SERIES INTRO: Bend, the darling of Central Oregon to outsiders, is facing an internal struggle with growth as it develops new initiatives and developments that impact the historic ease of car culture. This tension is currently playing out with the proposed Hawthorne Pedestrian and Bicyclist Overcrossing and a related – and connected – movement to create more people-centered streets in Bend. Over the next several issues, the Source Weekly will look at these two developments and explore the promise, potential impact and community response to the proposals. First up, the bridge.
Earlier this year, the City of Bend proudly rolled out its design proposals for a new pedestrian bridge to span Hawthorne Avenue over the railroad tracks and Highway 97, connecting Second Street on the east side to Hill Street on the west side of town for those on foot or wheel. This summer, after feedback from residents, the Bend City Council chose a single-tower cable stay design. It came with a slightly higher price tag, but as Mayor Melanie Kebler said at the time, worth the splurge for it to be “a little more iconic.”
Current estimates put the cost of the bridge at just north of $30 million, but that number may go up or down based on design decisions and choices still in the future. And, with $20 million covered by a federal grant and $5 million from a state grant, the city’s share of the cost is relatively small, and easily covered by the 2020 GO BOND’s transportation coffers.
Supporters of the bridge see it as a linchpin for the City’s plan to turn the Bend Central District on the east side of the railroad tracks into a vibrant and attractive area with new businesses and mixed-used buildings to accommodate thousands more residents.
But, along with the accolades and supportive coverage came criticism, or at least tempered excitement. Critics worry that in its current design, safety hazards remain, and they’re not convinced that the bridge will draw enough traffic to deliver on its promise and justify the price tag.
It Can’t Be A Bridge To Nowhere
At 1,300 feet in length and rising about 27 feet above the railroad tracks alongside Highway 97, the Hawthorne Pedestrian Bridge when complete will be singular in Bend.
The east side’s span will go over First Street, dropping people just before Second Street, one block down from the busy Third Street corridor. The crosswalk at Third Street is one concern for would-be-users who point out that the minimal safety features there (a blinking light) may not be sufficient if the bridge is used by a large number of pedestrian and cyclists. City staff said that improvements at that crossing aren’t part of the scope of work – or budget – for the bridge. But, ensuring safe connections and continuity of pathways is important to those who hope to use it.
“We really are excited about having that kind of connection that is dedicated for people that are walking, biking and rolling across town,” Elisa Cheng, president of Bend Bikes, a bike advocacy group, said. “One thing that we want to be very aware of, though, is that just building the bridge isn’t enough. So, while we’re very excited about the bridge, we think it’s equally important that the entire Hawthorne corridor and the entire bike network are taken into account. We don’t want the bridge to just be a bridge that doesn’t go anywhere and doesn’t connect to anything.”
Cheng said she would also like to see a safer solution for the Third Street crossing and decreased congestion on the eastern side of the street, along the stretch of road Cascade East Transit’s Hawthorne Station is currently using as a bus staging area. As for potential ridership numbers, Cheng said it’s hard to estimate how many will use the bridge, but she’s hopeful that it will draw people out.
“I think the numbers have been historically very low,” Cheng said. “Basically, we’re never going to rise those numbers unless we build infrastructure that’s safe for all people to be able to use.”
More Than a Crossing
Beyond providing a dedicated, nonvehicular connection, city planners expect the Hawthorne Pedestrian Bridge to incentivize developers to buy into their vision for the BCD.
“Success to me in this area will be creating that safe, climate-friendly connection that not only is used by our residents and visitors, but also helps catalyze development in the area so more people can live, work and play there,” Mayor Kebler wrote in an email to the Source Weekly.
Along with placing heavy significance on a low-barrier connection to downtown, that vision includes bringing multi-story housing and mixed-use buildings to a historically underserved, industrial area currently scattered with low-value, vacant and underutilized infrastructure. Rezoning already cleared the path for new development and allows for buildings up to six stories tall. Work is now underway to improve and beautify streets in the district as further incentive.
“We really identified it as an area, because of how close it is to downtown in the center of the city, as an area that would be appropriate long term for redevelopment, revitalization and transforming the uses over time from all industrial to a mix of uses,” Allison Platt, Bend’s Core area project manager, told the Source Weekly. “The idea is that, long-term, it becomes more of a walkable community with multi-story buildings. Kind of an extension of downtown but with more residences.”
In the federal grant proposal the City submitted for the bridge, it projected the BCD would attract 280 new jobs by 2028 and over 1,000 jobs by 2040 – as well as over 200 new residential units by 2028 and 1,000 units by 2040. Platt’s best estimates are for the bridge to be finished by 2028 – meaning that when complete it’s slated to land in a growing community on the east side.
The grant proposal also painted a bleak picture of Census Tract 16, where the bridge will sit, citing that it falls in the 82nd percentile nationally for low-income and is identified as an area of persistent poverty with bad air quality to boot. The bridge, the grant claimed, would help bring about significant change.
“The overcrossing is expected to aid in leveraging and attracting private development and necessary housing, estimated to value at least $250 million, with $40 million along Hawthorne Ave. between NE Hill St. and NE 2nd Ave.,” the grant reads.
However, Platt said it won’t be a complete turnover. She said the City was taking proactive steps to offset the displacement of businesses or residents already living in the district.
“Gentrification or displacement is definitely something that we thought a lot about when we set up the district last year,” Platt said. “We did award $100,000 in grant assistance to existing businesses in the district to make improvements within their buildings. Colima Market, for example, is a recipient of those funds.”
On the West Side of Bend
Where exactly the bridge will land on the west side of its span is still undetermined, according to Ryan Oster, an engineering director for the City who is overseeing the project. Ideally, Oster said, the City’s plans to close the on and off access to Highway 97 from Hawthorne Avenue will go through. If approved, the landing can be centered on the street. If not, there are contingencies ranging from closing off just the entrance to HWY 97 and having the landing on one side to reworking the design to finish on the sidewalk. Oster said he expects to hear back from the state on that issue sometime next year.
Closing off Hawthorne to Highway 97 is just one part of a larger plan to create a safer throughway for bicyclists and pedestrians from the west side landing of the bridge, down to Oregon Avenue and into downtown. The City is also considering changing traffic patterns and removing parking in some areas.
An opinion piece by former mayor and city council member Allan Bruckner that ran in the Cascade Business News in August detailed a number of concerns about the bridge and its planned route. Among those were worries about how decreasing access for cars – and parking – may impact nearby businesses.
“Exits, to me, are absolutely essential,” Bruckner told the Source Weekly, adding that he can understand closing off the entrance, given its sharp turn and lack of a merging lane. But, he said, he thinks money would be better spent making improvements for pedestrians at existing connection points just a few blocks away.
“You don’t need a $30 or $40 million bridge that just serves two little neighborhoods, that to incorporate into a larger system, will cost another horrendous amount of money,” Bruckner said. Michael Walker, a retired civil engineer who lives in Bend, agrees with Bruckner that the bridge as planned is concerning. “The doubt that Allan’s work raises is reasonable,” Walker wrote in an email to the Source Weekly. Walker said he is working with Bruckner to raise awareness of his concerns.
The City hosted an open house downtown last week to discuss its plans for connecting the bridge to a larger system of “people-centered” streets and “low-car districts” under development. Its first route, which will act as a case study for the project, is Juniper Park to Drake Park over the Hawthorne Bridge. An online open house is now live to learn more and provide feedback. Next week, the Source Weekly will run an in-depth look at that initiative and how it ties into the greater plan for Bend.
This article appears in Source Weekly November 14, 2024.
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Definitely a white elephant especially with the silly lane changes on Greenwood, and losing a vital access to the parkway, of which we have so few, is not worth $30 million. Low income housing should be first and foremost not a pedestrian bridge. Please come to your senses City.
Classic City of Bend. A bunch of folks with spare time and little to no experience running a city of this size……..or any city.
Unchecked development. Taking bribes from developers. On and on and on.
As Jane so accurately stated………this bridge will render all that work on Greenwood useless!! Greenwood is now a major bottle neck! Really? Down from 2 lanes to one?!
This city needs at least one person to guide this growing community sensibly.
These people are in WAY over their heads.
As for this bridge. It will be primarily a migration route for the 2nd street/Bottle Drop crew.
Embarrassing.
Bend’s war on cars has already incentivized people like me who live in other communities and have to drive, to stay away. Unfortunate for existing businesses if I can avoid them. So I’m not sure I care much about this. In defense, it’s hard to look 30 -40 years in the future and see benefits for a community not here now, or how this could create that community. I do think walkers, bikers, EV drivers should start paying for amenities streets and bike lanes paid for, past and present, with gas taxes. The source, I’m sure of some of the funding for this non-auto bridge.
Complete waste of money. Also no one is biking in the snow, which is practically 6 months of the year.
Greenwood is just horrible and what a disservice to small businesses. Complete disaster and waste of tax payer dollars!!
We have people in charge whom have no idea of how to run a growing city.
Just look at the handling of the BIRD bikes. Has anyone seen the huge pile up of BIRD bikes lying on the ground and knocked over on Galveston ? They cant even manage something as simple as that. Our city council lives in a bubble and is mismanaging tax payer dollars. .