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Safe Routes to School plan to be accepted but not adopted into Coos Bay transportation plan amid ODOT funding concerns
Summary
City staff said the Safe Routes to School plan will be presented to council for acceptance Aug. 5 but will not be adopted into the city's Transportation System Plan; commissioners raised concerns about ODOT staffing and potential project slowdowns and learned a Front Street bicycle/pedestrian project was placed on an alternative funding list.
City of Coos Bay staff told the Parks Commission the Safe Routes to School plan will be presented to the city council for acceptance on Aug. 5 but will not be adopted into the Transportation System Plan (TSP), and commissioners raised concerns about whether state funding will be available to implement construction grants tied to the plan.
Christina Techshera, City of Coos Bay, said the city "submitted an application to support bicycle and pedestrian planning efforts" and that the Safe Routes to School (SRTS) plan will be presented to council but "we will not be including it as part of our TSP. We will be we will accept it and adopt it, but it'll not be part of our TSP." Techshera also reported the city's Front Street project was placed on an alternative funding list for the Oregon Transportation Commission program after a $45,000 Lowe's grant application for restrooms was not selected.
Commissioners pressed for the reason the Front Street project landed on the alternative list. In the discussion, staff said the review panel received many applications from the region, and one commissioner suggested the panel "had some reasons that they wanted to do something else" despite staff incorporating feedback into the application.
Commissioners also raised recent reporting that the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) has cut staff and faces budgetary constraints. Greg Hamlet, City of Coos Bay, said he has "not heard" that construction funding was halted and that the city would "proceed forward as if that funding is there, until we hear otherwise." Commissioners cautioned that significant staff reductions and project cuts at ODOT could slow reviews and implementation of state-funded projects.
Staff described next steps: the SRTS plan will be presented to council for acceptance, the city will watch ODOT's funding announcements, and staff encouraged community members to participate in ongoing outreach. The commission also discussed local survey work and coordination with neighboring North Bend planners and the city’s Project Management Team who responded to consultant surveys during plan development.
The Parks Commission did not take a formal action; staff will bring the accepted plan to council and monitor ODOT developments and future grant opportunities for construction funding.
