Keizertimes., May 28, 2021, Page 4, Image 4

PAGE A4, KEIZERTIMES, MAY 28, 2021
PGE plans
Traffi c safety committee ponders
slower speeds, better bike lane striping for resilience
CIT Y
Meetings
By ERIC A. HOWALD
Of the Keizertimes
Figuring out how to make the city
more friendly for pedestrians and cyclists
through reduced speeds and new asphalt
striping were some of the leading topics
of a recent Traffi c Safety, Bikeways and
Pedestrian Committee.
“Under the new standards, River Road
north of Lockhaven and Wheatland Road
could both be eligible for reductions,” said
Mike DeBlasi, chair of the committee.
In 2020, the Oregon Department of
Transportation updated its speed zon-
ing process allowing for local authori-
ties to petition for speed zone changes.
Previously, speed zones were set based
on the speed at which 85% of drivers trav-
eled at or below. The new policy takes
into consideration the surrounding com-
munity and use speeds as low as the 50th
percentile.
DeBlasi argued that Wheatland and
the north stretch of River Road qualifi ed
as urban settings and therefore a speed
reduction.
Sgt. David LeDay, the Keizer Police
Department liaison to the committee,
said that most crashes in Keizer are not
the result of speeding.
“Speed is not the issue, it’s impair-
ment or distracted driving,” LeDay said.
David Dempster, another member of
the committee, and Councilor Ross Day,
the Keizer City Council’s liaison to the
committee, both suggested there wasn’t
a need to reduce vehicle speeds in the
city.
“It sounds to me like you are only con-
sidering this because you can. If the rec-
ommendation is to lower the speed limit
because we can, that isn’t going to get
you very far,” Day said.
DeBlasi countered that setting speeds
at the 85th percentile caters to drivers
interested in pushing the envelope of
safety at the expense of pedestrians and
cyclists feeling safe.
“It’s about the context and whether it’s
a space to get from place A to B quickly
or a place where people are living,”
DeBlasi said.
There needed to be a more care-
ful conversation before moving in a
direction that would consume taxpayer
money, said Hersch Sangster, another
member of the committee.
Committee members made more
headway discussing additional strip-
ing for bike lanes in places where large
intersections exist. DeBlasi suggested
Lockhaven-Chemawa,
Chemawa-
Shoreline and Verda-Alder-Claxter.
DeBlasi said he wanted to encourage the
city to plan for restriping bike lanes, in
a diff erent color, as the roads narrow in
those areas. He said it would signal to
drivers to provide space for cyclists in
those areas.
Sangster off ered his full support of the
idea.
“Most cycling organizations now
recommend color and I think we need
to take the steps to have it included,”
Sangster said.
The committee would need to recom-
mend specifi c changes to the Keizer City
Council and either work into the existing
budget for public works or planned for in
coming years.
Sign up for SKPS summer camps
Salem-Keizer Public Schools will be
hosting nearly 200 free enrichment oppor-
tunities and academic programs for stu-
dents on a variety of topics and focus areas
SUBSCRIBE
Call 503 . 390.1051
keizertimes.com/store
*Rate for inside Marion County
and they are open to all students.
The array of programming includes
topics such as foreign languages, engi-
neering, cooking, performing arts and
fused glass. A full list is at tinyurl.com/
skpscamps. Many camps are being off ered
more than once and all COVID-19-related
precautions will be in place for programs
that meet in person.
Camps being hosted at McNary High
School include: Science Magic-Design
Challenge, Exploring Language Arts
through Stop Motion Film Animation,
Farm to Fork, Summer Rock Orchestra
Camp and Bell-choir camp.
The registration window for summer
programs will close on Monday, May 31. A
lottery system will be used if registrations
exceed program capacity. Families will be
notifi ed of program placement by June 4,
2021.
Session 1: June 28-July 9
Session 2: July 12-23
Session 3: July 26-Aug. 6
Session 4: Aug. 9-20
District offi cials are still determin-
ing what transportation options will be
available.
after fi res, ice
By ERIC A. HOWALD
Of the Keizertimes
An historic ice storm, explosive wild-
fi res and a yearlong pandemic are prompt-
ing Portland General Electric (PGE) to
build a more resilient power grid, said
leaders at the company.
Maria Pope. President and CEO of PGE,
Bill Messner, director of safety, resiliency
and wildfi re mitigation, and Kevin Putnam,
director of utility operations spoke with
members of the Keizer City Council at a
work session Monday, May 24.
The aftermath of the ice storm was “the
largest restoration eff ort in the company’s
history,” said Pope.
More than two-thirds of Keizer resi-
dents, 11,500 homes, lost power and the
average outage lasted 62 hours.
“A series of storms added more ice to
our lines each time. We sustained mas-
sive damage to our transmission lines and
found some lines with ice as thick as an
inch-and-a-half on them,” added Putnam.
Between fi res and ice, the company is
investigating how to make the regional
grid more resilient to all threats.
“We are looking at things like duc-
tile iron poles, fi berglass cross arms and
aggressive vegetation removal,” Messner
said
The eff ort includes hardening the
software that runs the grid against cyber
attacks such as the one that recently shut
down an oil pipeline in the eastern U.S.
“We have a suite of tools to try to get
the most resilient assets in place and try
to make the best, low-cost decision for the
customers,” Putnam added.
Mayor Cathy Clark encouraged the
company’s representatives to partner with
the city on messaging around powering
food storage and medical devices during
outages. Those were the most frequent
questions she fi elded as a result of the ice
storm earlier this year.
Worship DIRECTORY
These Salem-Keizer houses of worship invite you to visit. Call to list your church in our Worship Directory: 503-390-1051
www.KeizerChristian.org
YOUR CHURCH'S
LISTING HERE.
Call Bill at 503.390.1051