Bend looks toward the future

Night 2 of the Bend Livability Project took community members on an interactive tour around town. The group teamed up with more than a dozen partners Friday at Art Walk to present the “Future Fair.”

Erin Foote Morgan, the project lead, wanted the community to ask themselves what they want for Bend’s future.

“What is my intention for the future of this community? What is my role in it?” she said. “What will I do to help make sure this place is a livable community as we go through this next chapter of significant growth and development?”

Eight interactive stations provided some possible answers to those questions.

The night started with a peek at what could be in store through image concepts and interactive, art-based exhibits. Then, visitors were invited to skip traffic and take a test ride to experience other changes.

“One of the coolest things about the project is that we created the first temporary protected bike lane,” said Morgan.

The group works with the city of Bend on safety initiatives.

“We’re getting out and showing just some different low-cost, effective treatments for safety, and to make people feel more comfortable crossing the street and traveling along it, whether they’re biking or walking,” said City Engineer Rory Rowan.

The Bend Livability Project asked for feedback on this feature.

“We’ve had a lot of good response,” Rowan said.”People riding by, thumbs up with kids. That’s what we love to see, people who feel like ‘Oh, finally, we’ve got a low-stress, comfortable route..”

The bike lane ended at the final stop, the Makers District. The group predicts upcoming zoning changes will transform the district.

“It’s great. We have a lot of foot traffic,” said shop owner Eric Power. ” It’s a great bike route to go down to, and it’s walking distance from downtown. So, it’s a way to expand downtown and make Bend a better place for everyone.”

The Bend Livability Project will be hosting several events through Sunday. For more information visit bendlivability.org.