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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-
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submitted to the Editor. Letters should be no longer than 300 words. Unpublished items are not acknowledged or
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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
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Saturday
Sunday
monday
Chance showers
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Partly sunny
48/27
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58/na
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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.