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River Road residents urge Lane County to absorb Local Access Roads into county system
Summary
Residents and River Road Community Organization board members asked the Lane County commissioners to adopt an ordinance to incorporate a small number of local access roads (LARs) inside the urban growth boundary into the county road system so homeowners are not individually liable for maintenance and liability.
Residents of River Road and representatives of the River Road Community Organization urged the Lane County Board of Commissioners during public comment to incorporate a handful of local access roads (LARs) inside the urban growth boundary into the county-maintained road system.
Polly Habilston and Laura Hsu, speaking for neighbors and the River Road Community Organization, said many homeowners learned only after purchase that their street is designated a local access road and that those homeowners bear maintenance costs, potential liability for injuries on the road and unclear expectations about repairs. Habilston told the board most of the LARs at issue "have not been paved since the sewer project in 1991" and said the number of affected roads is small — "6 to 7 out of 1,400 total county roads." Hsu delivered a letter on behalf of the River Road Community Organization asking the board to bring a plan to a work session showing how the county could accept these roads without requiring homeowners to bring them up to new-road standards first.
County staff and public works have previously outlined legal and technical reasons for not immediately accepting LARs into the county system, commissioners and commenters said. Commenters said they do not seek immediate reconstruction or a change in the county budget, only formal acceptance that would put the roads on the county's maintenance list for future funding cycles.
The board scheduled a work session on LARs for the coming week; staff told residents they would present options and a timeline for how the county might proceed. No formal board action was taken at Tuesday's meeting on the LAR petitions.
