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- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Archives Revels Classifieds Real Estate Menu Guide Wedding Weather Subscribe Contact Us March 21, 2005 Thousands impacted by proposed plant By Donna Shu and Tom Kane Ashland Tidings' staff writer Robert Plain should have checked further when he stated that "Several residents of Dead Indian Memorial Road are disturbed at the possibility of another rock quarry on their road."(March 11) Dead Indian Memorial Road starts at the intersection of Hwy 66 and goes all the way to Klamath Falls. Close to a thousand or more families living on or in areas near Dead Indian are directly affected by the proposed aggregate mining and rock crushing plant. Families living on Emigrant Creek Road, Shale City Road, Cove Road, near Howard Prairie, Hyatt Lake, Lake of the Woods, and in Oak Knolls, The Oaks, and beyond will not be spared the effects of this mining and asphalt operation should it win approval. If the residents of the city of Ashland were aware of the serious traffic, health, and safety issues that could affect their lives, there would be thousands more voicing their concern about this proposal. Let us count the ways that users of Dead Indian Memorial Road will be affected: 1. It is estimated that seven to ten large, heavy rock-hauling trucks per hour will cause treacherous traffic conditions along some of the most dangerous stretches of Dead Indian. 2. During the rainy and winter seasons, this narrow, steep, winding road is often slippery or slick with black ice. In cold weather months, there is increased traffic due to cross country skiers, and people who snow shoe and sled in the sno-park at the 13-mile marker. In warm weather, the road is heavily traveled by bicyclists, motorcyclists, recreation vehicles, vehicles towing boats and vacationers driving along the scenic view shed. Adding rock-hauling trucks to this mix are potentially fatal accidents waiting to happen. 3. At the 2-mile marker, these trucks will add to the numerous rock-hauling trucks that already enter and exit Quality Rock's mining site, creating even more hazardous driving conditions for all passenger vehicles, including school buses. There are few turnouts, no bike lanes, no turning lanes, and no emergency braking lanes. What options would a bus full of children have if it found itself in front of a runaway truck? 4. Passenger vehicles traveling Hwy 66 from the intersection of Dead Indian to the I-5 interchange (exit 14) will also be affected, including vehicles traveling to and from Emigrant Lake, the Golf Course, Ashland Airport and up to Green Springs. Families in The Oaks and Oak Knolls neighborhoods beware: the increased noise, dust, rattling and traffic will affect you too. 5. The traffic congestion at exit 14 will affect hotels, restaurants, gas stations, and neighborhoods all along the stretch of Hwy 66 to Dead Indian, creating unsafe conditions for patrons and families alike. 6. The mining and asphalt operations will create odors, air pollution and dust plumes, posing serious health risks to people with respiratory and allergy conditions and impaired immune systems. And since airborne dust particles can travel anywhere, it doesn't matter whether one lives on Dead Indian Memorial Road, on Sutton Place, or on Gresham Street, we are all potential victims. Perhaps the writer should have interviewed the hikers on Grizzly Peak, the fishermen at Howard Prairie, the rowers on Emigrant Lake, the homeowners and vacationers at Lake of the Woods, and the golfers at the intersection of Dead Indian and Hwy 66 about whether they would be disturbed at the possibility of another rock mining and asphalt operation interfering with their quality and way of life. I submit that it wouldn't be just "landowners" who are upset over this issue, but thousands of families who choose to live in Ashland because it is everything that other places are not. DailyTidings.com Home Page Archives | Revels | Classifieds | Real Estate Guide | Weather | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2005 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Deep Muscle Stimulator Ceramic Piggy Banks FREE Entertainment Guide Women's & Men's Slippers Accelerate Weightloss Products Backpacks Online Pharmacy Vegas Travel Guide Search Engine Optimization Student Loans Hotel & Airline Reservations Hammocks Water Filter Helzberg Diamonds Online Casinos Community Bonus Casino Mortgage Calculator Security Systems Mailing Lists Click Here Advertisement .:Advertisements:. Site Search: RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams