Consensus building toward traffic solution

To couplet or to bypass? That has always been the question in Sisters.

The question has been debated for years with no agreement. Both solutions were problematic - a couplet bisecting town with fast-moving traffic or a bypass taking away traffic that is the lifeblood of many businesses.

Emergency traffic band-aids on the problem have been the only alternatives implemented. Now there may actually be another approach that all parties may be able to come to agreement on: the "Alternate Route."

A Project Advisory Committee (PAC) of 10 local citizens that was convened last March has been reviewing all serious options for the new Transportation Master Plan with DKS Associates, the city's transportation consulting firm, city staff, ODOT and other partners.

They have finished this review and are now unanimous in recommending a different, fairly conservative but hopefully effective approach - an approach that was presented to the public in a forum at Sisters Middle School last Wednesday night, October 29.

The concept builds upon what city staff created as a stop-gap measure some years ago, routing any willing traffic away from downtown via Barclay Drive on peak weekends.

The favored idea is to plan a redesign of this route so that it is easy, convenient and fast to use, and design it with minimal disruptions to the existing local routes. A widened Barclay Drive and a narrower Cascade Avenue with more spacious sidewalks would be key parts of the plan, as would some new controlled intersections.

The initial conceptual sketches were rolled out to the public for the first time Wednesday night to a modest but very interested and knowledgeable crowd.

Around 75 folks listened to a briefing from the consulting team and PAC team members on the process they have been going through, all the various options that were studied and why they are unanimously recommending the "Alternate Route."

Attendees then split up into more intimate groups in question-and-answer sessions with the various PAC members, consultants and staff personnel from the city and agencies.

They discussed pros and cons of the various options as well as the conclusions of the committee.

PAC member Bob Shaw explained why the committee could not support any of the couplet options.

"It did not meet our very important 'livability standard,'" he said. "We felt it would end up fracturing the town. Hood and Main would both become two state highways. Imagine a downtown being closed for an entire year due to construction while bringing them up to state highway standards. Imagine two huge new roundabouts being built on the ends of town where there are none now. It could be an economic catastrophe for an entire year. It could create a barrier and two cities."

Chuck Humphries explained why their choice seemed clear: "The idea of Alternate Route is almost perfectly aligned with the particular traffic problem in Sisters. We are not Redmond. We are not Bend... What you need here is a relief valve, not a permanent conduit."

He added, "This will enhance, not disrupt the downtown core. It has the best flexibility for phasing in money and construction. You can build it in little pieces."

All of the attendees were quizzed verbally and in writing about their thoughts and opinions on the findings and recommendations and the public input process. This input will be summarized and incorporated into the record and the next phase of the process as the concept gets further refining and vetting by all of the various agencies involved.

The goal now is a refined draft Transportation System Plan that should come back out and be presented for public review and comment sessions in late January.

More information is available at City Hall. Call 549-6022.

The proposed Transportation System Plan reviewed at a public forum last week (see related story, page 1) calls for an alternate route to divert through-traffic and several changes to Cascade Avenue.

Plans call for:

• Alternate route use to be optional, not mandatory;

• Widen both Barclay Drive and Locust Street to three lane roads;

• Install single-lane roundabout at Barclay & Locust (Camp Polk);

• Install traffic signals or multi-lane roundabouts at both outlets to Highway 20;

• Close south access to Highway 20 from Locust Street.

• Install automatic variable message signage for alternate route activation as traffic demands increase;

• Widen Highway 20 to 4-5 lanes on both entrances to Sisters;

• Install eastbound left-turn lane at Pine Street and Cascade Avenue;

• Install automated congestion detection system on Cascade Avenue to activate alternate route signage;

• Redesign Cascade Avenue by narrowing traffic and parking lanes to expand the sidewalk width by three feet per side, enhancing pedestrian areas and adding increased traffic control;

• Hood and Main avenues to remain essentially the same.