Councilors vote to oppose ODOT order
By Matt Neznanski
Gazette-Times reporter
(original source)
Corvallis city councilors were in harmony with a line of people who came out Monday night to
testify against an Oregon Department of Transportation order to close Seventh and 11th
streets at railroad crossings near downtown.
The council unanimously voted to appeal the order, which the department’s Rail Division
based on visibility problems and the continued threat of an accident.
“If two accidents in 30 years makes that intersection unsafe, then we should close every
intersection in Corvallis,” said Ward 1 Councilor Bill York.
ODOT’s order cites eight collisions at the Seventh Street crossing since 1967. At 11th Street,
ODOT reports two collisions in 10 years and recommends traffic use the crossing at 15th
Street, which has had two crashes with trains in seven years.
Western Boulevard would be unaffected by the closure.
According to ODOT’s order, a warehouse building at Seventh Street blocks traffic from seeing
oncoming westbound trains at the intersection. At 11th Street, large bushes block visibility for
motorists looking east.
Several people testified that closing Seventh and 11th streets would serve to restrict northerly
access to and from the Avery Addition neighborhood, which is now bordered by rail lines to the
east and Philomath Boulevard to the south.
Others argued that bicycle traffic might actually be safer on Seventh Street than on Sixth
Street, where narrow lanes and on-street parking are a problem.
“Sixth Street is just too dangerous for bikes,” said resident David Brauner. “We trust our kids
using this [Seventh Street] route on their way to school.”
State Rep. Sara Gelser, a Democrat who represents Corvallis, joined the fray Monday in a
letter to the council encouraging it to oppose the order.
Gelser also wrote to ODOT asking for a full study of the Portland & Western-owned line,
including a list of the 10 rail intersections deemed most dangerous by the department as well
as plans to make them safer.
“I remain unconvinced that the safety issues at that crossing are significant enough to justify
the sudden closure of that crossing after decades of use,” she wrote.
If closed, Portland & Western Railroad would be required to install barricades that completely
block the road and remove the roadway where it intersects the tracks. The city would be
responsible for upkeep on the barrier.
State law grants ODOT the authority to close street-level railroad crossings when they are
deemed unsafe, without a public process.
According to ODOT, the city is responsible for collecting public comment and then presenting it
in an appeal to an administrative law judge. Portland & Western also may appeal the order.
City staff recommended that the city put forward options in its objections.
With that in mind, the Council will recommend in its response that bushes be removed at 11th
Street and the city work with the railroad to find an alternate solution at Seventh Street.
New bus routes retain southwest service
City Council members voted unanimously Monday to spend $180,000 in new money to add
service and make changes to existing Corvallis city bus routes.
The most drastic change in the plan was to be on route No. 8, which was set to be replaced
with a slightly different route cutting service to Country Club Drive but adding the Grand Oaks
subdivision. Bus ridership in that area was the lowest in the city.
Public Works Director Steve Rogers said the changes are part of a shift in city perception of
bus service from a social service to an alternate mode of transportation.
In a compromise primarily in response to concern by Ward 1 Councilor Bill York, the city will
continue service to Country Club Drive on an hourly basis as an extension of Route No. 3,
which will increase to half-hour service and travel down Southwest 49th and 26th streets on
campus.
“I still believe there’s a social service component,” York said. “I was really reluctant to take
away bus service from those people who don’t have any other option.”
Operating hours for routes No. 5 and No. 6 will be extended two hours later than they currently
run, and the plan creates new commuter routes as well serving Corvallis High School and
Hewlett-Packard.
The council also adopted a resolution by its Administrative Services Committee to bump up the
percentage of land-use application costs paid by developers.
Starting next year, developers will pay 60 percent of related costs, with provisions for
ratcheting up that percentage over the next five years until developers pick up all costs for
land-use permits.
Within the Community Development Department, developers pay all costs associated with
processing building permits. The city’s general fund picks up all costs related to long-range
city planning.
Land-use application costs are split between developers and taxpayers, a reflection of the
public-private partnership in land-use planning.
While the resolution sets a policy of increasing developers’ shares of the costs, future councils
will have the option of increasing the percentage every year.
— Matt Neznanski, Gazette-Times
By Matt Neznanski
Gazette-Times reporter
(original source)
Corvallis city councilors were in harmony with a line of people who came out Monday night to
testify against an Oregon Department of Transportation order to close Seventh and 11th
streets at railroad crossings near downtown.
The council unanimously voted to appeal the order, which the department’s Rail Division
based on visibility problems and the continued threat of an accident.
“If two accidents in 30 years makes that intersection unsafe, then we should close every
intersection in Corvallis,” said Ward 1 Councilor Bill York.
ODOT’s order cites eight collisions at the Seventh Street crossing since 1967. At 11th Street,
ODOT reports two collisions in 10 years and recommends traffic use the crossing at 15th
Street, which has had two crashes with trains in seven years.
Western Boulevard would be unaffected by the closure.
According to ODOT’s order, a warehouse building at Seventh Street blocks traffic from seeing
oncoming westbound trains at the intersection. At 11th Street, large bushes block visibility for
motorists looking east.
Several people testified that closing Seventh and 11th streets would serve to restrict northerly
access to and from the Avery Addition neighborhood, which is now bordered by rail lines to the
east and Philomath Boulevard to the south.
Others argued that bicycle traffic might actually be safer on Seventh Street than on Sixth
Street, where narrow lanes and on-street parking are a problem.
“Sixth Street is just too dangerous for bikes,” said resident David Brauner. “We trust our kids
using this [Seventh Street] route on their way to school.”
State Rep. Sara Gelser, a Democrat who represents Corvallis, joined the fray Monday in a
letter to the council encouraging it to oppose the order.
Gelser also wrote to ODOT asking for a full study of the Portland & Western-owned line,
including a list of the 10 rail intersections deemed most dangerous by the department as well
as plans to make them safer.
“I remain unconvinced that the safety issues at that crossing are significant enough to justify
the sudden closure of that crossing after decades of use,” she wrote.
If closed, Portland & Western Railroad would be required to install barricades that completely
block the road and remove the roadway where it intersects the tracks. The city would be
responsible for upkeep on the barrier.
State law grants ODOT the authority to close street-level railroad crossings when they are
deemed unsafe, without a public process.
According to ODOT, the city is responsible for collecting public comment and then presenting it
in an appeal to an administrative law judge. Portland & Western also may appeal the order.
City staff recommended that the city put forward options in its objections.
With that in mind, the Council will recommend in its response that bushes be removed at 11th
Street and the city work with the railroad to find an alternate solution at Seventh Street.
New bus routes retain southwest service
City Council members voted unanimously Monday to spend $180,000 in new money to add
service and make changes to existing Corvallis city bus routes.
The most drastic change in the plan was to be on route No. 8, which was set to be replaced
with a slightly different route cutting service to Country Club Drive but adding the Grand Oaks
subdivision. Bus ridership in that area was the lowest in the city.
Public Works Director Steve Rogers said the changes are part of a shift in city perception of
bus service from a social service to an alternate mode of transportation.
In a compromise primarily in response to concern by Ward 1 Councilor Bill York, the city will
continue service to Country Club Drive on an hourly basis as an extension of Route No. 3,
which will increase to half-hour service and travel down Southwest 49th and 26th streets on
campus.
“I still believe there’s a social service component,” York said. “I was really reluctant to take
away bus service from those people who don’t have any other option.”
Operating hours for routes No. 5 and No. 6 will be extended two hours later than they currently
run, and the plan creates new commuter routes as well serving Corvallis High School and
Hewlett-Packard.
The council also adopted a resolution by its Administrative Services Committee to bump up the
percentage of land-use application costs paid by developers.
Starting next year, developers will pay 60 percent of related costs, with provisions for
ratcheting up that percentage over the next five years until developers pick up all costs for
land-use permits.
Within the Community Development Department, developers pay all costs associated with
processing building permits. The city’s general fund picks up all costs related to long-range
city planning.
Land-use application costs are split between developers and taxpayers, a reflection of the
public-private partnership in land-use planning.
While the resolution sets a policy of increasing developers’ shares of the costs, future councils
will have the option of increasing the percentage every year.
— Matt Neznanski, Gazette-Times
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