Packed Like Sardines
The recent announcement of plans for a gargantuan development that includes 1,600 housing units and a 180-room hotel, in addition to the staggering number of other huge developments underway in every part of our town left me heavyhearted. The highways and byways in Bend have become a nightmare; it took me 40 minutes recently to drive from the west to the east side of town. Extensive traffic backups at lights everywhere in Bend have become the norm. We’re packed like proverbial sardines. What is the thinking among city council and developers about issues like traffic, parking, overcrowding and habitat loss? I feel helpless over this unchecked commercial and residential growth and frustrated that I have no solution to offer up, nevertheless, I feel compelled to express my bewilderment and sadness.
—Krayna Castlebaum
E-bikes
I have been a bike commuter for almost 20 years. The experience of human-powered transportation is a true joy. And while e-bikes are not for me, I welcome their utility as a tool for others.
To safely bike commute requires maturity and an understanding of what drivers are experiencing – both of which middle- and high-school-aged children lack. Cycling is more complex and requires greater awareness than driving to be done safely.
In the recent “It’s time to talk about E-bikes” article, I was underwhelmed by Bend PD’s response. It amounted to little more than “increased education via social media.” When I was 15, I wasn’t particularly interested in education from authority figures. There has to be more of a presence in the community.
This mean holding parents accountable as well. Frankly, I’m shocked that parents choose to buy their children some of these high speed, throttle “e-bikes” that can reach speeds up to 47 miles an hour. These are not e-bikes, these are electric dirt bikes and shouldn’t be operated by children.
Not only have e-bikes put more school-aged children at risk, but all bike lane users. With the lines between bike and motorcycle becoming blurry, more people have become entitled to the bike lane. I have been run out of the lane on multiple occasions by motorcycles, gas powered scooters, and throttle e-bikes. Until there is more done than “education” it seems inevitable there will be more tragedies around our town.
—Craig Gorder
RE: Should People Under the Age of 16 Be Allowed to Ride E-Bikes? Source Online Survey, 6/29-7/6
Why wouldn’t you want your child to get some exercise and learn to be independent? Would you buy them a motorcycle?
E-bikes seem to be a blessing for those who know how to ride and no longer have the strength for hills as we saw on bike trails in Europe but here I see many doing unsafe riding and not following safety guidelines at high speeds.
—Mimi Graves
Wow! I’m shocked at the results. I wonder how many of those voters have ridden an e-bike.
It seems that folks who haven’t ridden an e-bike tend to assume that they’re like motorcycles or something… they are not.
E-bikes can be such a great mode of transport I’m continually discouraged and confused by opposition or even contempt toward them.
—Troy Smith
RE: A Tale of Two Camps. Opinion, 7/6
Brilliant editorial that puts things in stark perspective.
“Uncoordinated” sweeps equal still more misery for people trying to survive in the harsh summer conditions of Central Oregon. Uncoordinated policy implementation will not find enough shelter, housing, or parking space; the numbers of unhoused people are too high. They tasked Cheyenne Purrington with finding housing for the people due to be displaced from Hunnell in March. (Talk about setting someone up for failure.) She failed, but City Manager King acknowledged the dearth of available shelter, so he called off the sweep. Three months later — with no improvement in shelter capacity — the sweep is on again for July 17.
Who is he listening to? Probably not flabbergasted service providers and a large segment of 20-somethings in the community who don’t see the sense of spending tens of thousands of dollars to randomly chase miserable people from one unauthorized location to another ad infinitum. I am — just for my own peace of mind — tabling around town for a petition to stop the Hunnell sweep. Unsurprisingly, it is community members in their 20s who are most likely to sign the petition. Keep this in mind, city councilors, as you ponder running for re-election or pursuing higher office. Your votes will be vetted and your policies will be perused.
—Foster Fell via bendsource.com
Letter of
the Week:
Foster: I opted to print just a portion of your online comments to allow room for other letters and perspectives, but readers can find your full comment on the web version of last week’s Opinion. Thanks for your input. You get letter of the week!
—Nicole Vulcan
This article appears in Source Weekly July 13, 2023.
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