OPINION
6A
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2017
Founded in 1873
DAVID F. PERO, Publisher & Editor
JIM VAN NOSTRAND, Managing Editor
JEREMY FELDMAN, Circulation Manager
DEBRA BLOOM, Business Manager
JOHN D. BRUIJN, Production Manager
CARL EARL, Systems Manager
OUR VIEW
Downtown retailers
should focus on locals
W
hile some people may believe tourists dominate the
downtown Astoria shopping scene, a recent study
dispels the perception and offers the business com-
munity solid information to act upon.
The analysis, commissioned by the Astoria Downtown
Historic District Association, shows two-thirds of the people
entering downtown’s shops and restaurants are locals rather
than tourists, and nearly half of the locals are from Astoria. The
study also points out that downtown residents and the estimated
1,300 people who work there comprise the largest segment of
estimated consumer spending. Visitors are the second largest
segment, but spend more per customer. But that’s not surprising
because tourists also incur costs for lodging and multiple meals
that local shoppers don’t experience.
The analysis included a survey of 327 people and looked at
spending and downtown perceptions.
Among the specifi c fi ndings is a need for more staple and
regional goods, later shopping hours, more diversity of cuisine
and additional grocery options. Respondents also said there’s a
need for better access to parking. Parking problems are also not
surprising, it has been a persistent issue and must be addressed
no matter who the customers are.
David Reid, the former chairman of the downtown asso-
ciation’s business development committee, says a clear
result is the need for retailers to focus on locals as the core
demographic.
While tourism provides additional dollars, the local numbers
show Reid’s right. Reid says the association will use the report
to help downtown businesses while also using it to recruit
where gaps exist.
For the business community, that’s news to use. With chang-
ing consumer habits brought on by i nternet behemoths like
Amazon , retailers must be more nimble and willing to try new
ideas, seizing opportunities where they exist. Downtown con-
tains stores in most retail categories, but it lacks category clus-
ters. That’s also an opportunity and makes recruiting a priority.
The demographics of Astoria, Clatsop County and the Long
Beach Peninsula are more interesting to retailers today than
they were a decade ago, and with the closure of the downtown
J.C. Penney and other vacant storefronts, space and location
shouldn’t be an obstacle.
Residents should do their part, too, to keep dollars in the
community where the money can do the most good. Shop local.
County on the clock
on new jail location
I
n the coming months, Clatsop County commissioners will
likely face a tough law-and-order decision. They are study-
ing whether to relocate and expand the county jail to the
shuttered North Coast Youth Correctional Facility in Warrenton,
and the potential price tag ranges from an expensive $12 million
to a whopping $28 million.
The 60-bed county jail in Astoria opened in 1980 and has a
staff of 29. This year, it has averaged a population of 68 inmates
per day and the overcrowding is growing. The crowding often
results in inmates being released early, without having to post
bail, even when they have criminal charges pending. Sheriff
Tom Bergin cites multiple studies showing the need for expan-
sion, and District Attorney Josh Marquis says without it law
enforcement will “constantly be chasing the same people over
and over again.” But two previous bond measures failed, leav-
ing it to county commissioners to deliberate without any money
to work with.
After learning the youth facility was closing, a $51,000 feasi-
bility study on relocating the jail was conducted. Two potential
options resulted.
One proposal advocates renovating and expanding the youth
facility to 140 beds at a construction cost of $12 million. It
would require a jail staff of 46.
The second option, at a price of $28 million, would be a much
larger project, expanding the facility to 200 beds with room to
grow to 252. It would require only 36 staffers because of its
design features.
The higher cost of the second option would be mitigated
after 10 years by its lower staffi ng cost, the study predicts. But
both options represent signifi cant payroll increases from current
levels.
Moving the jail to the Warrenton site could solve two imme-
diate problems of what to do with the closed facility, and how to
expand jail space. But without a solid plan and obtainable fund-
ing for construction and subsequent payroll, neither are likely to
happen. There are still many unanswered questions. While the
idea is promising, unfortunately, the reality may not be without
money to fi nance it.
The state is offi cially closing the youth facility this month so
the county is now on the clock.
SOUTHERN EXPOSURE
An illuminating
discussion in Arch Cape
By R.J. MARX
The Daily Astorian
A
RCH CAPE — “One of the many
projects on the books,” is how Oregon
Department of Transportation Northwest
Area Project Leader Michael
Schroeder described replace-
ment of lights and fi xtures at
the Arch Cape Tunnel during a
September information session
at the fi re station.
Once upon a time, Arch
Cape was at the end of a wagon
road from Seaside. The 1,230-yard long tunnel
on U.S. Highway 101 connected the North Coast
to Manzanita.
The lights were probably the easiest part of
the original construction project.
According to “Arch Cape Chronicles: The
History of Arch Cape,” some of the rock was
sandstone while other rock was a much harder
basalt. Sandstone is less stable than basalt and
when exposed to air, immediately becomes soft
and crumbles like dirt. Timber beams were nec-
essary to prevent a cave-in.
During construction, workers stayed on the
ocean side of the north entrance at the Arch
Cape Hotel. Carbon monoxide and gas fumes
felled the men, who rarely lasted longer than a
few months on the job.
Tunnel worker Charles Haddock said in a
1993 interview that while the brakes of his Inter-
national Harvester truck were good and the cab
kept out of the rain, “I can recall no other com-
forts by today’s standards.”
The project was delayed by heavy rains, mud,
inexperienced supervision, improper equipment
and transport woes.
W inds of up to 70 mph battered workers
and lashed unheated cabins in what laborers
described as “wild country.”
Construction began in early 1936. Comple-
tion was expected by year-end, but weather,
inexperience and equipment delays extended
the completion date until 1938. It wasn’t until
March 1940 that work was completed with the
laying of asphalt, gutters and curbs.
Arch Cape was no longer isolated. The Ore-
gon Department of Transportation estimates the
tunnel receives about 5,000 vehicles a day.
Let there be light
The original lighting used mercury bulbs and
PCB ballasts, Schroeder said, using a chemical
banned in 1976 and phased out in years to come
due to their toxic effects.
A multimillion-dollar 1998 construction
project replaced the tunnel’s rotting timber lin-
ings with steel-reinforced concrete. Engineers
swapped lighting fi xtures with halogen lamps.
The reopening was celebrated with the “crash-
ing” of a paper barrier by three jeeps.
The state’s tunnel inspection program
selected the Arch Cape Tunnel as one of three
(of nine tunnels managed by ODOT) for
“in-depth” 10-year inspections.
Two have been performed, in 2000 and 2010,
with regular inspections every two years and
drainage cleaning twice a year.
Inspections focused on the tunnel’s entrances,
liners and lighting.
Since that time, while they’re all working,
they require “a lot of power” and frequent repair,
R.J. Marx/ The Daily Astorian
Project manager Walter Bartel and Michael
Schroeder of the Oregon Department of Trans-
portation at an open house introducing the
new lighting system for the Arch Cape Tunnel.
Submitted P hoto
Tunnel at a 2010 site visit.
Schroeder said.
Galvanized aluminum harnesses have rusted
out, and while not in danger of dropping off the
ceiling “anytime soon,” in fi ve to 10 years they
could become a danger to the motoring public.
Energy friendly
About two years ago, ODOT applied for a fed-
eral grant to replace the lamps, seeking about $1
million for the project.
The Federal Highway Administration saw
the need and approved funds to replace the sys-
tem. The state will also receive a rebate from the
Energy Trust of Oregon.
The lighting project is slated for a 90-day
spring construction schedule.
Materials will be stainless steel, except for
the lights, which will be ceramic. High-lifts will
take the system down and drill the bolts to hang
the hangers. Lights will be epoxy-bolted in a
concrete liner drilled into solid rock before wir-
ing through a conduit.
Most of the work will be done at night. The
new lights will be built next to the existing ones
so there will be no interruption of service.
During installation, one lane will be closed
and a pilot car will lead a single-lane of traffi c.
When complete, LED lighting will reduce
electrical costs by 56 percent, Schroeder said.
The lights will be managed by a timer in a
controller cabinet .
Bike-warning lights will also be enhanced to
protect cyclists heading through the tunnel.
Maybe next on the tunnel modifi cation
agenda will be a genuine bike lane. Right now,
it’s a daunting proposition for anyone on two
wheels.
R.J. Marx is The Daily Astorian’s South
County reporter and editor of the Seaside Signal
and Cannon Beach Gazette.
Tunnel construction at the north portal.
Submitted P hoto