A state senator from Lincoln County is asking colleagues to approve a study examining congestion and safety on U.S. Highway 101 between Lincoln City and Coos Bay.
The highway bisects many communities and during high-traffic summer months, it can be dangerous for tourists and locals. The road has also seen closures from landslides, and other dangerous weather conditions. That was especially apparent during last month’s ice storm and heavy rains, which damaged already vulnerable areas of the highway.
Sen. Dick Anderson, R-Lincoln City, said he’s hoping the state will intervene, starting with a transportation study this legislative session.
“This may not seem to rise to the level of a housing issue,” he said, “or a childcare issue, but it certainly impacts a great many Oregonians and visitors.”
He says he plans to use the study’s findings in a request for infrastructure improvements next year.
Senate Bill 1563 has its first hearing on Tuesday evening.
In addition, one Lincoln County Commissioner candidate’s press release mentioned expanding roads. But our County Buses are like instant congestion relief. Bus passengers can leave driving to the professionals, read the news while on the bus, and watch out the window to see the sights instead of asphalt and other car tailpipes. Or just rest after a hard day’s work with a bag of groceries. You can even board your bike. But notice what percent of property taxes goes to this valuable resource. And note the frequency of buses up & down Hwy 101 at night (pretty much zero frequency).
Yet leaders often say buses are funded “by need and demand” in Lincoln County… if night buses don’t even exist, how do you know you need them? How do you demand something that doesn’t exist, or, if you’re a mayor, register need and demand for something that doesn’t exist? An actual night bus should be funded and presented so that people can try it. Then see if there is Hwy 101 bus demand for intercity nighttime things, for example: Oregon Coast Aquarium’s seasonal Sea of Lights in Newport, join a choir that performs in the evening, attend a city council meeting, or a party. Imagine having an alternative to driving at night that also solves congestion during the day.
You are right, the lack of frequency and limited schedule of the county & loop buses make them a far less attractive alternative to driving. Location of bus stops is another issue–if people can only reach them by walking for 4 blocks along 101, some people will be reluctant to walk to a stop or to allow their older children to walk without a parent to a stop. The city of Newport doesn’t even have bus stop signs, so any tourist who wants to take the bus has to first figure out where the stops are–and the map sometimes available at the library & perhaps online doesn’t show the stops clearly (for a non-local). With regards to persuading tourists to use it: a long distance cyclist (he & his friend had cycled from PDX to the central coast) said that they could/would use the Coast to Valley Express only if they were able to reserve space on the bike rack for their bikes. The two riders were interested in taking the bus to Albany Amtrak station and taking the train back. At least some of the Amtrak Cascades trains have a baggage car that can store bicycles fairly safely-no need to have to pay for a bicycle box, etc. It takes work and cooperation between different transit systems to make it possible to travel from coast to valley, etc, by mass transit (particularly when there’s no bike lane on route 20 or along most of 101, including where it passes through the towns of Lincoln City, Gleneden Beach, Depoe Bay, Newport, Waldport, and Yachats. There is no bike lane (or off road multi-use trail/path) along the Oregon Coast Bike Route through Newport. City of Newport is far more interested in catering to those who fly, even if alot of those small planes still use leaded fuel.
Thank you Glenda and Azure for these important comments. Investing in all forms of public transportation, from dedicated bus lanes to trams and rail, and safe pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure, would help bring the coast up to its potential while improving everyone’s quality of life now and into the future. The coast is changing and we need to be ahead of the change, directing it, rather than finding ourselves overwhelmed by it.
We talk about air quality, climate change, economic equity, and housing without remembering that all of those issues are directly connected to how people get from point A to point B. Investing now in a wide variety of public transportation options will pay dividends well into the future.