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About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (April 8, 2015)
2 Wednesday, April 8, 2015 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon O P I N I O N Local community favored roundabout By Carey tosello Guest Columnist Letters to the Editor… The Nugget welcomes contributions from its readers, which must include the writer’s name, address and phone number. Letters to the Editor is an open forum for the community and contains unsolicited opinions not neces- sarily shared by the Editor. The Nugget reserves the right to edit, omit, respond or ask for a response to letters submitted to the Editor. Letters should be no longer than 300 words. Unpublished items are not acknowledged or returned. The deadline for all letters is noon Monday. To the Editor: I still think the roundabout is a waste of time, money, and a mistake. A light at this intersection is much more smarter. I don’t really care what was voted on in 2011. People change their mind and you all need to put this to a vote to the City of Sisters, not the decision of the city council, of which I have no faith in — ie: the back- in parking, what a debacle and a waste of money. And now you are changing that again! Shannon Chesney s s s To the Editor: In all the talk of the pros and cons of a paved trail west from Sisters, little mention has been made of people who cannot use a gravel trail: namely those who cannot ride a two-wheel bike. Some people can ride a three-wheel bike or use an electric scooter. Others pull a trailer with a child or pet, and others push a stroller. A gravel trail does not work well for any of those people. We fully support a paved trail from Sisters to Tollgate, and beyond. As to the Black Butte residents who worry about non-residents using their paved trails, you surely must know that many people do that now, by parking and bik- ing or renting a condo and using the trails. These people do not come to do damage or to litter. We sure hope that the committee formed to ponder all the issues can come up with a fea- sible plan that will not upset people who might possibly see a biker passing their property at a distance. We love to see bikers and walkers and electric scooters pass by our house. We look forward to a paved trail from Tollgate to Sisters. Paul and Sue Edgerton s s s See letterS on page 30 Sisters Weather Forecast Courtesy of the National Weather Service, Pendleton, Oregon Wednesday thursday Friday Slt. chance showers Slt. chance showers Mostly sunny 51/23 57/27 59/34 Saturday Sunday monday Chance showers Mostly cloudy Partly sunny 48/27 50/27 58/na The Nugget Newspaper, Inc. Website: www.nuggetnews.com 442 E. Main Ave., P.O. Box 698, Sisters, Oregon 97759 Tel: 541-549-9941 | Fax: 541-549-9940 | editor@nuggetnews.com Postmaster: Send address changes to The Nugget Newspaper, P.O. Box 698, Sisters, OR 97759. Third Class Postage Paid at Sisters, Oregon. Publisher - Editor: Kiki Dolson News Editor: Jim Cornelius Production Manager: Leith Williver Classifieds & Circulation: Teresa Mahnken Advertising: Lisa Buckley Graphic Design: Jess Draper Proofreader: Pete Rathbun Accounting: Erin Bordonaro The Nugget is mailed to residents within the Sisters School District; subscriptions are available outside delivery area. Third-class postage: one year, $40; six months (or less), $25. First-class postage: one year, $85; six months, $55. Published Weekly. ©2014 The Nugget Newspaper, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. All advertising which appears in The Nugget is the property of The Nugget and may not be used without explicit permission. The Nugget Newspaper, Inc. assumes no liability or responsibility for information contained in advertisements, articles, stories, lists, calendar etc. within this publication. All submissions to The Nugget Newspaper will be treated as uncondition- ally assigned for publication and copyrighting purposes and subject to The Nugget Newspaper’s unrestricted right to edit and comment editorially, that all rights are currently available, and that the material in no way infringes upon the rights of any person. The publisher assumes no responsibility for return or safety of artwork, photos, or manuscripts. G o v e r n m e n t s d o n ’t move fast. Case in point is the upcoming change to the intersection of Barclay and Highway 20. Back in 2009 a group of citizens spent months researching the best way to move pedestrians, cyclists, cars, and trucks through and around town. Their findings were part of the Transportation System Plan (TSP) that was adopted by the City of Sisters in January of 2010. One of the key compo- nents of that research was the preference for a round- about at both ends of town. As a member of that group, I can tell you that no one came in with a clear vision of what was best. We stud- ied lots of options – includ- ing a couplet, bypass, one- way circulation, multiple signals, and roundabouts. We arrived at our conclu- sion based on irrefutable facts concerning safety and traffic flow. Fast-forward (or slow-forward) five years and ODOT is finally ready to get started after testing and securing approval from the freight industry. I realize that there are many people who have moved here since 2009 and are unaware of the lengthy and numerous public hear- ings and workshops on this subject. For those people, the City and ODOT will hold an open house detail- ing the design and perfor- mance of the roundabout. The open house is scheduled for Tuesday, April 14 (see related story, page 1) and I encourage you to attend. For those of us who are longtime residents of Sisters, this is an opportu- nity to refresh our memory as to why the community was so strongly in favor of the roundabout option to begin with. At one of the public sessions, 94 percent of those in attendance reg- istered their support for the roundabout over a signal after hearing the facts. Here is a quick high- light of some of the facts that led our community to support, and encourage, a roundabout: • ALL traffic slows to 15 to 20 mph, which will eliminate the high speeds coming into town. The Barclay and Highway 20 intersection has seen injury accidents in the past due to high speeds, which can be eliminated. • Roundabouts are vastly safer than signals, show- ing a 75-percent reduction in injury accidents, and a 40-percent reduction in pedestrian collisions. • Contrary to many peo- ples’ perceptions, round- abouts actually move traf- fic through an intersection more quickly, and with less congestion on approaching roads. No need for locals to sit at a red light during the 300-plus days with no traffic. • Roundabouts are envi- ronmentally friendly. They require no electricity to operate and don’t contrib- ute to greenhouse gases by having cars idling — then accelerating away — like signals do. • Several states have them on highways now, with more planned. A larger and busy tourist town like Bend has dozens of them, and they continue to build more. Why? Because they work. ...this is an opportunity to refresh our memory as to why the community was so strongly in favor of the roundabout option to begin with. There are of course those who don’t like roundabouts because, well, they just don’t like them. These peo- ple are entitled to their own opinions, but not their own facts. The FACTS are clear — roundabouts are signifi- cantly safer than a signal. With this intersection being heavily used by our teenage drivers coming and going from the high school, any- thing other than a round- about will result in more injury accidents. After hear- ing the details at the open house, I am sure you will agree that they are the saf- est, most efficient, and eye- pleasing option for Sisters. Opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the writer and are not necessarily shared by the Editor or The Nugget Newspaper.
