Crook County holds first hearing on updated Transportation System Plan; Juniper Canyon access options draw debate

The Crook County Board of Commissioners on Oct. 1 heard a presentation on Ordinance 3-54, a proposed amendment to the county comprehensive plan to adopt a 2025 Transportation System Plan (TSP) that lays out 20-year multimodal priorities, funding approaches, and project concepts.

Ryan Farcom, a consultant with Parametrix, told the board the TSP is a 20-year planning tool intended to guide funding requests and land-use conversations rather than compel immediate construction. "It is a plan for addressing all modes of travel within the county, and we look 20 years out," he said, summarizing the document's purpose and goals.

The presentation highlighted community engagement—more than 500 participants across in-person and online events—and identified two recurring priorities: the Powell Butte Highway/Highway 126 intersection and access concerns in Juniper Canyon. Farcom described concept designs for roundabouts at several congested intersections, saying roundabouts "help slow traffic" and reduce conflict points while often performing better than signals for throughput.

On Juniper Canyon, the TSP presents two vetted alternatives intended to provide redundant routes for emergency response and evacuation. The first, labeled W1, would connect Davis Loop to Highway 27 and is estimated at about $6 million to $13 million at planning-level accuracy. The second, labeled E10, would provide an eastern connection largely on Bureau of Land Management land and was estimated at roughly $24 million to $52 million. Farcom emphasized these are Class 5 planning estimates with wide uncertainty: "we generally provide a range of minus 30% to plus 50% of the base costs."

Commissioners discussed whether to keep a widening of Juniper Canyon Road as a potential TSP alternative. Some commissioners warned that listing multiple competing options could dilute project priority; others said keeping the widening "on the menu" for long-range planning would preserve flexibility as growth continues. The board and staff agreed further coordination with the Oregon Department of Transportation would be needed for projects that touch state facilities.

The staff also outlined the TSP's funding context. The total planning-level cost for projects in the TSP was presented at about $112,000,000, with approximately $30,000,000 tied to projects on ODOT facilities. The consultant and staff said the county has no dedicated transportation capital fund; implementation would therefore rely on grants, system development charges (SDCs), local improvement districts, partnerships with developers, or other local revenue mechanisms.

Public testimony reflected both support for planning and concern about local impacts. An online commenter identified as Tim urged the board to protect agricultural and freight needs when designing intersections, warning that "when they get built, they're much smaller, making those intersections more difficult to address." Gordon Porter, a resident whose home is near a proposed Davis Loop connection, urged more vetting and highlighted safety concerns near schools, the fairgrounds, and other high-use areas. "Has there been enough vetting?" he asked, urging continued transparency.

Staff and the consultant noted survey results indicating broad support for the TSP (reported as about 90% overall support in outreach) and singled out the Powell Butte/126 intersection as the most frequently identified priority. The consultant also noted an existing memorandum of agreement among the county, ODOT and a developer to fund a Powell Butte/126 project and urged continued coordination on timing.

The board closed the record for this first hearing and set a second, de novo hearing for Oct. 15, 2025, at 9:00 a.m., at which time commissioners will decide whether to adopt, modify, or reject Ordinance 3-54. The record will remain open until that second hearing.