14
Wednesday, April 22, 2015 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
LETTERS
Continued from page 2
intersections than in Sisters. There is no other
traffic circle on a highway in Oregon so we
are not yet as accustomed to their use — espe-
cially involving large trucks — than in some
other regions of the country. Despite favor-
able results in the recent mock-up traffic circle
tests, I feel that real-life situations involving
a number of vehicles could have different
results.
There is certainly a major cost saving
using traffic lights as all the needed lanes
are in place. Also, could a traffic circle be
installed without major expenses involving
the new bank on the corner of this intersec-
tion? In addition, traffic lights can provide
some breaks in traffic on one lane for people
turning left onto Highway 20 from Ray’s.
E. Paul Janssen
s
s
s
To the Editor:
I am sending this along, gathered from a
transportation engineer, City of Bend.
“The City of Bend stands by round-
abouts for enhanced safety and operations.
Nationwide, worldwide, there are simply
more crashes at traffic signals than at round-
abouts, and those crashes are more severe
at traffic signals than at roundabouts. Fatal
crashes occur at traffic signals, they do not
occur at roundabouts.
“Our first roundabout was installed on a
state district-level highway (Century Drive
at Colorado Avenue) in November, 1999. We
have 26 (soon to be 28) single-lane round-
abouts, 5 multilane roundabouts, 35 city-
owned traffic signals, and 21 state ODOT-
owned traffic signals. We removed three
traffic signals this year. We have two more
roundabouts in design and they should be con-
structed next construction season.
“Bend is aiming to achieve Vision Zero
— where it is simply unacceptable to have a
single fatal or serious injury crash in our com-
munity. To do that we will be relying heavily
on roundabout construction. The City of Bend
has removed two traffic signals (3rd Street at
Murphy Road at the south end of town and
Reed Market at 15th Street on the east side
of town). We replaced the traffic signals with
modern roundabouts because of our positive
crash and exceptional operational experiences
at roundabouts.
SPRING BIKE
TUNE-UP $45
“As for cost, we pay about the same
whether it is a roundabout or a traffic signal.
The underground utility work, right of way,
and road geometric changes end up being sim-
ilar for both control types, although the shapes
are different it is about the same impact area
for both.”
I have driven through the two newest
roundabouts, Murphy and Reed Market, with
absolutely no problem navigating either one
when first encountered.
Bend’s experience is no different from the
information and history presented at our meet-
ing last week. The TSP committee examined
the available data at the time (2010) and made
their recommendation based upon the facts of
the data. The members of the community who
participated in the follow-up meeting in 2011,
were equally convinced by the data, and sup-
ported the TSP recommendation.
It appears that the ensuing four years’
worth of data have continued to show no
fatalities or serious injury/property damage in
roundabouts, due apparently to slower speeds.
Phyllis Lewis
s
s
s
To the Editor:
I attended the informational meeting pre-
sented by ODOT regarding the roundabout at
Highway 20 and Barclay Dr. Was it a waste
of my time and energy? One gentleman asked
pointblank if the roundabout was a done deal;
however he didn’t receive a straight answer. I
also wonder if we have no other choice.
A roundabout will destroy the ambience
and quaintness of Sisters and drastically alter
the navigation of the city.
I presented my personal survey to ODOT
and City officials of 52 businesses I inter-
viewed during the first week of April. Forty-
one were in favor of a traffic light at the above
intersection, six favored a roundabout and five
were on the fence or didn’t care. Two busi-
nesses expressed a concern that if a bypass
was built for oversized trucks, other travelers
would use it to avoid driving through town,
which could hurt the local economy.
Does ODOT and the City of Sisters have
the right to arbitrarily make the decision to
install a roundabout? In a true democracy,
the majority rules. I think it would be fair to
put this on a ballot and let the local owners of
businesses and citizens vote on whether they
prefer a roundabout or a traffic light at the
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SALEM (AP) — Oregon
lawmakers are considering
a recommendation that Nez
Perce leader Chief Joseph
and suffragette Abigail Scott
Duniway replace two other
symbols of the state among
the statues on display at the
U.S. Capitol.
But Idaho Gov. C.L.
“Butch” Otter says not so
fast.
In a letter to Oregon lead-
ers, Otter says Chief Joseph
might have more of a histori-
cal connection to his state.
“Chief Joseph’s story and
legacy in the Northwest is
indeed historically notable,”
Otter wrote. “But a close
examination of history may
indicate a more signifi-
cant historical tie to Idaho
than any other state in our
region. I therefore would
urge a careful analysis of the
chief’s history, and I will be
grateful for your kind con-
sideration of Idaho in this
regard.”
Otter’s letter came up dur-
ing an Oregon Senate Rules
Committee meeting last
week, the Statesman Journal
newspaper reported.
It stemmed from proposal
to replace Oregon’s statues
at the National Statuary Hall
Collection in Washington,
D.C. Each state has two stat-
ues on display there.
Since 1953, Oregon’s
statues have been pioneer
Jason Lee, a 19th century
missionary who founded
what became Willamette
U n i v e r s i t y, a n d J o h n
McLoughlin, a fur trader
known as the father of
Oregon.
The Oregon Statuary Hall
Study Commission recom-
mended the replacements
after studying the issue
with the Oregon Historical
Society.
Chief Joseph led 750 Nez
Perce tribal members on a
1,700-mile journey from
Oregon to Montana in an
unsuccessful bid to reach
Canada and avoid being
confined to a reservation.
They were forced to sur-
render in 1877 after U.S.
troops stopped them about 40
miles south of the Canadian
border.
In a famous speech made
after the surrender, Chief
Joseph said: “From where the
sun now stands, I will fight
no more forever.”
Duniway was a women’s
rights advocate whose efforts
were key in gaining their vot-
ing rights.
A bill to replace the exist-
ing statues remains in com-
mittee. It must be approved
by the Legislature and
governor.
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See LEttErs on page 18
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