Neighborhoods push for crosswalks, flashing beacons and sidewalk links in Keizer
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Summary
Residents and neighborhood associations urged the Keizer Multimodal Safety Committee to prioritize new pedestrian crossings—River Road at Plymouth, Lock Haven at Windsor Island, Chemawa near Keizer Rapids Park and other school/park crossings—and asked the committee to gather top-five priorities for funding and engineering review.
Neighborhood representatives told the Multimodal Safety Committee on Jan. 15 that growing park and school use and new housing make several unsignalized crossings increasingly dangerous and in need of design upgrades.
Rhonda Rich, president of the West Keizer Neighborhood Association, presented a set of suggested locations and said the association surveyed members on the pedestrian-road crossings list. She said a Chemawa crossing near Keizer Rapids Park is already heavily used during games and events and recommended a flashing beacon or a more substantial crossing treatment in the future.
Residents and committee members identified several recurring priorities: River Road at Plymouth (bus stops, poor lighting, high through traffic); Lock Haven at Windsor Island Road (ties to Safe Routes to School recommendations and new apartment development); Alder at Pleasant View (awkward alignment; a fire hydrant and drainage features complicate pedestrian movement); and 14th at Mandarin (high traffic during soccer season). Committee members asked each neighborhood to return a ranked top-five list so staff can prioritize engineering assessment and potential budget requests.
Public works staff said some of the suggested locations coincide with planned resurfacing or long-range transportation planning and confirmed that resurfacing projects can include ADA ramp upgrades and striping improvements. Staff asked neighborhoods to supply contact information and recommendations in writing so the city can incorporate requests into capital planning and budget discussions.
What’s next: The committee will circulate a poll asking members and neighborhood associations to name their top five priorities. Staff and committee members will use those rankings, police and public-works data, and the Transportation System Plan to prioritize candidate crossings for design and funding.
