| | To those who were impacted by the events at Silver Rail Elementary, we extend our deepest sympathies. Know that Bend stands together with you. |
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Bond / Reed Market Roundabout Improvements Open House Thursday October 29, 5:00-6:30 pm |
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The design process for the Bond-Reed Market-Brookswood Roundabout improvements has begun! The attention that SCNA’s Board has brought to this is starting to pay off, but we still need you to weigh-in. The budget that City Council approved was only for a two-lane entrance and one-lane exit roundabout with the extra lane being a turn-only lane which doesn’t begin to handle the growth that SW Bend is seeing. SCNA has repeatedly asked for a full two-lane roundabout to assist with normal traffic and wildfire evacuation. The design process getting underway will heavily influence which approach is recommended to City Council. Additionally, SCNA's proposed design recommends moving the crosswalks further back from the Roundabout to improve pedestrian and bike visibility and safety, as well as better aligning them with bus stops on Bond and Brookswood. Another suggestion to City engineers was to do one corner of the intersection at a time while keeping 3/4 of the Roundabout open to minimize traffic disruption. If you support any of these ideas, please participate and let them know.
You have two options to communicate with the City. First, the City will conduct a Community Open House to discuss this on Thursday October 29, 5:00-6:30 pm at the Hilton Garden Inn, 425 SW Bluff Drive. There will be a short presentation at 5:10 pm which will be repeated at 6:10 pm. Second, an online open house with a survey will be available on the City's project page from October 27 to November 10.
Now is the most effective time in the process to comment. If you wait until later, your opinions will be a lot less likely to be heard. Visit the City's project page for more information and to track the status of this project. |
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What's Next for Deschutes South Canyon Open House Thursday November 5, 6-8 pm |
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You’re invited to an Open House that will present the findings from a major research project into the natural resources and community value of the Deschutes South Canyon (aka COID Property).
In 2024, Save Bend Green Space (SBGS) embarked on an ambitious project, to create an evaluation framework to rate the natural resources, recreational opportunities, and ecological functions of properties in Bend slated for development. The Deschutes South Canyon is the first of five City-designated Opportunity and Expansion Areas that SBGS has studied. Their goal with this project is to increase the City and developers’ understanding and appreciation of a property’s green value to advance conservation decisions.
Following the presentation, guests will have an opportunity for questions and informal community conversation about the future of the Deschutes South Canyon.
This free event is for everyone interested in the green spaces in Bend that connect people with nature and each other. The event will be at the Hampton Inn, 30 Southwest Columbia Street on Thursday November 5 from 6-8 pm. Please RSVP here to reserve your seat. |
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Neighborhood Wildfire Preparedness |
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Visit the City’s webpage on wildfire preparedness.
Sign up for Deschutes Emergency Alerts. Everyone in Bend should be signed up. Note that there were some changes in their system earlier this year, and many registrations became deactivated. So even if you had previously signed up, you may need to do so again.
The recent survey showed that some are interested in a community cleanup as a means to improving neighborhood fire safety and prevention. SCNA wants to help organize this process and work towards getting community grants to help some who are unable to afford it. We are looking for volunteers to help organize this effort. Send an e-mail to [email protected] with your name, address, and phone number to be a leader in this.
The idea is for smaller groups of homeowners to work together on the process and possibly achieve Firewise status. You could start with arranging for a wildfire risk assessment of your property and invite your nearby neighbors to attend. The more the merrier, but don’t worry if someone on your block doesn’t want to participate. The important thing is to start and encourage others to start. |
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Participate in the Bend Transportation Safety Action Plan |
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Do you want to influence transportation planning? Earlier this year, we told you that you could participate in Phase 1 of the Bend’s Transportation Safety Action Plan (TSAP), which was to identify issues in Bend’s current transportation set-up. Now in Phase 2, you can take a survey on possible solutions and a shorten list of locations including one in our area. Take the survey here by November 3.
Note that at the bottom of the 4th question is an optional question 5. At the Roundtable, SCNA encouraged the City to rethink its current bike & pedestrian plans. We requested new bike lanes be separated from congested roadways. If you support this, consider mentioning it in your answer to this question. You could also mention other tools like speed humps, crosswalks, etc.
One of the choices for Question 6 on Priority Locations is Reed Market Road at Silver Lake Blvd. There have been 8 recent accidents here, one of which was fatal, so you might consider choosing that one.
Thanks for taking the time to influence the City’s plans. |
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Results of Recent Special Membership Meeting |
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For the last few years, the SCNA General Membership Meeting has been held in mid-October. To reduce conflicts, and so that we might have updates from the City on the Bond-Reed Market Roundabout, the Board has decided to move that meeting to February or March next year. This required our October 15 Special Membership Meeting to revise our Bylaws to support this change. A special thanks to our members who attended so that we could reach a quorum.
The newly revised Bylaws are available for download here. In addition, a special Board election was held. The expiring Board terms of Todd Torczon and Robbie Silverman were extended until the next General Membership Meeting. New Board member Leslie Schmille was also elected to fill a vacant position until that next meeting as well.
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SouthWest Bend Roundtable Video Now Available |
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On October 12th, SCNA participated in the City of Bend’s SW Bend Roundtable. The City has made a video recording of the event available for viewing. Many in attendance remarked that they felt SCNA’s Chair and Vice Chair did a good job of representing the views expressed in our recent survey. To see the video, use this link. Note that it's unedited, so you will want to skip ahead several minutes to get to the actual start. |
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