This week, we asked local leaders to weigh in on a simple question: What can we do to make where we live better?
The responses range from advocacy for higher education to supporting housing for locals to protecting our wild spaces. Read on for more bright ideas for making Central Oregon a Better Place to Live.
–Prioritize Housing Options for People Living and Working in Our Community – By Allison Platt
–Better Planning Delivers More Transportation Options – By Ariel Mendez, PhD
–Protecting Our Natural Environment is One of the Most Important Things We Can Do – By Cassie Lacy
–Harness a Little Bit of Your Stoke to Make Central Oregon a Better Place to Live – By Ryan Houston
–Work to Keep Central Oregon an Incredible Place to Live – By Serena Gordon
–Opportunities for Elevating Our Collective Aesthetic IQ are on the Horizon – By Cate O’Hagan
–Climate Change Puts Regions like Ours in Jeopardy, Impacting All of Us – By Rep. Jason Kropf
–Ready to Meet Community Challenges, Together – By Tammy Baney
–Reflect Attitudes and Behaviors Founded on Respect, Tolerance and Inclusivity – By Oscar Jesus González
–Cultivating Empathy to Make Central Oregon a Better Place to Live – By Zavier Borja
–Using Technology to Further Expand Access to Education for Urban and Rural Communities – By Jeremy Green
–Grow into a Community Where We’ve Bridged the Gap Between “Us” and “Them” – By LeeAnn O’Neill
–Make Space for All People to Be Themselves in Our Outdoor Spaces – By Rika Ayotte
–The “Delta” in Higher Education – By Andrew Ketsdever
This article appears in Jun 23-30, 2021.
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If you want to make Bend better, the city needs to cap the growth and focus and what we have going on now and improve that before allowing more growth. We don’t have the infrastructure or water resources that Bend in going to need if you don’t stop the development and sprawl here. Our planet is suffering and we are just starting to feel the effects on our planet of fires, tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes, mudslides etc.. Stop the development of housing, especially single family homes that are not affordable to most people starting out or trying to retire or simply trying to make a living in the service industry. The city should consider an entrance tax to those who have acquired wealth from other states and are moving here to help pay for the impacts they are making on the infrastructure here and our communities. The traffic is getting out of control and it seems like half of the license plates are from California and Washington. And people moving from these areas, start asking yourself what you are going to do to help our community and not just take the benefits from it. Get involved in helping our growing community. I sympathize with long term Bend residents being upset or angry about this growth because I do see a lot of entitlement, people driving faster and simply not being respectful drivers or citizens. Please ask what you are going to do to impact Bend in a positive way before you move here.
Nicole –
You moved to Bend from California! Please, just stop. Also – your hysterical ignorance of the law and government is just embarrassing.
Entrance tax?
I agree with Nicole, yes the snow pack was low this year but with all the new housing it doesn’t help with our water supply. The streets and road are not made for all the vehicles, roundabouts are being constructed but not used properly because the drivers don’t know how to use their turn signals. Red lights and stop signs are being ignored because just like in California it seem everyone is late for something.
I use to like living here but now is sucks, really sucks.