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Residents press council for safety study as Pleasant Avenue project reallocates a traffic lane
Summary
Residents and at least one council member urged a safety study and clearer public plans after staff described reallocating one southbound through lane to a two-way left-turn lane as part of the Pleasant Avenue multimodal project; council approved property appropriations to meet project deadlines.
Council approved an ordinance to appropriate property interests needed for the Pleasant Avenue Road Improvement Project, but the plan's lane reallocation drew sustained public concern about safety and transparency.
Scott Lepsky, a resident of Carousel Circle, told council that the project — part of a combined effort with an estimated cost in the $5.5 million range — appears to reduce two southbound lanes to one in a key segment and urged the city to commission a dedicated safety study before proceeding. "Before $5,500,000 is spent on this combined total combined project, I think it's worth at least getting a safety study," Lepsky said.
City staff said the design was developed with traffic engineers and reviewed by ODOT and that the change creates a two-way left-turn lane to provide a safe refuge for left-turning vehicles. A city engineer explained that "the left turn lane comes at the cost of a 2nd through lane" in a limited stretch and that the existing two-lane southbound condition currently ends approximately 800–1,000 feet south of Wessel Drive where the merge begins. Staff also noted they held an open house and have engaged affected property owners as acquisitions proceed.
Council members acknowledged the public concern but said the appropriation ordinance was needed to complete property acquisitions by a September deadline and preserve the project timeline. Council voted to adopt the appropriation ordinance and move forward with the work required to meet the ODOT-related schedule.
The council also said it will provide the public with final plans on request and reiterated that the project aims to add sidewalks and a multi-use path cited in the city's connectivity plan. Residents at the meeting continued to press for clearer public dissemination of the final design and an explicit, standalone safety analysis before construction begins.
