News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
The Cascade Avenue rehabilitation project is ramping up, and Ann Fisher is trying to make sure everyone affected knows exactly what is happening and when.
Fisher is the ODOT community liaison for the project, and she's spent the past couple of weeks out on the streets of Sisters talking to merchants face-to-face.
"I have walked both sides of Main, Hood and Cascade giving out my business card and an invitation inviting (the public) to the 'coffee with ODOT,'" Fisher announced in one of her regular Thursday email updates, which will continue throughout the project. "This is an opportunity for us to share up-to-date information on the project with you."
The meeting is set for Thursday, September 26, at 8 a.m. at Sisters Fire Hall.
Fisher reports that merchants have "been really nice - but nervous."
They are nervous about the impact the project will have on their businesses, a concern Fisher understands.
ODOT has adjusted the construction timeline and conditions to minimize that impact. She offered up some key elements of the construction timeline.
• Night work will begin on the project during the first week of October, from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m.
"It won't be any kind of a closure" she said.
• "There will be no construction work from November 15 to January 2, 2014," she noted. "So there will be no interruption of the holiday shopping season."
• Actual road closures will run from March 1 to the end of May, in three-block phases.
"There's full access to all businesses on foot," Fisher said.
There will be signage for parking and to direct foot traffic to businesses.
Anyone can sign up to receive Fisher's Thursday email updates by emailing a request to [email protected]
She will continue to talk directly to folks downtown, as well.
"My plan is to spend a couple of hours every day downtown," she said.
She also maintains an office at Sisters City Hall.
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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