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Siskiyou corridor plan will get residents' review By TONY BOOM Mail Tribune ASHLAND - One-third of the way into a redesign of the city's major arterial, Siskiyou Boulevard, residents and stakeholders will get a chance to critique plans. "It seems to help solve people's concerns more than it hurts," said Public Works Director Paula Brown about bringing in the public throughout the design period. "It does take a little more staff and engineering design team time, but for the larger projects, I think it's a better way to go." A public open house is scheduled from 4 to 7 p.m. Thursday at Southern Oregon University's Stevenson Union Arena. A City Council study session takes place at 3 p.m. today in council chambers.W&H Pacific Engineering has turned conceptual designs approved by the City Council into more detailed proposals. The council action followed public input sessions held in January by the Boulevard Citizens Design Committee. Top concerns were safety as well as preservation and enhancement of the park-like setting that now exists in much of the project area, which runs from the downtown intersection with East Main to Walker Avenue. "The most important thing about the design is that it was basically created in response to massive community input," said design committee member Skip Andrew. The project will bring narrower outside traffic lanes with adjacent bike lanes, a narrower center median, more recognizable pedestrian crossings and two additional stoplights. Ashland assumed control of the road from the Oregon Department of Transportation in 1999. The city will receive $1.78 million for the project from the state. Bike-lane construction is the only state mandate. The center turn lane between Walker and Highway 66 will be retained, according to W&H project manager Claude Sakr. "We were very much in favor of the improvements. We view it as an extension of the downtown boulevard corridor," said Alex Hansen, who has developed five new business sites in the area. "The only thing I would be concerned about is potential loss of our left-turn capability." "As long as we still have that left-turn access into the store parking lot, I really think it won't have too much effect," said Rick Wright, owner of PC Market of Choice. One option is to create two lanes northbound and one southbound. Other possibilities include two left-turn lanes off Siskiyou southbound onto Ashland Street and a left-turn lane off Ashland to take traffic south onto Siskiyou. A traffic roundabout at the project's downtown end also will be considered. Council decisions on the roundabout and Walker-to-Highway 66 arrangement will be sought at the Dec. 18 meeting. Another public comment session will be held when the design is 90 percent complete. Bidding for construction may open in May or June. Work could begin in mid-July and is expected to take 18 months. Construction cost is estimated at $2.15 million, with ODOT paying $1.5 million. A large chunk of the remaining cost will be funded by city systems development fees. Reach Ashland bureau reporter Tony Boom at 482-4651, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.