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Residents press Wheeler council for traffic-calming and photo-radar after near-misses on Highway 101
Summary
Residents and business owners told Wheeler council repeated high-speed passes and near-miss pedestrian incidents on Highway 101 risk lives; council agreed to compile video evidence, request speed data, and schedule a meeting with ODOT and state representatives to seek engineering and enforcement remedies including radar displays and flashing beacons.
Multiple Wheeler residents and business owners pressed the City Council for urgent action after several videos, and eyewitness accounts, showed vehicles passing in the wrong lane and narrowly missing pedestrians on Highway 101 through downtown Wheeler.
A resident who submitted written testimony, Mark Nelson, asked the council to consider photo radar with a six-week no-penalty trial and digital speed readouts to improve compliance. Councilors then showed council-screened video clips taken on October 9 and October 16 that depict vehicles passing on double yellow lines and close calls at a downtown crosswalk.
Several residents described repeated high-speed driving and the feeling that law enforcement and the Oregon Department of Transportation had not provided effective answers. One downtown resident said tenants regularly fear crossing the street and reported cars passing at what she estimated were 50–80 mph. “I will not be ignored anymore,” a resident said, urging the council to escalate the issue.
Councilors responded by directing staff to collect and share contacts and evidence residents already provided, to request more formal speed-and-volume data (including radar-readout or camera reports), and to schedule a November meeting with ODOT and legislative staff to press for engineering or enforcement measures. The council said it will also explore free temporary radar-display units the county sheriff might provide for data collection.
Staff asked residents to forward their videos and contact names to help the council make a data-driven case to ODOT and to the county sheriff’s office. A council member also suggested contacting local logging companies to request route or scheduling changes where trucks compound safety concerns.
Next steps: staff will compile resident evidence, contact ODOT and state representatives as directed, and report back with a proposed plan for data collection and any grant or equipment options.
