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Wednesday, November 18, 2015 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
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P
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N I
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The right tool
for the job
By tony Blok
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 Unpublished items are not acknowledged or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:
Thank you to Sisters District Ranger Kristie
Miller for her unwavering professionalism in
assessing the proposal to construct an asphalt
path between Sisters and Black Butte Ranch.
Contrary to the rude and infactual letter in
last week’s Nugget that attempted to impugn
Ms. Miller’s character and trivialize the oppo-
sition, there are hundreds of opponents of
the asphalt path that appreciate her fair and
thoughtful approach to weighing the com-
munity’s response to this highly controversial
project.
Michael Cooper
s
s
s
To the Editor:
I totally agree with Sarah Rahm’s let-
ter about the proposed trail from Sisters to
Tollgate and on to Black Butte on the south side
of Highway 20 (The Nugget, November 11).
By putting it off to appease the small num-
ber of naysayers, people with any disabilities
and those pushing strollers are prevented from
accessing Sisters except by car. Riding a three-
wheeled bike on a dirt path with gravel on the
sides, and through grass uphill is too difficult,
so the trail to the high school from Tollgate
is not an option the way it is. It is not easy
to push a stroller there either, and a motorized
wheel chair would certainly not navigate that
trail.
Sarah is so right when she points out that
most people in this area want the proposed
trail. It has never been made clear why another
environmental assessment is needed, after all
the time and money that was spent on the orig-
inal EA.
Sue Edgerton
See letteRS on page 28
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Many pro and con letters
have addressed the Barclay
Drive and Highway 20 pro-
posed roundabout, and I feel
compelled to share a few
observations after another
trip through Bend yesterday.
The East Empire, Butler
Market, and Olney round-
abouts are workable in the
neighborhoods in which
they occur because of flow
demands that they handle
and speeds of traffic prior
to entry. The larger round-
about at Brookswood and
Reed Market Road has some
serious problems. The fol-
lowing are a couple of the
causes observed and shared
by workers using it daily:
1. At certain times
of morning, noon, and
especially 3 to 5 p.m.,
Reed Market heavy traf-
fic dominates with bum-
per-to-bumper flows that
make Brookswood plug.
Employees from BMC, busi-
nesses, and Old Mill traffic
sit, and many cannot exit
from side streets even to
escape and go north to avoid
the roundabout to the north.
2. The crosswalk for
bikes and pedestrians that
exist a short distance from
the roundabout on Reed
Market brings an abrupt
stoppage of traffic flow
when a courteous, law-
abiding driver stops just
after exiting the circle. This
results in an instant bumper-
to-bumper plug during high
flow demand times, and does
not even allow for cross traf-
fic to flow. Unfortunately,
the bike-and-pedestrian
need for the crosswalk is
about the same time the
traffic needs full flow. The
heavy volume flow cause
vehicles to bunch closer to
each other and the sudden,
unexpected stoppage invites
bumper-benders. It is also a
given that during high flow
times on this roundabout the
sun becomes a blinder in the
morning and evening.
3. As the design diameter
of the circle is increased due
to traffic demands on the
roundabout, it allows driv-
ers less visibility of condi-
tions that are affecting the
exits. Smaller roundabouts
give full peripheral view of
what the dynamics are when
approaching and entering.
So how does the above
relate to OUR intersection at
Barclay Drive and Highway
20? The volume of traffic
and higher peak loads are
complicated beyond what
Bend’s Reed Market experi-
ences because of high truck
volumes. The design to get
bikes and pedestrians across
the highway is the same
and the sudden plug up into
the circle will be the same
halting, except with trucks
added in. The cross traffic of
Barclay Drive will be halted
during pedestrian lane usage
because of solid bumper-to-
bumper stoppage.
This year’s quilt show
had traffic creep well
back beyond Tollgate with
McDonald’s, Bi-Mart’s
and Les Schwab’s roads all
depending on Highway 20
drivers to create an occa-
sional opening. ODOT
should think about porta-
potties east and west of
Sisters as some of the round-
about’s added needs.
Roundabouts are
workable tools for
smaller diameters
matching smaller,
lower speed usage but
are not efficient to get
pedestrians and bikes
crossing any streets
exiting the circle.
they do nothing to
provide timed pulses
that allow cross traffic
Roundabouts are work-
able tools for smaller diam-
eters matching smaller,
lower speed usage but are
not efficient to get pedestri-
ans and bikes crossing any
streets exiting the circle.
They do nothing to provide
timed pulses that allow cross
traffic at the same time that
foot traffic flows in the same
direction. Consider the addi-
tional land required: The
lack of traffic pulses that
help other cross streets and
later pedestrian crossings in
town.
Now, why not choose
the right tool for this job; a
simple programmable traffic
light. It did prove itself for
months.
Opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the writer and
are not necessarily shared by the Editor or The Nugget Newspaper.