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Coos Bay work session advances final design for Front Street–Mingus Park bike route amid ODOT crossing and parking concerns
Summary
Staff outlined a preferred Front Street–Mingus Park bike route that would remove on-street parking on a three-block stretch on Commercial Avenue, require a new bike signal at Fourth & Commercial and an ODOT-approved crossing of Highway 101 (staff estimated roughly $230,000 for the crossing); council asked staff to advance final design and to seek a formal meeting with ODOT.
City staff presented a preferred alternative for a Front Street–to–Mingus Park bicycle route and asked the joint council and Parks Commission to advance the project into a final design phase.
The proposed route begins at Front Street and Market, crosses Highway 101, uses sharrows on Market to North Fourth Street, then travels west on Commercial Avenue into a two-way buffered bike lane on North Seventh Street between Fourth and Seventh, and concludes at the Mingus Park entrance. The plan includes a mirrored return route. "The preferred alternative included a return route with 3 blocks of a dual, 2-directional buffered bike lane on Commercial between Seventh and Fourth," said Eric Clough, a former Parks Commission member who commented during public comment and worked with the bike committee.
Staff said the route would remove on-street parking on the north side of Commercial Avenue between Fourth and Seventh — limited to that three-block stretch — and noted that many downtown businesses have off-street parking. "So there will be some loss of parking along that 3 block stretch," Clough said during public comment; "Nowhere else in town is there any parking being lost, being proposed."
Design challenges highlighted by staff include safe crossings of Highway 101 and a new bike-signal phase at Fourth and Commercial that may require a new pole. Greg, a city staff presenter, gave preliminary cost figures: an ODOT-required crossing could cost "right around $230,000," and the final-design work includes a $38,000 design budget staff recommended advancing to obtain more precise construction estimates. "It would require a new pole," Greg said about the Fourth & Commercial signal, but he declined to speculate on construction costs until a design phase provides firm numbers.
Councilors and commissioners said ODOT approval is a critical gating issue. "They will not and have not agreed to allow us even to put [a light] in," said Joe (no last name provided), a council member, describing past ODOT resistance to adding signals on that stretch of Highway 101; he urged staff to request a formal sit-down meeting with ODOT so the city can determine whether the crossing and signal are feasible. Several councilors suggested staff pursue a meeting with ODOT and pursue grant or match funding for both design and construction.
Next steps the joint group endorsed included advancing the route to a final design to produce firm cost estimates, preparing a budget request for the design phase, and coordinating a formal meeting with ODOT to resolve crossing permissions and constraints. If the final design confirms costs and regulatory feasibility, council will consider funding the construction phase in a future budget or grant application.
