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Group works on interchange safety Residents ask for traffic lights at Highland and Greenwood, and point out the need for wider bicycle lanes, sidewalks and turn lanes By JILL BRISKEY Mail Tribune Building a new interchange in south Medford is one thing, but making it safe for pedestrians and bicyclists has become the $50 million question. Monday night, Oregon Department of Transportation officials and city planners met with the project's Citizen Advisory Committee sub-team. A handful of residents attended the event. The sub-team was formed in January to address bicycle and pedestrian safety issues related to the state's $50 million project. The sub-team is made up of affected business owners and residents, transportation and park experts and members of the Eastside Neighborhood Coalition - a group that formed to stop the state from building a new interchange. "You're seeing players at the table who were some of the biggest critics of the project," added Gary Leaming, project information specialist with ODOT. Concerns on Monday included a potential traffic hazard at Bear Creek Park's concert parking lot, and ensuring that bike lanes and sidewalks will be wide enough. The group also made many suggestions - from making sidewalks a different color for visibility to adding turn lanes along Highland Drive and Barnett Road. "I think that it's absolutely necessary to have a light or a cross walk (at the intersection of Greenwood and Highland)," said sub-team member and Highland Drive resident Darla Junkers. "I'm going to tell you parents are going to have a fit." "Is it going to be safe?" team member Dr. Peter Noyes asked of the proposal to reduce Barnett Road lanes from 12 feet to 11 feet in width. "There are a lot of buses and trucks that can barely fit in that lane now." Plans for the project call for moving the Barnett Road interchange south to connect with Garfield Street on the west side of Interstate 5 and Highland Drive on the east. Construction will begin in 2005, with an anticipated completion date of 2007. ODOT project designer Mike Arneson and Medford Transportation Manager Alex Georgevitch discussed which improvement projects fall under the jurisdiction of the state and city. The city is responsible for Barnett Road, Highland Drive and Center Drive, while ODOT has jurisdiction of South Pacific Highway and the interchange itself. Barbara Griffin of the Eastside Neighborhood Coalition expressed concerns that Medford wouldn't live up to its end of the bargain by not improving affected streets. "We will end up with a situation that's not going to be like the (sub-team members) are hoping for," she said. "All of this stuff is really figured out ahead of time. They're just letting us have our moment." The sub-team will meet again April 17 for the last time. Arneson said he will make a draft of the suggestions and create diagrams. "We need something on paper that we can tweak and review," Arneson said. "We're getting some really good stuff." The sub-team is expected to finalize those suggestions during its April meeting. When complete, their proposals will be presented to the South Medford Interchange Solutions Team. The solutions team makes decisions about the project with input from the Citizens Advisory Committee, in addition to the committee's sub-team. Leaming said the solutions team is not required to implement those suggestions, but probably will. The state and Federal Highway Administration have final authority over the south Medford interchange project. Reach reporter Jill Briskey at 776-4485, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.