30
Wednesday, August 31, 2016 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
ROuNDABOuT:
Construction starts
in February 2017
Continued from page 1
include citizen input in all
phases of planning the round-
about project.
“Working with the focus
groups and property-owners
has been a really positive
experience,” Darling told the
Council.
Three different focus
groups have been engaged in
providing input to ODOT. The
traffic-management part of the
construction received intense
scrutiny from a group of busi-
ness and property owners
from the area surrounding the
roundabout. Other interested
parties were also consulted,
including the fire and sheriff’s
departments, the school dis-
trict, the U.S. Forest Service,
Sisters Park & Recreation
District, homeowners asso-
ciations on the west end
of Sisters, the Chamber of
Commerce, Black Butte fire
and police, Cascades East
Transit, and anyone else who
had something to gain and/or
lose with the project.
One of the biggest chal-
lenges has been to devise a
construction schedule that will
allow for all through traffic
on Highway 20 to be able to
drive straight through during
all phases of construction. By
constructing the roundabout in
phases, closing first Barclay
Drive in March and then
McKinney Butte in April,
it will be possible to main-
tain the Highway 20 traffic
with no impacts during day-
time hours. Both signed and
unsigned detour routes will
carry Barclay and McKinney
Butte traffic around the con-
struction zone.
The aesthetics focus group
considered both hardscape
and softscape components
of the roundabout. The ADA
ramps, rather than bright yel-
low, will be a muted reddish
color, with the splitter islands
and the concrete apron around
the center a desert tan. All the
poles for the lights and signs
will be painted or powder-
coated brown, rather than a
shiny metal.
Landscaping will consist of
drought-tolerant, low-mainte-
nance, cold-hardy shrubs that
reflect the transition from pine
forest to high desert, and will
blend in with the natural envi-
ronment. A variety of grasses,
Russian sage, dwarf mugo
pines, and native flowers like
blue flax and penstemon, as
well as street trees, will be
used to complete the project.
A third focus group of
interested parties has been
assembled by the City to
consider the installation of
artwork in the center of the
roundabout, a 12- to 18-month
process.
Using the template of the
Bend Art in Public Places
using the site of the proposed
parking lot, the cutting of trees
will be minimized and any oil
or fuel spills will eventually
be covered by asphalt.
Working with the focus
groups and property
owners has been a really
positive experience.
— Mike darling
“I think this is a really good
traffic-management plan,”
Public Works Director Paul
Bertagna told the Council.
Bertagna shared with
Council information he
gleaned from a meeting he
attended regarding the latest
findings concerning the safety
of roundabouts. When signals
are used for traffic control on
roads where cars are coming
from a high-speed rural road
into an urban setting, much
like Highway 20 into Sisters,
the chances for high-speed,
high-impact accidents are
very high.
Roundabouts, as an area of
transition, provide for much
greater intersection safety.
The change of pavement from
asphalt to concrete signals to
the driver that something dif-
ferent is coming. The road
geometry of a roundabout
makes a driver pay more
attention than does a straight
stretch of highway. The inclu-
sion of streetlights and curbs
also draws attention to the
upcoming intersection. On
Highway 20, signs indicating
slower speeds will be placed
further west of town than
where they currently are.
The Sisters roundabout
will be the third largest round-
about in Oregon, designed to
accommodate freight trucks.
There is one located in Astoria
and another on Oregon
Highway 47 at Verboort,
northeast of Forest Grove.
Bertagna reported having vis-
ited the Verboort roundabout
to observe the traffic flow. He
said it functioned well.
To date, there have been
no fatalities reported on
any Oregon roundabouts.
Statistics support the conten-
tion that roundabouts provide
operational functionality and
increased intersection safety.
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group, they are currently
working on a “call for artists”
process that will take place
over the next several months,
as well as developing a public
involvement process for the
future artist/art selection. They
will provide a recommenda-
tion to the Sisters Planning
Commission for their con-
sideration, who will in turn
provide a recommendation to
the Council for final approval.
Needing to have the proj-
ect completed by Memorial
Day puts the project on a
tight schedule. To ensure the
project would be finished,
even if there are delays due
to inclement winter weather,
ODOT charted the winter
weather in Sisters for the last
15-20 years. If needed, they
can do some nighttime work,
which would not include any
noisy tasks such as jackham-
mering. If they lose a month
to weather, they can double-
shift to catch up.
Plans for equipment stag-
ing have also been care-
fully considered to reduce
impact on the surrounding
area. Through an agreement
with the U.S. Forest Service,
all equipment will be staged
on the north side of Barclay
Drive, where the future USFS
headquarters are planned. By
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