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Neighbors raise safety concerns as council approves Fords Pond grant application
Summary
After residents urged the council to avoid a trailer-launch ramp that would cross a busy multiuse path, the Sutherlin City Council voted to apply for the Fords Pond LGGP grant while staff committed to pursue safer design options with the Oregon State Marine Board.
Council members voted to apply for a grant to fund a Fords Pond shoreline access project after residents urged changes to the conceptual design, emphasizing pedestrian safety.
Jim Hausman, representing the Friends of Port DuPont, told the council the proposed Highway 138 trailer ramp would force vehicles with boat trailers to back across the park’s primary 10-foot multiuse path, creating "a high risk intersection between heavy vehicles and path users, including families with small children and seniors." He urged the city to consider the Marine Board’s hand-launch funding and to avoid a design that prioritizes trailer convenience over pedestrian safety.
Beth Hausman, a nearby resident who said she walks the path daily, described heavy, year-round use by walkers, cyclists, parents with strollers and others and said the design as presented could narrow the path, obstruct sightlines and expose users to idling trucks. "I don't think backing a truck and or a trailer across this popular multiuse path is a safety nightmare," she said, urging a hand-launch approach for kayaks and other small craft.
Christy Gilbert, community development staff, said the drawings are conceptual and were engineered by the Oregon State Marine Board to support grant applications. She noted the project already has wetland permitting and a joint application through the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and that the grant process would help avoid borrowing city money. Gilbert told the council she would "work with the Marine Board as far as is there another design, or what are those options look like to keep everyone safe." The council approved moving forward with the grant application and directed staff to continue design coordination with engineers and the Marine Board before finalizing engineered drawings.
Next steps: staff will pursue the LGGP funding and the Oregon State Marine Board grant match, continue to refine the design to comply with wetland permits and work with residents and engineers on safer launch options. No final construction drawings were approved at this meeting.
