No Way Out
Thousands of residents in the Boyd Acres Neighborhood are in danger if an evacuation is needed. Those living in the area bounded by the railroad tracks on the west, Cooley Road on the North, NE 18th Street on the east and Empire Avenue on the south are in trouble. And the city continues to “fill in” with more residences.
There are only three exits for this neighborhood: Cooley to the west, and Boyd Acres Road and NE 18th to the south (to Empire). There are no exits to the north or east. In an emergency all three exits will be jammed to gridlock. If the emergency comes from the railroad, Cooley and Empire may be closed. Does the city have an evacuation plan? Do the police have a traffic control plan? This is a dangerous situation.
Cooley should be extended east to Deschutes Market Road. 18th should be extended north to Highway 97. And Yeoman Road should be extended west to connect with 18th. These extensions would provide “some” relief for evacuations. They are needed right now!
Expanding this view, where will evacuees go? Bend has only one highway to the south, one to the east and one to the north. If needed, could everyone get out of town on these three roads? Not likely.
The State of Oregon needs to improve Highways 97 and 20 for high capacity (continuous four lane) from border to border. Bend needs to improve access and connectivity through and around town to overcome obstacles created by the railroad, canals and the Parkway. Planners at all levels need to get ahead of this issue, not wait for a disaster.
—James Scott
Does America need sumptuary laws?
Ancient Roman democracy had curbs on individual economic behavior. They had a highly placed government official called the “censor,” who had two responsibilities: to enact a census; and to watch out for wealthy people who were acting irresponsibly with their wealth. One historian writes, “The Roman Republic labored all throughout its history to curb conspicuous expenditure.” One example was the elaborateness of funerals. Kings may have buried their family members in pyramids, but democracies buried them in simple ways to show one person is just as good as another. In Rome, personal accounts of adult “spendthrifts” were turned over to legal guardians until they could learn how to deal with income and wealth.
Many of our young American athletes, media stars, Hollywood starlets and studs, investment speculators, drug lords, corporate executives, lottery winners, heirs and heiresses, come into a horde of cash they have little ability to manage, so they spend like bandits and set horrible examples for the rest of the country. Rome didn’t tolerate that because they knew it led to monarchy and aristocracy. America doesn’t care.
—Kimball Shinkoskey
Concert ticket monopoly
I am 60 years old and am proud to say that I got to see many of the greatest concerts ever, from AC/DC and The Stones to Elton John, Bob Seger, even Ella Fitzgerald and so many more. But we had to put effort into getting tickets…many times we would stay the night in line at the former Memorial Coliseum to purchase tickets as soon as they went on sale. We bought what we needed and maybe picked up a couple extra for friends. But now with Ticketmaster/Live Nation having the monopoly on purchasing tickets, allowing people to purchase however many they want (not need), then those unscrupulous people turning around and selling them for ridiculous prices, true music fans don’t stand a chance. (Isn’t that called scalping which used to be against the law?) Are the musicians aware of this or do they not care as long as they get paid? Maybe a class-action lawsuit against Ticketmaster/Live Nation would stop the monopoly and once again allow the TRUE FANS the chance to see their favorite bands, not just the ones with money to burn. So grateful I got to see Dave Matthews last time he was here…I can’t even imagine how much scalpers are getting for this year’s show…It’s just wrong!
—Diana Cockerill
McCall’s lessons for us all…
about pickleball
McCall, Idaho, where I recently visited to ski and play with friends, left mostly great first impressions and a super idea. The area is stunning, but I was slightly bummed by the absence of a curbside recycling program (so wrong to have to even consider tossing out the aluminum, paper and plastic). There were, of course, many positives. After a morning of skiing one day, we played pickleball in a simple, perfectly scaled multi-use facility, funded and built by a local church. The building, with a heated floor and about the size of a small gymnasium, accommodates a broad range of activities for a broad range of ages. We boomers were there to play arguably the fastest growing game in the U.S.!
This shared space provides an important refuge for socialization and recreation in places where the winters can limit outdoor activity, for those who may not ski, snowmobile, ice skate, etc. Kind of like Bend. In warm weather, the local parks always seem to have folks playing on the court, the slide, or just hanging out. In the winter, our parks seem barren, save for the dog walkers. As a winter option, wouldn’t it be super to have a small space to play, within walking distance? Could neighborhoods find resources to create such a community asset, on a donated lot …or a corner of an existing neighborhood park? Back to pickleball, and how it relates: pickleball is popular, but is also creating conflict in some neighborhoods, due to the repetitive noise created when paddle meets ball, and inevitable chatter and laughter from happy players! Indoor space, which buffers noise, is limited to two wonderful private facilities in Bend. Both charge reasonable fees to function, yet the fees remain inaccessible to many. Both facilities are also near or at capacity. Wouldn’t it just be the coolest if there was a neighborhood-scale gym, with heat and ventilation, in the ‘hood for some quiet pickleball and other recreation? Win, win, and win!
—Kevin Tanski
Letter of the Week:
Kevin, I like your grand plans around winter recreation. Get that going, would you? Come grab a gift card to Palate to fuel your planning.
—Nicole Vulcan
This article appears in Source Weekly March 9, 2023.
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