HASSO HERING

Albany’s new food truck ordinance is intended to even the playing field for operators of these businesses and reduce their city fees, the city council was told Wednesday before unanimously passing it into law.

Albany’s CARA urban renewal program reached a milestone Wednesday when the city agreed to lay out more than $6 million toward the refurbishment and restoration of two historic buildings downtown, the former Wells Fargo Bank and the former St. Francis Hotel.

Budget discussions can make your eyes glaze over, as they did mine as I was trying to follow the city of Albany’s budget committee on Zoom Thursday night. But I came away with a few key points that may affect people living in town.

  Not all my bike rides in Albany are completely uneventful. On Wednesday night, for example, I watched for a few minutes as Pacific Power dealt with the aftermath of a car crash on Southwest Elm Street near 10th.

Madison Street in old Albany doesn’t seem particularly unsafe for bike riders like me. But the city says there have been five car-bike crashes over five years, so ODOT is paying for most of a safety upgrade planned to be constructed in 2022.

Speaking of electricity, what about Albany’s small hydropower plant on the Calapooia River at the end of the Santiam Canal?

Because the ground is still soggy, mid-March may not be the best time to ride a bike on the dirt track from Simpson to Bowman Park. But I thought I would try it anyway.