BEND, OR -- Planning is underway to redesign Bear Creek Road and 27th Street in southeast Bend, as part of a city-wide goal to create safer and more accessible bike and pedestrian routes.

Bend city staff will host an open house on Tuesday, December 19 to discuss potential designs. That event is 5-7 p.m. at the Municipal Court (555 NE 15th St. Bend). Information is also available online HERE. The city is also asking for public feedback through an online survey, through December 26. 

Project Engineer Sinclair Burr says Bear Creek is a better option for bikes and pedestrians than other nearby east-west routes. "This route is slightly lower volume of traffic than both Highway 20 and Reed Market, and it simply doesn’t have many facilities on it," he tells KBND News. He says SE 27th Street is similar.

Burr says the design of multi-use paths is not yet finalized, "Bear Creek, it’s looking like the north side is much more logical. So we’ve come up with some alternatives for Bear Creek, with a shared use path on the north side. And then, for 27th Street, we’re kind of looking on either side; and then closing the sidewalk gaps that exist on the opposite side, where the shared use path wouldn’t be constructed." There’s also a much more involved - more expensive option, "Which would be close to what we’re planning for Butler Market, what we’re planning for Olney, those type of similar improvements. But they’re far outside of our existing budget for the project."

Other work is also included in the project, "We’re also planning a roundabout at the intersection of Bear Creek, Pedigrew and Purcell."

Maps and plans will be available at Tuesday's open house, "People can come and find out ‘what does this mean for my house?’ ‘Are we going to take any land for it?’ The answer to that is generally ‘no.’ We’re just trying to share information and get feedback on what we’ve developed."