Bend tells homeless campers on Hunnell, Clausen roads to clean up, make way for snowplows

(Update: adding video, comments from transportation and mobility director)

City, social service agencies to help residents clean up - and next spring, they'll need to make way for road extension

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- Hunnell Road in North Bend isn't just an access road between highways, it's where a lot of houseless people call home, as RVs and other structures line the streets. Now, the City of Bend is telling the residents they need to clean up and move over.

City staff and social service providers plan to begin an outreach effort Thursday to the dozens of homeless camped year-round in RVs and other vehicles along Hunnell and Clausen roads, beginning an effort to ensure safe winter access and clear city right-of-way.

Over the next few weeks, city staff and service providers plan to prepare the area for snowplows and winter weather. David Abbas, transportation and mobility directory for the city, says safety is the reason for the cleanup.

"We want to get this cleaned up because we don't want a snowplow hooking a 2-by-4 or a pipe or something like that," Abbas said Wednesday. "We want this to be as safe as we can for everybody."

Abbas says right now, the city is not evicting the residents, but asking that they keep their property within eight feet of the curb,

Eight feet from both curbs allows a 30-foot path for snowplows.

There are people living on both sides of the road. Abbas says ideally, the city wants people to move to the same side of the road, so the snowplows can push the snow to the opposite side, making it easier and safer for everyone.

"Snowplows are big pieces of machinery, and we have that challenge all over town," he said. "Where people are parked all over the street, whether it's a car, or a trailer, or a basketball hoop, or garbage cans -- those are all obstacles for a snowplow to maneuver." 

ODOT made similar points in recent cleanups of campsites along the Bend Parkway at the north and south ends of town.

Although Hunnell Road residents aren't being evicted now, Abbas says come next spring, the city plans to extend Hunnell to connect with Tumalo Road.

That means people living along Hunnell will have to relocate.

"As some of the other options become available -- other types of shelters, navigation centers, those types of things, eventually and ultimately -- we do need that area to be cleaned out," Abbas said.

In the meantime, residents have until Nov. 5 to clean up their space and make sure their property is within eight feet of the curb.

City staff will be on-site at both locations on Thursday from noon to 2 p.m. to notify people and begin steps to enforce the changes. (See below city documents).