Oregon lawmakers visit Bend, see and hear plenty about transportation priorities, how to tackle funding shortfall

(Update: Adding video, comments by lawmakers, ODOT director, hearing participants)

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) – State lawmakers stopped in Bend Thursday as part of a statewide tour, visiting the Highway 97 project in northern Bend and nearby homeless camps before hearing from officials, businesses and the public on transportation priorities and how to resolve ODOT’s serious budget shortfall.

The Highway 97 North Corridor Project, separating Highway 97 through traffic from local drivers on a Third Street extension, has caused challenges for both drivers and area businesses.

"Change is always difficult," Joint Committee on Transportation Co-Chair Sen. Chris Gorsek, D-Gresham. "And I can understand businesses being worried, as construction kind of disrupts things. I suspect that will probably be the case here, once as they say, the dust settles down."

Co-Chair state Rep. Susan McClain, D-Forest Grove, acknowledged, "We only saw one area of that traffic change, and so we probably have a very limited understanding of exactly what your businesses are talking about.

"But I do think it was, again, cooperation between the city and the county and the state that made some decisions about what would help make a better highway through-traffic situation and what would make a better local traffic situation."

The lawmakers also toured the homeless encampments off Highway 97 to learn more about how the region is managing the safety of drivers and pedestrians, which the lawmakers agreed is a problem statewide.

At a public hearing later at OSU-Cascades’ Ray Hall, ODOT Director Keith Strickler gave a slide presentation of the financial squeeze lawmakers are being pressed to address – and the service reductions that could result if they don’t.

“We are already stretched thin” to provide the service people need, want and expect, Strickler said of the estimated $1.8 billion shortfall. He pointed to efforts to boost efficiencies, such as holding a number of vacancies, but said that can only go so far.

ODOT Region 4 Manager Tiffany Johnson gave one example: “Without intervention, we’ll have to close seven maintenance stations” in the region.

Much of the nearly two hours of public testimony focused on the need to invest more in public transportation and streets safer for pedestrians and cyclists.

Eileen Kiely of Sunriver, a member of the region’s Public Transportation Advisory Committee, started by telling lawmakers, “I’m begging all of you to come to the table with bipartisan ideas about how we can actually raise revenue.”

Jim Elliott of the Central Oregon Council on Aging noted how many seniors lose driving privileges and said, they “shouldn’t have to have a car to enjoy a full life.”

One speaker, Trevor Johnson of Redmond, even suggested a light-rail system between Bend and Redmond, while others said maintenance and safety must be higher priorities,

Bend Mayor Melanie Kebler said, “I think we need an ODOT 2.0,” and that it’s “not just a highway department,” urging the state to look at more diversified funding sources for everything from transit to safe routes to schools.

Some fathers of young children said they hope to see more time, attention and dollars focused on helping to make walking and cycling safer.

Mike Hamilton, a father of two, expressed gratitude for the Larkspur Trail that “was a brilliant piece of urban planning” and called for a “connected and protected network of greenways and bikeways,” urging the state to “move beyond the mentality that bigger, wider roads solve problems.”

From 2-4 p.m., they hold a roundtable discussion with the Central Oregon Area Commission on Transportation and business representatives.

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Here's the news release on their visit:

Transportation Committee Announces Next Two Stops

Members of the public are invited to testify at the 9th and 10th stops of the tour in The Dalles and Bend

SALEM, Ore -Today, the co-chairs of the Joint Committee on Transportation announced the venues and agendas for the ninth and tenth stops on the Transportation Safety and Sustainability Outreach Tour in The Dalles and Bend. 

The committee will hold public hearings to listen to members of the community about local transportation needs and how the Legislature should support the long-term safety and maintenance of Oregon's transportation systems.

"Oregon must have a safe, efficient, equitable transportation system that gets our people and goods to where they need to go," said Rep. Susan McLain (D - Hillsboro). "Transportation has local, regional, and even national importance. I’m grateful that each stop we’ve made provides an opportunity to hear from community leaders and from the public, both about their communities’ transportation needs, and, importantly, what funding solutions they would support to meet those needs."

The Dalles and Bend Public Hearings details

• Tour Stop #9 Public Hearing - September 12, 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.

OSU Cascades Campus, Ray Hall, 1500 SW Chandler Avenue

Bend, OR 97702

• Tour Stop #10 Public Hearing - September 13, 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.

The Dalles Middle School Commons, 1100 East 12th Street

The Dalles, OR 97058

Both hearings will be available via livestream on olis.oregonlegislature.gov.

Members of the public interested in testifying can register in person starting 30 minutes before the meeting begins. The committee will also hear remote testimony if time permits, which the public can register for on the committee's webpage at olis.oregonlegislature.gov. Additionally, written testimony can be submitted to the committee via email to JCT.exhibits@oregonlegislature.gov. 

Preceding both public hearings, members of the committee will take guided trips of transportation facilities in the region and hold a roundtable discussion to better understand the transportation needs in Central Oregon through the expertise and lived experience of local partners and officials.

"I have found incredible value in these tour stops, being able to see and hear first-hand the challenges facing our state's transportation systems as well as what the Legislature should prioritize next session," said Sen. Chris Gorsek (D - Gresham). 

During the seventh and eighth stops, committee members visited Eastern Oregon. In Ontario, they toured the port of entry near the Idaho border, heard about the benefits of expanding passenger rail, and learned about the unique safety and maintenance challenges facing the largest ODOT region by area.

Then, in Hermiston, where agricultural lands reach up to the edges of county and state pavement, attendees saw the impact of climate change on roads and bridges and learned about local transit options available to people with disabilities. 24 members of the public testified at both stops and the committee received an additional two pieces of written testimony. To date, the committee has received 605 pieces of written and in-person testimony. 

Perspectives and information gathered by the committee during its 12-stop tour will inform legislators as they develop a plan in the 2025 session to maintain critical infrastructure, complete work on major projects, and guarantee the safety and diversity of transportation systems across the state.

The committee is vice-chaired by Sen. Brian Boquist (R - rural Polk and Yamhill counties) and Rep. Shelly Boshart Davis (R - Albany, Millersburg, and Tangent). 

The complete tour agenda was announced on May 10; venues will be announced prior to each tour stop.