City of Bend holding online open house for ‘key route’ improvements, new roundabout at Butler Market and Wells Acres roads

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- The City of Bend will host an informational online open house starting next Monday to share the preferred design improvements being developed for the Butler Market and Wells Acres roads Key Route and Roundabout Project.

The open house will be online from Jan. 22 – Feb. 5.

The city has initiated a key route preferred design that includes sidewalk level bike lanes and wider sidewalks for Butler Market Road between Boyd Acres Road and Brinson Boulevard. The project also includes a new single-lane roundabout to make the intersection at Butler Market Road and Wells Acres Road safer and more efficient for all modes of travel.

The online open house offers an opportunity for community members to gain insights into the preferred designs and estimated project schedule.

The online informational open house will include:

• Results from the May 2023 Online Community Open House Survey
• Preferred design planned for the Butler Market key route and Wells Acres roundabout improvements
• Project schedule update

Community members can access the open house online at bendoregon.gov/butler-wells. 

The city is designing a variety of safer and more accessible bike and pedestrian routes throughout the community, including along Butler Market Road, one of Bend’s heavily traveled NE corridors. Making this corridor “key route” safer and more bike and pedestrian-friendly is part of the Transportation GO Bond approved by voters in 2020.

Improving the intersection of Butler Market and Wells Acres roads has been a priority for the surrounding neighborhoods for many years. A new roundabout at this location will improve safety and efficiency for all modes of travel.

Once complete, the city said the project will deliver a long-desired improvement to intersection safety and time reliability, and provide safer, easier connections for pedestrians and bicyclists traveling between neighborhoods, schools, parks and businesses in the area.

“Key Route” is a term from the Bend Transportation System Plan that means the route is designed to be “low stress” for pedestrians and bicyclists, to provide safe and appealing connections to schools, parks, and other destinations, as well as for cross-city travel. Examples include off street multi-use paths, buffered, separated, raised and/or painted bike lanes and widened sidewalks.

Visit the online open house and learn more about this project at bendoregon.gov/butler-wells.