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City of Bend proposes updated transportation standards, schedules Sept. 17 open house
Summary
City of Bend staff outlined a multi-part update to engineering and street standards that would add context-sensitive street types, traffic calming tools, complete-streets elements and updated lighting; staff will host an open house Sept. 17 to gather public input on the Neighborhood Connections Project and standards draft.
Janet Ruby, the City of Bend assistant city engineer for transportation, told the Bend MPO policy board that the city is combining annual staff amendments with a larger, focused update to engineering and transportation standards to add context overlays, traffic calming tools and more local street sections.
"We're moving those elements into standards, and kind of eliminating that as a separate optional document," Ruby said, describing proposed changes such as raised crosswalks, separated bikeways and more explicit streetlight standards. She said the decision-making framework and stormwater/small-lot drainage guidance are also part of the update.
Ruby said the standards update will be paired with the growth plan work where relevant and that the city aims to draft text through the fall and spring, post a public review copy next summer and pursue council adoption the following fall. She invited the board and public to an open house on Sept. 17 at the Larkspur Community Center and said an online open house will run Sept. 17–Oct. 1.
Board members pressed staff on links to the growth plan, timing for updates to the city’s "do not widen" list and how the standards will address public confusion where routes transition from asphalt to sidewalk. Ruby said staff are coordinating with the consultant working on both the standards and the growth plan and are preparing clearer mapping and public-facing materials to show which routes are intended for regular bikes versus sidewalks and to support education efforts.
The presentation also described the Neighborhood Connections Project, an annual/biennial package that consolidates prior bikeway, sidewalk and slow-speed projects into a set of smaller citywide projects, which Ruby said has $1.2 million in biennial funding for the current biennium, $800,000 for the next biennium and a one-time $1.2 million from land-sale proceeds for additional projects. Staff said they will prioritize projects and aim to design and bid selected projects for construction next summer or fall.
Board members recommended that staff include examples from other cities, refine lighting standards to address safety concerns at crosswalks and pursue legislative clarity at the state level for multiuse path and e-bike rules. Ruby said staff will follow up with more mapping, schedule details and outreach materials ahead of the open house.
