Keizer committee hears TSP update, backs two $500 helmet-grant recommendations to council

The Keizer Multimodal Safety Committee on May 21 received an update from public works staff that a consultant agreement for the city’s Transportation System Plan (TSP) — delayed while state and federal reviewers examined the budget and scope — has been received and is now in legal review, allowing work to start within “the next couple of months,” staff said.

“I’m Carrie Blaylock, the public works director,” Blaylock told the committee, and said the agreement arrived the previous afternoon. She said the Department of Justice review had held the contract up and that the project will also be reviewed by the state, the consultant (DKS) and ODOT before work proceeds. Blaylock said climate-related rules from the Climate Friendly and Equitable Communities (CFEC) program will shape the multimodal element and that the committee “will have some opportunity for engagement” as the consultant develops a community outreach strategy.

The committee pressed staff on who will decide the outreach structure. Blaylock said consultants typically propose how to get from “a to b within the budget,” and that the city will work with that proposal; she said the committee could be engaged either through separate technical and citizen advisory groups or a combined committee and that staff would bring the matter back for committee review.

Members then moved through the meeting’s active-project spreadsheet and discussed several recurring topics: speeding complaints around schools and neighborhood streets, an area-specific crossing near Windsor Island and Lock Haven that parents and the elementary school principal said children are avoiding, and the city’s new sidewalk program.

Blaylock described the sidewalk effort as two-pronged: an infill program to address gaps and a repair arm that would offer low-interest loans (not a full-match requirement) for homeowners to fix damaged sections. “There’ll be two different arms…an infill program” and a repair program with a low-interest loan, she said, and staff are working on finance details and intend to bring a draft to the committee when it is near final.

Committee members raised data questions about neighborhood traffic management procedures and scoring thresholds. One member urged focusing counts and speed sampling on the short time windows that matter — for example, school arrival and dismissal — not 24-hour averages, saying that using narrower windows would better reflect local pedestrian safety needs.

The meeting recorded two formal committee recommendations to go to the city council related to the Keizer helmet program. Committee member (S2) moved that the committee recommend the council accept a $500 Rotary grant for helmets; the motion was seconded and approved by voice vote with no opposition recorded on the transcript. The committee also approved a recommendation that council accept up to $500 from the Salem Bicycle Club; staff were asked to include the appropriate one-page form and supporting documentation in the council packet.

Staff reports included the start of annual catch-basin inspections, completion of ADA ramp work on Fifteenth between Willow Lake and Chemawa North, and contractor mobilization for the Verdelane northeast reconstruction project with an expected completion in late October. Staff also told the committee that a River Road signal project — a grant application submitted in 2020 for new signal heads and protected left-turn arrows — remains in the queue but has showings of renewed momentum; planned signal upgrades (about nine intersections) would include pedestrian interaction so crossings can be coordinated with vehicular signals.

The committee discussed street-sweeper performance and vegetation obscuring speed signs; staff asked members to forward specific locations so crews could respond. Police traffic staff said temporary training assignments had constrained traffic enforcement capacity but urged residents to call the police directly when they have timely video or incidents so officers can respond while evidence is fresh.

The committee refined the list of topics it will take to a June 8 joint work session with the city council and agreed to prepare a cleaned, formatted packet item reflecting neighborhood traffic-management recommendations and examples of pedestrian-safety priorities. The committee adjourned after approving the helmet-grant recommendations and confirming next steps on staff follow-ups.