Linn County’s plan to widen Riverside Drive — a long-awaited safety improvement for drivers and bike commuters — is about to take off.
House Bill 2017, the road transportation bill concocted by a committee of the legislature, would hit buyers of new bikes costing $200 or more with a $15 sales tax. But if legislators were serious about solving transportation issues, those buyers should get a rebate instead.
At City Hall they’ve been thinking about what to do if an acute parking shortage hits downtown once the Albany Carousel opens. And no, the alternatives so far don’t include asking visitors to come by bike, as much sense as that (in theory) would make.
Albany has a pretty good network of bike lanes and trails, and a 1971 law known as the Oregon Bike Bill is the main reason why. So here’s my periodic tribute to the legacy of the late Donald L. Stathos, the Republican legislator from Jackson County who authored that bill.
This may be the year that Linn County follows through on its plan to widen the shoulders of Riverside Drive, making it a better route for bicyclists connecting with the new path alongside Highway 34 on the way to Corvallis.
A planning committee in Benton County has been looking for the best feasible route for a potential bikeway between Albany and Corvallis. A couple of weeks ago it picked three alternatives for closer attention. But two of the three look impractical, at least to me.
A year after it was closed for safety reasons, the last short segment of the road to the trailhead in the North Luckiamute State Natural Area remains closed to cars. And that’s he way it will stay, I learned when I left an email inquiry on the park’s website.
In September 2014 the Albany City Council said it would help pay for the Albany leg of the proposed Albany-Corvallis Bikeway. Now the council is being asked to authorize a formal agreement with Benton County to that effect.
If Oregon legislators propose an increase in the gas tax this year, as part of a package to keep up with the need for highway maintenance and construction, they won’t get any complaints from me. An accounting from OReGO showed me that I’m getting a really good deal, in my opinion, for using our roads.
On Second, will radar slow drivers down?
Drivers on Albany’s Second Avenue will soon be seeing something new to catch their attention. The city council Monday called for the installation of a radar speed display sign on Second at Thurston Street, a block before vehicles go over the hump of the railroad track.
Tags: Radar speed display, SEcond Avenue