Bend Westside road improvements on horizon
There are changes ahead for Bend’s Westside. City councilors have given the green light to design work that will completely revamp 14th Street between Newport and Galveston avenues, improving sidewalks and bike lanes and reconstructing the roads.
“I take this road to get here, and 14th Street is falling apart,” Duke Johnson, shift manager at the nearby McDonald’s, said Thursday.
Construction is expected to begin mid-September, closing the roundabout at Century Drive and Simpson Avenue for about six weeks. The area is surrounded by businesses.
“I don’t think there’s going to be a big impact here at McDonald’s — we do have other entrances,” Johnson said.
It’s a familiar feeling for Powder House owner Todd McGee.
“We’ve been through this once before, when the roundabout was first built here. It definitely slows down business extremely,” he said. “It dropped business about 80 percent last time they did it. We did have to lay off a couple of employees.”
Despite the strain on business, McGee said the improvements are needed.
“I do get it. Progress needs to be done,” he said
But others said the area is fine the way it is.
“I don’t think there’s a problem with the sidewalks. I see a nice sidewalk here, and you know it’s a biking city, and I think there’s lots of places to go riding your bike,” said Bend resident Barry Jost, “It doesn’t have to be down a main throughway like Century.”
This is the first phase of three planned phases. The project manager and others involved are planning an open house this month. More information, including the date and location, will be posted on the project website as it is released:
