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Neighbors dislike I-5 options Residential areas will be disturbed, businesses will be displaced and one of the interchange options would put more traffic next to Bear Creek Park By DAMIAN MANN Gazing south across the golf course to the Siskiyou Mountains, Paul and Elsie Williams have an ideal view from their backyard. That could all end if a proposed freeway interchange replaces the one at Barnett Road, dumping traffic onto a widened and lengthened Ellendale Drive. Gone would be the serene, rolling hills of the golf course, replaced by traffic, noise and air pollution. "If they do come through here, we'll have to leave," lamented Paul Williams. Public asked to offer opinions Neighbors and businesses who might be affected by the proposed South Medford Interchange have already received a copy of the environmental impact statement. A 45-day public comment period has begun, and the Oregon Department of Transportation will host a public hearing Oct. 30 for anyone interested in expressing their opinions. The Citizen Advisory Committee will go over the study as well as the public review process during a meeting Wednesday at the Rogue Federal Credit Union at 1370 Center Drive in Medford. The meeting will take place at 4:30 p.m. and is open to the public. For more information: Copies of the environmental study can be reviewed at all Jackson County libraries, the Rogue Valley Council of Governments in Central Point, the ODOT office in White City. More information also is available at smedfordinterchange.org on the Web. Two informational videos are available at local libraries. RVCOG can arrange presentations for community groups or organizations. Call 664-6676, ext. 243, for more information. For details, residents can contact Gary Leaming, ODOT project information specialist, at 774-6388. Linking to Ellendale is one of three proposals made by the Oregon Department of Transportation in a draft environmental impact statement released last week. The state proposes moving the south Medford's Interstate 5 interchange from Barnett Road to Ellendale Drive, or to Highland Drive, which is considered the preferred and least expensive alternative. The draft report also looks at leaving the interchange as is, but cites increased congestion and the potential negative impact on other developments. Whatever plan the state approves, it won't begin building until about 2005, finishing by 2007. The Williamses bought their house two years ago, receiving assurance, they say, from the Medford Planning Department that no big projects were in the works. "They said nothing was going on there," he said. The Williamses also wonder how they would gain access to their garage, which now opens onto what could become a busy Ellendale. Many residents share their concern about the new interchange and its impact on the neighborhood Linda Wolfard, who lives on another street just off Ellendale said, "Our property values and livability would be nil." Wolfard and her husband, Dale, have lived in their home since 1976, when Ellendale was still a dirt road. "We never dreamed it would have been a problem," she said. The couple's home sits about 100 feet from Ellendale, which would be blocked off, forcing the demolition of nearby buildings, the widening of streets and the creation of new streets to relieve congestion. Wolfard is hoping she won't have to move. "We don't want to start over again. We are like most of the people in our neighborhood whose homes are paid for." She is especially disturbed that the Quail Ridge Retirement Center, owned by the Rogue Valley Manor and just next door, would be torn down, displacing the seniors who live there. "The Manor has been a good neighbor," she said. "They keep things nice and have good security." Instead, the building's location would become part of a new roadway that would connect with Rogue Valley Manor Drive and allow residents on Halsey and Holbert streets a new way to get to Ellendale. Bernice Short, 94, one of the residents of Quail Ridge, said she hadn't heard of any plans that could result in her having to move. "That's shocking news." Short said, "I've been here a year and two or three months. I sold my mobile home and moved here." Her neighbor, Bette Branson, 74, said, "How stupid to build this and then you're going to have to tear it down." When Branson moved into the retirement complex in 1999, she had no idea a road project could result in the building being removed. No sooner had she settled into her apartment when the news came. Although the thought of moving upsets her, Branson is also concerned about the construction project, which could take two years to complete. "How am I going to get in and out of here if they're going to tear Barnett up?" said Branson. "I don't want to be trapped anywhere." Despite the state report that offers three plans, most residents believe the Highland interchange is the most likely to be adopted. "It would really cost them too much to use the Ellendale option, and not just because of cost," said Bon Dysart, president of the Citizens for Preservation of Established Neighborhoods. Dysart, who lives north of the project area, is referring to the disruption of more properties along the Ellendale route. According to the state report, this option would affect senior and affordable housing, displace 70 residential units, affect more business and have higher environmental consequences. Barbara Budge Griffin, who lives north of Bear Creek Park, believes the state has offered the two alternative interchange plans as a way of dividing and conquering. "I think it's a way of saying, 'Let's get these people upset at each other.'" She said the Ellendale alternative has met with the most hostile response from neighbors, making it easier for the state to nix it in favor of the Highland proposal. "Highland would ruin our neighborhood," she said. "If we have a major interstate freeway exiting into a neighborhood park where children play and are relatively safe, how could we possibly allow that?" Like many residents in the area, Griffin believes the $50 million freeway project would be better spent on an interchange at South Stage Road. Reach reporter Damian Mann at 776-4476, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.