BEND, OR -- Safety improvements are coming to a section of Greenwood Avenue in Bend.
The City's Project Manager Todd Johnson says they’ll begin work on what’s called a ‘road diet’ later this summer, “Changing from four lanes to a three-lane roadway section with turn lanes in the middle of that. And this is to provide space for bicyclists and pedestrians and vulnerable users. …Just add in a buffer between vehicles and those vulnerable users.”
He tells KBND News Greenwood from Wall to Second Street will see construction for a few weeks and then the traffic will be evaluated, “Likely implementing this around the July time frame of seeking public input on proposed changes. We have an open house that's live online right now and you can go and comment on it.”
The project is part of the city’s larger goal. “There is a council priority of investing in the core area and just seeing redevelopment there. So certainly, this Greenwood project is part of kind of the larger midtown connections projects that we have,” Johnson says, noting several projects are lined up, “We're looking at that Hawthorne pedestrian bridge, we're looking at making improvements to Franklin, and then this certainly at Greenwood with first the quick build, and then evaluating that for a year.”
An open house this Tuesday, April 9th, will allow the public to give input. It’s from 4:30-6:30 p.m. at Bend City Hall.
There’s also an online survey at the city’s website.
