Bend officials, community talk transportation needs
Bend is growing fast, and that brings transportation funding issues along with it.
The Bend City Council held a special work session Monday night at the municipal court to review the city’s transportation situation and examine the options.
This city council meeting, like many others, started with a presentation and ended with one, but the difference was that community members were able to speak to officials, as well as the rest of the crowded meeting room.
We all use the roads. Whether by walking, biking, driving or skating, transportation is a fundamental part of a city’s planning.
“We’re growing quickly, as we all know, and going out into the transportation roads and system, it can be very congested at certain times,” said Nick Arnis, the city’s growth management director.
Road funding was a key point of the presentation, in the wake of the voters’ gas tax rejection last spring. Without adequate funds, the city cannot do much to improve transportation. One way money could be raised for these programs and future plans would be to increase sewer and water utility fees paid by households and businesses.
That is just one of many options being considered, as three newly elected city councilors wait in the wings. Arnis said the city has no shortage of projects in the pipeline or on the drawing boards.
“We have a lot of projects we need to build, and I think that’s the important question we’re going to be asking council, and the new council that comes in, is this possibly a priority for you going forward… seeking a way to have a sustainable transportation funding?” Arnis said.
Some transportation projects have to do with walking and biking in the city’s core. Others are to make some key connections in places like Murphy Road and Empire Avenue.
Some concerns voiced were that, for example, storm drains in bike lanes are a safety issue. Others said we need to focus on everyone, not just those who can cycle, but also people that need to drive to get around town.
“We encourage the city to include multi-modal as a really important part of any of our priorities,” said Sue Sullivan, land Use chair for the Larkspur Neighborhood Association.
The group Bend 2030 said they want to help. A spokesman for the group moved from Manhattan earlier this year. He said New York’s congestion, and later the drive to Oregon, gave him an interest in helping work out transportation issues in Bend.
“We’d like to help you,” Louis Capozzi said. “We think that your vision for the future of Bend of is a robust one, and one that we really fully embrace.”
No decisions were made Monday night, but one thing is certain: Bend must find ways to meet the growing demands on infrastructure for its new citizens. Although those plans are not all clear, as we saw in election season, council members, newcomers or not, have passionate ideas about Bend’s future.
If you would like to be involved with the city’s planning, Arnis said to stay in tune with what the city council is doing the next couple of months, because of the new council bringing new priorities. He also said you can also contact him, through the city, if you would like to talk about transportation or land use.
