Riverside Animal Hospital urges county to press Bend to keep access during Olney Avenue road project
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Summary
Two owners of Riverside Animal Hospital told the Deschutes County Board of Commissioners that the Olney Avenue/Wall-only bike project in Bend will block east-side access to their veterinary clinic, harming customers and small-business revenue; they asked the county to contact Bend City Council to request a median gap.
Two speakers representing Riverside Animal Hospital used the public-comment period to ask the Board of Commissioners to encourage the City of Bend to preserve east-side access to the clinic during a road project on Olney Avenue.
Sarah Provencio, who identified herself as a co-owner and a Bend resident, told the board she supports safer streets but warned that lane reductions, medians and other "road diet" measures can impede emergency response and evacuations in a high-wildfire area and could also impede business access. "We must prioritize mobility and access for all residents in case of emergency," she said.
Debbie Putnam, who also identified herself as an owner, described operational impacts her clinic has already experienced during construction. Putnam said the clinic has seen an approximately 12% reduction in gross income since construction started and that permanent loss of east access to the clinic from Olney Avenue would have long-lasting effects. She said Riverside employs about 30 people and is one of a handful of independent veterinary clinics in Bend that has not sold to a corporate chain.
Both speakers asked the board to contact Bend City Council and request that the council create a gap in the proposed median so eastbound customers can reach the clinic. The county chair said the speakers had made their case directly to the city council; no county action or vote was taken at the meeting.
