Three years after voters’ OK, some Bend GO Bond projects are are nearly done or under way, others still in planning
(Update: Adding video, comments from city bond program manager, engineers)
BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- Friday will mark three years since city of Bend voters approved, by a 58-42 percent margin, a $190 million general obligation transportation bond for a specified list of major road and transportation projects to improve safety, traffic flow and east-west connections.
Voters passed Measure 9-135 in November 2020 that provides funding for 29 projects which will impact drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians. The work is really entering its third year.
“We would primarily be looking at, you know what is the opportunity for on street bike lanes, shared use paths, sidewalks, and how we provide the safety and mobility and connectivity for bikes and pedestrians,” Garret Sabourin, GO Bond program manager, said Tuesday.
One of the first projects in the GO bond's 10-year improvement program is scheduled to be finished next April: the multi-phase Wilson Avenue Corridor project.
“We are standing here at Wilson and Ninth right now," Sabourin said. "This was one of the first major investments with the GO bond. The started out here with ninth and Wilson, continued out to 15th, and now are focused on the west end of the project.”
The city created an oversight committee to monitor the bond , report expenses, and track progress. A project in the planning process on Olney Avenue addresses the needs of bikers.
Associate Engineer Carri Theus said, “We are looking into having an option of a curb-protected bike lane. The goal of that is to give each user -- bikes, pedestrians, vehicles -- their own set space, so they’re separated from each other, so that there are additional safety benefits.”
The bond gave the city a budget of $190 million for 10 years, and so far $18 million has been spent. The funding is collected through a property tax increase in Bend, starting last year at $41 and by 2027 it'll be $207, a $162 increase. The Olney Avenue upgrades will cost roughly $4.5 million.
Theus said, “We are also looking to include some synergy projects with water work, water line work and sewer line work, because we are already going to be digging up the road, and having construction, so we want to go ahead and do those improvements that are needed on our sewer and water infrastructure systems at the same time.”
During the next year work on 13 projects is planned with the GO bond money. Eight will either begin or continue construction, and five others are in the planning process.
You can find out more about the general obligation transportation bond on the city web page.
As the city's interactive dashboard shows, only about 10% of the funds approved by voters have been spent so far, as of Sept. 30. Among other projects well underway: the intersection improvements at NE Neff Road and Purcell Boulevard, the Neighborhood Street Safety Program and the North Corridor Project.
