentioned could be explored.

Each option had its pros and cons, and it was not just the issue of traffic flow that was explored. Safety issues for vehicles, bicycles and pedestrians were considered, and the economic impact of each possibility was discussed.

Although this first workshop was intended primarily to get everyone on the same page and review the alternatives, a new idea that had not be extensively explored before emerged to surprisingly broad interest and acceptance. The idea evolved as an outgrowth of the closure of Cascade Avenue during this year's Quilt Show - a decision that engendered some controversy and was not without its glitches - yet was viewed by many as a brilliant idea. (See "Cascade closure works - but not for all," The Nugget, July 25, 2007, page 3.)

The fresh idea was brought forth by more than one member of the community but was summed up well by Bill Mintiens, chairman of the Sisters Economic Development Committee:

"I would like to see Cascade closed and allowed to become a pedestrian mall, something like what is happening in Europe that brings a real revitalization to the commercial district but is also in keeping with the vision statement and recent branding of our community. There would have to be some changes, but I see this as a way to attract more business to the community."

Support for Mintiens' position came from a surprising quarter - ODOT.

"I think that closing Cascade and making it a pedestrian mall would really shape the development of Sisters and is one of the better ideas raised here tonight," said James Bryant, principal planner for ODOT in this region.

"It keeps Sisters from being a place to go through and also provides a great space for the continued development of events like the Quilt Show."

The other new idea brought to the table was the possibility of using roundabouts as opposed to traffic signals.

"In principal, I am not opposed to the use of roundabouts," said Bryant. "They help traffic flow, decrease accidents and the severity of accidents that still occur. The problem is that they take up a lot of space... The city would have to examine where they could obtain the necessary land before this idea could move forward,"