This remains a bike lane to nowhere unless the long-planned path from here to Scenic Drive goes through.
The planned Albany leg of the proposed bikeway to Corvallis survived a city council vote Wednesday night, but just barely. It took the mayor’s tie-breaking vote to keep the project alive.
Albany Councilors Bessie Johnson, Rich Kellum and Mike Sykes were ready to kill the project by rejecting an agreement with Benton County to share in the costs of the mostly state-paid bike route from the west end of Hickory Street to Scenic Drive. But Councilors Bill Coburn, Dick Olsen and Ray Kopczynski voted to approve the deal, and Mayor Sharon Konopa joined them to make it 4-3.
The Albany leg would go for a little more than a mile and, according to the original plan, link up at Scenic Drive with a route to Corvallis, which Benton County is still trying to determine whether to build or where.
Wednesday’s council discussion was precipitated by objections to the project from a young couple who own property on Walker Lane, near the path’s likely route. They complained among other things that no one had talked to the property owners about it.
Albany transportation official Ron Irish said property acquisition was being managed by the state transportation department, and because federal funds are involved, ODOT was following federal rules on acquiring rights of way. He said ODOT had asked city and Benton County officials not to contact property owners on their own.
In view of the couple’s objections, Kellum said there was no point in going ahead unless the council was willing to consider acquiring the right of way by eminent domain. City Attorney Sean Kidd told the council later it would be up to ODOT to condemn property if necessary. Right of way or easements are already in hand for the western two-thirds of the Albany leg, according to Irish.
The next Statewide Transportation Improvement Plan calls for the Albany leg of the route to be built in 2018. The cost estimate is $2.7 million. The state will pay more than $2 million, and under the agreement now approved, Albany and Benton County will roughly split the rest.
Disclosure: I have been writing editorials and news stories about the plan for an Albany-Corvallis Bikeway, including the Albany leg at issue here, since it was first proposed maybe a dozen years ago. As the council debated Wednesday whether to confirm its longstanding support of the project, the mayor asked me to walk to the podium and say something. I did — and evidently made a hash of it. If I had been more persuasive, I presume the council’s vote would have been a unanimous and enthusiastic yes. (hh)
Retirement Perks Are Not For You…They’re For Your Representatives
Salary of retired US Presidents .. . . . .. . . . . .. . $180,000 FOR LIFE.
Salary of House/Senate members .. . . . .. . . . $174,000 FOR LIFE. This is stupid
Salary of Speaker of the House .. . . . .. . . . . $223,500 FOR LIFE. This is really stupid
Salary of Majority / Minority Leaders . . .. . . . . $193,400 FOR LIFE. Stupid
Average Salary of a teacher . . .. . . . .. . . . . .. .$40,065
Average Salary of a deployed Soldier . . .. . . .. $38,000
Here’s where the cuts should be made!
Warren Buffett, in a recent interview with CNBC, offers one of the best quotes about the debt ceiling:
“I could end the deficit in five minutes,” he told CNBC. “You just pass a law that says that anytime there is a deficit of more than 3% of GDP, all sitting members of Congress are ineligible for re-election”.
The 26th Amendment ( granting the right to vote for 18 year-olds ) took only three months and eight days to be ratified! Why? Simple! The people demanded it. That was in 1971 – before computers, e-mail, cell phones, etc.
Of the 27 amendments to the Constitution, seven (7) took one (1) year or less to become the law of the land – all because of public pressure.
Warren Buffett is asking each addressee to forward this email to a minimum of twenty people on their address list; in turn ask each of those to do likewise.
In three days, most people in The United States of America will have the message. This is one idea that really should be passed around.
Congressional Reform Act of 2017
1. No Tenure / No Pension. A Congressman / woman collects a salary while in office and receives no pay when they’re out of office.
2. Congress (past, present, & future) participates in Social Security.
All funds in the Congressional retirement fund move to the Social Security system immediately. All future funds flow into the Social Security system, and Congress participates with the American people. It may not be used for any other purpose.
3. Congress can purchase their own retirement plan, just as all Americans do.
4. Congress will no longer vote themselves a pay raise. Congressional pay will rise by the lower of CPI or 3%.
5. Congress loses their current health care system and participates in the same health care system as the American people.
6. Congress must equally abide by all laws they impose on the American people.
7. All contracts with past and present Congressmen/women are void effective 3/1/17. The American people did not make this contract with Congressmen/women.
Congress made all these contracts for themselves. Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, so ours should serve their term(s), then go home and go back to work.
If each person contacts a minimum of twenty people, then it will only take three days for most people in the U.S. to receive the message. It’s time!
Happy to hear it survived! Not so happy to hear Sykes didn’t support it. Thank you for the update.
“young couple … Walker Lane”
From aerial photos it looks like a first chance for a moderately safe bike/walk route to school and shopping from there. I wonder if some of the other little streets west of Walker Lane will or can connect to the path. It looks like all those streets connect only to Hwy. 20.
Other than money and procedure, what are the objections?
“I wonder if the other little streets west of Walker Lane will…connect to the path.”
Yes they will according to the information presented to us. All pertinent info (paperwork) we received is here. pages 36-40 cover this topic…
https://www.cityofalbany.net/images/stories/citycouncil/archive/2017/cc_20170125_pac.pdf
That’s great! Huge benefit to that area.
If it can be demonstrated convincingly that the proposed bike trail will bring substantial benefit to a broad swath of the community, then by all means, pave that bike path. On the other hand, if it appears that the proposed bike thruway will benefit a narrow sliver of Albany’s populace, then there should be a User Fee system put in place to return development costs to taxpayers. Seems a simple transaction. Fits in particularly well with current thinking from Washington, DC.
Ya know, IF this path takes hold, is wide enough & they can squeak 13 miles (26 around) out of it there might be enough to host marathons! Those people spend money so yet another venue to energize downtown. And tree huggers, peace nicks, etc could link arms between Albany & Corvallis on Everybody Feel Good day…;). It could be our Yellow Brick road!.. JE
Hasso, we just disagree on this one.
1. Benton County has not picked a route. We don’t know where the path will be so how can we fund this particular path.
2. There is opposition to this particular path by people who say that the land will have to be taken, and there is not 4 votes to take it. Odot will take it??? sure but it will be the council who gets blamed. I am not averse to using eminent domain when it is called for…..this isn’t my project for that.
3. this was billed in the past as a way to lessen traffic on Hwy 20 and be safer for commuters……… now Benton County says it is just for recreation….
4. There is already a bike path that is half built along Hwy 34 to riverside drive… to Bryant Park….and into downtown. would be MUCH safer…
5. My favorite, Bicyclists do not pay for it, the money they are using comes from funds designed to increase capacity on our roads…. a recreational bikepath does not reduce traffic…
“1. Benton County has not picked a route. We don’t know where the path will be so how can we fund this particular path.”
As stated by staff (and I agree), the path will/does stand on its own for the improvements outlined.
“2. There is opposition to this particular path by people who say that the land will have to be taken, and there is not 4 votes to take it. Odot will take it??? ”
Yes — The ‘taking” would be done by ODOT – it would not be done by the city..
and because of your vote you and the other three will be held accountable for the taking of someone’s land for a non essential use
BTW Hasso, you probably got an extra vote… so now this is all your fault…:)
A waste of taxpayer money to benefit a very small number of people.
Where would we even begin with the number of things we could say that about? The truth is people only get upset when it’s nothing that interests them.
Eminent domain is a weapon that should not be taken lightly. It’s best left sheathed until an emergency arises. Frankly, it can be tantamount to piracy, separating property from owner.
Seems to me that a bike path falls into the want category and fails the “need” test
1) Eminent domain is rarely used and even when proposed is usually settled at a mutually agreed upon price.
2) When eminent domain is used it pays the fair market value, or more. There is NO PIRACY which is theft without payment (ignoring that piracy refers to ships at sea).
3) Yes, people feel aggrieved when a court forces them to comply. Yet the practice pre-dates the founding of this country because of the simple fact is that sometimes it’s the only way to get things done.
4) The original “roads” were footpaths. Then they accommodated horses and wagons. Boats were used on rivers.Streets were created in villages and towns, and railroads covered vast stretches of area. Then came bicycles, and later cars and trucks. ALL of these transportation modes used forms of eminent domain in many ways.
5) In case you haven’t noticed, kids DEPEND on bicycles until they get their drivers licenses, and there are a lot more adults using bikes than when most of us were growing up. Creating a safe method for those people to use the transportation of their choice is a grace, not a burden. Public paths do not diminish our lives, they enhance them.
Life ain’t perfectly fair to every person all the time. And ODOT, the Department of TRANSPORTATION, is charged with serving everyone, not just people who never get out of their cars.
Copy most of that.
I have heard “eminent domain” used too frequently lately, almost frivolously.
An example of the pirate use is Robert Moses in NYC. The landlords got payment, but “those people” got nada.
Just sayin’
Let’s make sure I understand, Benton County is using funds specifically designed for recreation, not to increase capacity, and the City is using funds restricted to only those areas that increase capacity to arterials…. all for the same bike path….. and if the bike path is built by the city and Benton county does not hook up to it in the right spot, it definitely does not increase capacity, so either the City is not using the funds correctly or Benton County is not using the funds correctly…
Call it a “Rural Promenade” & we’re done… :-)
Or
That’s an alt-truth that doesn’t quite cover the real thing……………
That is precisely why Albany Ward III voters put you back in office…to solve these problems, not gripe from the sidelines.
It was not the sidelines that I was speaking from. I was and am the leader of not spending money on things that only serve a minority of folks at the expense of the rest
I grew up in a community with numerous bike paths, which I used regularly — mostly for recreation and exercise, and sometimes for transportation. I am not an avid biker. Living in Albany for the past 12+ years, bike paths and all that entails are the one thing I greatly miss. I strongly hope this path comes into existence.
A waste of taxpayer money is designing & building roads that only serve cars. I live in North Albany and my kids do not have a safe bike route to attend West Albany HS. We should be building multiple bike paths that safely separate cars & pedestrians instead of arguing over one. We should also be planning a pedestrian bridge over highway 20 and the river that safely links North Albany children, adults and seniors to downtown, the river trails and greater Albany. That sounds like a great place to live, work & play to me.
I regards to the bike path project, look at the map in the document in the link above. This path does not require any homes or businesses to be demolished. The proposed path runs along a road, a railroad easement and straddles a few private property lines. To vote “no” on an issue that can most likely be negotiated to a reasonable outcome seems short sighted. Recreation and traffic capacity are important, but is one more important than the other? Can we negotiate the proper payment for this thing rather than complain about it?
Who knows, building a bike path that connects Albany & Corvallis could lead to so many more opportunities than just making our community more accessible and safe. According to Travel Oregon, bicycle tourism in Oregon brings in $400 million annually. ( http://industry.traveloregon.com/industry-resources/product-development/bike-friendly-business-program/ )
If you build it, people will come.
Great post, couldn’t agree more. Unfortunately half of our city council are making it very clear that safety and fitness (livability) are not important to them.