Creekside Park traffic fixes still in limbo

Does the petition signed by 104 neighbors of Creekside Campground (CCG) in February 2014 still express the opinions of the signers? Have the improvements made by the City of Sisters so far satisfied their major concerns? Are they aware and in favor of changes to the traffic flow in and out of the campground?

These are the questions that came out of a special Parks Advisory Board workshop held last week to allow for brainstorming traffic solutions among all interested parties. There were mainly only representatives of the east-end interests in attendance.

A Coyote Springs and a Buck Run resident were there, but they also have businesses on the FivePine campus. Due to other commitments and travel plans, no one who has worked on the issue representing the Buck Run/Tyee neighbors was there to contribute.

At issue is the change of traffic flow in and out of the CCG. In an attempt to spread the burden of traffic accessing and exiting CCG, the PAB recommended, and City Council approved, a one-way flow with all traffic accessing CCG from highway 20 onto Buckaroo Trail and Desperado Trail, and exiting CCG onto South Locust Street with a right-turn-only out to highway 20.

The traffic flow, which for years has been accessing/exiting on Locust, with some campers more recently utilizing Desperado Trail, was originally part of a much larger list of concerns on the part of neighbors surrounding the west and south sides of the campground.

In February 2014, the PAB was presented a petition signed by 104 neighbors living around CCG. It cited as concerns of the neighbors: noise, air pollution from RV engines and campfires, and CCG vehicles creating safety issues by parking on neighborhood streets and wandering through them when they missed the campground entrance.

There were also complaints of campers hanging laundry out, washing dishes in the creek, and pet-owners from CCG not picking up after their pets when they walked them in the neighborhoods.

After many meetings and discussions in the ensuing year-and-a-half, solutions were found for many of the problems. New signage, installation of berms and landscaping to create a visual buffer, better enforcement of CCG rules by the camp host, and proposed changes inside the CCG worked to alleviate many concerns.

The one issue remaining was the CCG ingress/egress on Locust. Working with the west-end neighbors, who attended every PAB meeting, staff and PAB members came to a consensus to try a phased trial next camping season to have all ingress on Desperado and all egress on Locust, creating a smooth one-way traffic flow through the campground and spreading the traffic impact more evenly between both ends of CCG.

PAB's recommendation was forwarded to the council, who voted to accept the phased traffic trial for next camping season.

After that vote, businesses in FivePine, owners of land slated for development, and condo owners at 4th Sister Lodge condominiums organized in opposition and made their views known to the council. Council passed the issue back to the PAB to consider whether to reopen negotiations, which they did, with a split vote. A special workshop was scheduled to hear from all sides and work toward a solution.

At the workshop last week, Tate Metcalf of Sisters Athletic Club, representing east-end interests, proposed keeping the ingress/egress as it is now, with campers able to enter and exit at both ends. He suggested that the City website should provide directions to both access/exit points rather than just Locust, which is the case now. Signage should also direct people to both locations.

Metcalf further proposed the City assist FivePine to move the sign that is currently blocking the view of Buckaroo Trail traffic exiting to the west, since it was installed according to City requirements. They would also like to have the road and the turning radius on Buckaroo Trail widened and boulders placed around the green electric/fiber optic boxes. Public Works Director Paul Bertagna pointed out that near the sign there are fiber optic cables, utilities, and sewer lines that are not easily moved.

Mike Robillard and Lisa Clausen, who live in neighborhoods surrounding CCG and also have businesses in FivePine, both said they originally signed the petition, which addressed a number of issues, but they think many of those problems have been solved. Just this week, the planting of 20 12-foot spruce trees will begin on the berms along the west and south sides of the campground.

"A few people took that petition and used it for their own purposes without notifying us," said Robillard. "Why would we want only one way in and out? Having multiple options makes more sense."

City Engineer Erik Huffman presented a memo to the PAB that outlined observed challenges and potential options for the Creekside entrance at Buckaroo Trail. Perhaps the biggest obstacle is, if eastbound traffic were to miss the turnoff on Buckaroo, the next possible turnaround is at the rodeo grounds, far from town. Several other options are only possible in the distant future and with the cooperation of the Oregon Department of Transportation and the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department.

As a result of the workshop, the PAB decided to survey the original 104 signers of the 2014 petition, as well as all other neighbors, to determine if they are in favor of proposed traffic changes.

The neighbors will be contacted personally by two residents of the neighborhood and one neighbor/FivePine business owner to answer a short four-question survey. They are particularly interested in hearing from the original petition signers. The results of the survey will be presented to the PAB at their November 4 meeting scheduled for 4 p.m. at City Hall. The public is welcome at all PAB meetings.