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The Nugget Newspaper
Sisters, Oregon
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The contents of the on-line edition of The Nugget represent a selection among the stories that appear in the weekly print edition.

Foot path along 242 getting underway
By Torri Barco

Construction should start this week on a pedestrian path traveling along Highway 242, from the Forest Service triangle to the high school.

Deschutes County imposed requirements on Hap Taylor and Sons, Inc. in September 1995 to build the pedestrian path to mitigate traffic impacts resulting from the creation of the company's gravel mine, located west of the high school on Highway 242.

At that time, mining opponents argued the gravel mine would add traffic from large trucks, which would create safety hazards along the route.

Hap Taylor and Sons, Inc. agreed to county conditions that no trucks would run along the path 30 minutes before or after school until a pedestrian path was completed.

The company also worked with the City of Sisters, the Sisters School District and the Oregon Department of Transportation to set a 25 mile-per-hour speed limit on Highway 242 from the intersection of Highway 20 west past Sisters Middle School.

Deschutes County detective Sgt. Mark Mills said he has not received any complaints or heard of any problems over the years on Highway 242 as a result of the gravel mine.

The construction of the path, however, has been delayed several times over the years because of various obstacles such as the building of the sewer system and disagreement over the location of the path, said Neil Thompson, city planner.

Part of the delay came because a community committee, which the city formed to help plan the details of the path, was unable to come to a consensus on when and where to build it, Thompson said.

"Some people thought it should be on the south side of the road, which would have been pretty because the view is much better, Thompson said. "There are llama farms on that side. But then we would have had to have two crosswalks and the kids would cross the road twice. What is the logic of putting kids in harm's way twice?

Thompson said he and Public Works Director Gary Frazee made the decision two weeks ago to build the 4,800-foot path on the north side of the highway. Their authority to make the decision came from the Sisters Transportation Plan, which calls for a pedestrian path along that road, Thompson said.

The path will range from two to four feet above the highway bike lane. It will be made of crushed rock and blacktop asphalt. Thompson said he does not know the cost of the project, but a typical pedestrian path of that size costs about $92,000.

Hopes are to have the path completed before January, when the batch plant that will provide the asphalt shuts down. Asphalt is not pliable in cold weather.

Thompson said the path is currently lined with many trees, including some juniper and pine trees. He said the construction crew will save as many trees as possible.

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