Sign outside Independence Public Library. By Anne Scheck
Three weeks after the first COVID-19 case was confirmed in Polk County, Independence Planning Commissioners abandoned their usual meeting room at the Civic Center and came together instead on a big screen mounted in the lobby area. All were at home. Technology connected them, but it wasn’t entirely successful, at least not initially. Static and echoing could be heard as Commission Chair Corby Chappell tried to convene the session.
“Maybe I should be sending smoke signals,” quipped Mr. Chappell, who has chaired the Independence Planning Commission for nearly two decades. Eventually, some of the snags were worked out and the commissioners appeared on the display monitor, one with a cat that seemed intent in being on camera.
However, the most unusual part of procedure appeared to be the way the meeting ended. Instead of a simple gavel-banging adjournment, Mr. Chappell issued a message to the people in the place he’s long called home.
“Best wishes to you all,” he said, telling members of the community that they were in everyone’s thoughts. “Stay home, stay safe and we’ll all get through this.”
As the first month of stay-at-home confinement unfolds in Independence, the population seems to be conforming to standards that were unthinkable as 2020 rolled in.
“For something that moved so fast, everyone seems to be trying to adapt,” Mr. Chappell said after the meeting. “Everyone is banding together to flatten the curve.”
“I think we are all showing excellent common sense and solidarity,” agreed Marilyn Morton, longtime city councilor, when asked her impression of how the town is faring. “I was out grocery shopping yesterday and the six-feet social distancing rule was being well observed,” she stated. Another shopper said the same thing. “I was in Roth's produce and I guess I got too close to some lady – I didn't think I was – but she backed up so fast it was hilarious,” said the customer, who explained that she quickly apologized.
As spring arrives without the freedom to enjoy it in the same way as past years, Independence seems to be showing the same signs that a hundred years ago preserved this small town in another pandemic. In fact, the 1918 Spanish flu appeared to bring the young city together: The local grocery store pledged fair prices for fresh food and the city council kept the town’s services going, according to local newspapers of the era. Even so, the Spanish flu was labeled a “long and dismal curse” on the front page of the Independence Enterprise.
In recent televised interviews about his book on the Spanish Flu, “The Great Influenza” author John Barry said positive community attributes seemed to help places keep a solid identity – observing precautions, preventing panic, maintaining connections and focusing on the future.
Experts say people play an important role in epidemics, whether they realize it or not, amid headline-making health leaders. Jonas Salk built the polio vaccine, but it was families across America who kept the contagion in check with good hygiene practices, demonstrating that “men and women could play a part as important as the laboratory scientist or private physician,” according to one in-depth look at that pandemic.
“We simply have to endure, to keep putting one foot before the other, sometimes blindly, making ourselves eat, go to bed, get up and shuffle through another day,” advised one Independence resident in a high-risk group, who asked not to be named.
The one-day-at-a-time method is his best way to get through a difficult phase, he said. Norma Soffa, a nurse practitioner who lives in Independence, said she thinks that’s a good recommendation. Staying active, establishing a routine, feeling a sense of gratitude and “enjoying a quiet cup of tea” – it all helps, she added.
Stress can aggravate health, and “a boring situation makes people more attentive to symptoms than an interesting one,” according to the text “Health Psychology,” written by psychologist Shelley Taylor PhD, distinguished professor emeritus at UCLA. And one possible complication of the coronavirus crisis is that some people who experience symptoms of other conditions, such as springtime allergy reactions, can mistake them for evidence of COVID-19, according to one county official.
As Dr. Taylor observed in her book, “any experience that causes a person to direct attention inward increases the likelihood that a symptom will be perceived.” Her research on “tend-and-befriend” behavior has shown benefits from this kind of neighborly response to a threat.
Many in Independence are showing a tend-and-befriend approach to quarantine. Some have provided grocery pick-ups for elderly friends; Home-made hospital masks have been under near-continual production on sewing machines. In fact, there is a famous Pacific Northwest precedent for this. History records show that Lewis & Clark’s men created 338 pairs of moccasin-like shoes, among other items, during the rainy tedium of over-wintering in Astoria.
The “Corps of Discovery” made it through “spells of heavy cold, influenza, boils and indigestion” at Fort Clatsop, and one coping strategy they used is the same one news reports have shown Italians doing from their balconies – they sang.
It’s a good distraction, said Billy Whisenant of American Legion Post 33 in Independence. During his service in Vietnam, he remembers his response to an onslaught of rapidly incoming fire; He settled into a shallow hole and began singing “Row, Row, Row Your Boat” with a fellow Marine.
“I thought about the current chaos and panic, and people who are not used to that, which, if you believe sources is pretty much everybody in this country,” he recalled recently. “I can't speak for anyone but myself, but my thoughts are ‘hunker down, dig in as deep as you want to,’” he said, and “if you have a good friend sing a few rounds of ‘Row, Row, Row Your Boat.’”
Mr. Chappell, the Independence Planning Commission chair, said he believes looking toward the future is one way to deal with the present. As a longtime fisherman, he looks forward to autumn, when he can take his drift boat to the Siletz River and throw a line into the water. And he uses memories of those trips – of he and his son fishing there, of his grand-daughter building “rock castles” on the bank – to help him remember that time does pass, and there is more life ahead. So, for now, he is watching fishing videos as he and his wife both do just as Mr. Whisenant recommended: hunker down.
That’s also the suggestion of one of the country’s leading health authorities. In a recent YouTube video, epidemiologist Michael Osterholm, whose book “The Deadliest Enemy” is about pandemics, said this coronavirus crisis is unlike a “blizzard,” in which a short time period elapses and the snow recedes.
Instead it’s similar to a long winter of biting cold, where venturing out for too long can lead to problems. So what’s the best way to fight the sense of isolation that can occur? “Just start taking care of each other,” he said. “You can do a lot just by taking care of each other.”
_______________________________________________________________________
Trammart News and Publishing is making all of its publications available digitally at http://www.trammartnews.com. However, printed copies are available by request. Email Scheck2Oregon@aol.com or text 503-409-9204 and copies will be delivered to your doorstep.
Three weeks after the first COVID-19 case was confirmed in Polk County, Independence Planning Commissioners abandoned their usual meeting room at the Civic Center and came together instead on a big screen mounted in the lobby area. All were at home. Technology connected them, but it wasn’t entirely successful, at least not initially. Static and echoing could be heard as Commission Chair Corby Chappell tried to convene the session.
“Maybe I should be sending smoke signals,” quipped Mr. Chappell, who has chaired the Independence Planning Commission for nearly two decades. Eventually, some of the snags were worked out and the commissioners appeared on the display monitor, one with a cat that seemed intent in being on camera.
However, the most unusual part of procedure appeared to be the way the meeting ended. Instead of a simple gavel-banging adjournment, Mr. Chappell issued a message to the people in the place he’s long called home.
“Best wishes to you all,” he said, telling members of the community that they were in everyone’s thoughts. “Stay home, stay safe and we’ll all get through this.”
As the first month of stay-at-home confinement unfolds in Independence, the population seems to be conforming to standards that were unthinkable as 2020 rolled in.
“For something that moved so fast, everyone seems to be trying to adapt,” Mr. Chappell said after the meeting. “Everyone is banding together to flatten the curve.”
“I think we are all showing excellent common sense and solidarity,” agreed Marilyn Morton, longtime city councilor, when asked her impression of how the town is faring. “I was out grocery shopping yesterday and the six-feet social distancing rule was being well observed,” she stated. Another shopper said the same thing. “I was in Roth's produce and I guess I got too close to some lady – I didn't think I was – but she backed up so fast it was hilarious,” said the customer, who explained that she quickly apologized.
As spring arrives without the freedom to enjoy it in the same way as past years, Independence seems to be showing the same signs that a hundred years ago preserved this small town in another pandemic. In fact, the 1918 Spanish flu appeared to bring the young city together: The local grocery store pledged fair prices for fresh food and the city council kept the town’s services going, according to local newspapers of the era. Even so, the Spanish flu was labeled a “long and dismal curse” on the front page of the Independence Enterprise.
In recent televised interviews about his book on the Spanish Flu, “The Great Influenza” author John Barry said positive community attributes seemed to help places keep a solid identity – observing precautions, preventing panic, maintaining connections and focusing on the future.
Experts say people play an important role in epidemics, whether they realize it or not, amid headline-making health leaders. Jonas Salk built the polio vaccine, but it was families across America who kept the contagion in check with good hygiene practices, demonstrating that “men and women could play a part as important as the laboratory scientist or private physician,” according to one in-depth look at that pandemic.
“We simply have to endure, to keep putting one foot before the other, sometimes blindly, making ourselves eat, go to bed, get up and shuffle through another day,” advised one Independence resident in a high-risk group, who asked not to be named.
The one-day-at-a-time method is his best way to get through a difficult phase, he said. Norma Soffa, a nurse practitioner who lives in Independence, said she thinks that’s a good recommendation. Staying active, establishing a routine, feeling a sense of gratitude and “enjoying a quiet cup of tea” – it all helps, she added.
Stress can aggravate health, and “a boring situation makes people more attentive to symptoms than an interesting one,” according to the text “Health Psychology,” written by psychologist Shelley Taylor PhD, distinguished professor emeritus at UCLA. And one possible complication of the coronavirus crisis is that some people who experience symptoms of other conditions, such as springtime allergy reactions, can mistake them for evidence of COVID-19, according to one county official.
As Dr. Taylor observed in her book, “any experience that causes a person to direct attention inward increases the likelihood that a symptom will be perceived.” Her research on “tend-and-befriend” behavior has shown benefits from this kind of neighborly response to a threat.
Many in Independence are showing a tend-and-befriend approach to quarantine. Some have provided grocery pick-ups for elderly friends; Home-made hospital masks have been under near-continual production on sewing machines. In fact, there is a famous Pacific Northwest precedent for this. History records show that Lewis & Clark’s men created 338 pairs of moccasin-like shoes, among other items, during the rainy tedium of over-wintering in Astoria.
The “Corps of Discovery” made it through “spells of heavy cold, influenza, boils and indigestion” at Fort Clatsop, and one coping strategy they used is the same one news reports have shown Italians doing from their balconies – they sang.
It’s a good distraction, said Billy Whisenant of American Legion Post 33 in Independence. During his service in Vietnam, he remembers his response to an onslaught of rapidly incoming fire; He settled into a shallow hole and began singing “Row, Row, Row Your Boat” with a fellow Marine.
“I thought about the current chaos and panic, and people who are not used to that, which, if you believe sources is pretty much everybody in this country,” he recalled recently. “I can't speak for anyone but myself, but my thoughts are ‘hunker down, dig in as deep as you want to,’” he said, and “if you have a good friend sing a few rounds of ‘Row, Row, Row Your Boat.’”
Mr. Chappell, the Independence Planning Commission chair, said he believes looking toward the future is one way to deal with the present. As a longtime fisherman, he looks forward to autumn, when he can take his drift boat to the Siletz River and throw a line into the water. And he uses memories of those trips – of he and his son fishing there, of his grand-daughter building “rock castles” on the bank – to help him remember that time does pass, and there is more life ahead. So, for now, he is watching fishing videos as he and his wife both do just as Mr. Whisenant recommended: hunker down.
That’s also the suggestion of one of the country’s leading health authorities. In a recent YouTube video, epidemiologist Michael Osterholm, whose book “The Deadliest Enemy” is about pandemics, said this coronavirus crisis is unlike a “blizzard,” in which a short time period elapses and the snow recedes.
Instead it’s similar to a long winter of biting cold, where venturing out for too long can lead to problems. So what’s the best way to fight the sense of isolation that can occur? “Just start taking care of each other,” he said. “You can do a lot just by taking care of each other.”
_______________________________________________________________________
Trammart News and Publishing is making all of its publications available digitally at http://www.trammartnews.com. However, printed copies are available by request. Email Scheck2Oregon@aol.com or text 503-409-9204 and copies will be delivered to your doorstep.
The CIVICS LESSON: COVID-19, Black Swan + Butterfly
The rise of a virus causing an infection that travels internationally could be said to combine two often-used phrases that, when quoted, can be misunderstood: the “butterfly effect” and a “black swan” event. Both are used in political history classes to illustrate how even the most sound governments can be impacted by unexpected occurrences that, in reality, were predictable. Though the “butterfly effect” often is loosely defined as a phenomenon that the beating wings of an insect on one side of the globe may eventually result in a hurricane on the other side of the world, it really means that small causes can lead to large effects – and weather is used as the primary example.
A “black swan” is a term that, centuries ago, was used as proof that something couldn’t occur: There were only white swans in Europe, so calling anything a “black swan” labeled it foolish and impossible. Then explorers discovered black swans in Australia, and the meaning changed. Now it refers to the appearance of an act that’s likely but unexpected. It meets these criteria: It is outside the realm of consideration but completely explainable after the fact, and it has an extreme impact.
In his landmark book on the subject, titled “The Black Swan,” Nassim Taleb PhD uses World War I as an example. The century-long period of relative peace before that war led many people to think that a world war wouldn’t occur again. Yet, in hindsight, history proved a reliable guide in forecasting it. Several books in past years, including “The Hot Zone” about Africa’s breakout Ebola virus and “The Coming Plague,” which also documents the potential of widespread disease, warned about the possibility of a pandemic. --AS
The rise of a virus causing an infection that travels internationally could be said to combine two often-used phrases that, when quoted, can be misunderstood: the “butterfly effect” and a “black swan” event. Both are used in political history classes to illustrate how even the most sound governments can be impacted by unexpected occurrences that, in reality, were predictable. Though the “butterfly effect” often is loosely defined as a phenomenon that the beating wings of an insect on one side of the globe may eventually result in a hurricane on the other side of the world, it really means that small causes can lead to large effects – and weather is used as the primary example.
A “black swan” is a term that, centuries ago, was used as proof that something couldn’t occur: There were only white swans in Europe, so calling anything a “black swan” labeled it foolish and impossible. Then explorers discovered black swans in Australia, and the meaning changed. Now it refers to the appearance of an act that’s likely but unexpected. It meets these criteria: It is outside the realm of consideration but completely explainable after the fact, and it has an extreme impact.
In his landmark book on the subject, titled “The Black Swan,” Nassim Taleb PhD uses World War I as an example. The century-long period of relative peace before that war led many people to think that a world war wouldn’t occur again. Yet, in hindsight, history proved a reliable guide in forecasting it. Several books in past years, including “The Hot Zone” about Africa’s breakout Ebola virus and “The Coming Plague,” which also documents the potential of widespread disease, warned about the possibility of a pandemic. --AS
The INDY HOP: Willamette River Deserves a Stamp!
A series of stamps (see photo) to celebrate great rivers, including several in the Pacific Northwest, has no portrait of the Willamette. Why not? No one queried at a local post office seems able to explain it. For anyone who doubts the Willamette deserves the same recognition as others that roll through the United States, there is a deceased writer, Samuel Sampson, who wrote down some very compelling reasons in his poem "The Beautiful Willamette," which compliments the waterway in all kinds of ways, including its gentle sound of "softly calling to the sea." -- AS
A series of stamps (see photo) to celebrate great rivers, including several in the Pacific Northwest, has no portrait of the Willamette. Why not? No one queried at a local post office seems able to explain it. For anyone who doubts the Willamette deserves the same recognition as others that roll through the United States, there is a deceased writer, Samuel Sampson, who wrote down some very compelling reasons in his poem "The Beautiful Willamette," which compliments the waterway in all kinds of ways, including its gentle sound of "softly calling to the sea." -- AS
Lyle Mordhorst April 2020 TRANSPORTATION supplement to The Independent.
Lyle Mordhorst was appointed to the Polk County Board of Commissioners in early 2019. He is seeking election to the board in May. He’s Involved in the county’s effort to address county traffic-safety issues with the Oregon Department of Transportation. He wrote the following editorial about several spots affecting travel here, including the Highways 22 & 51 interchange and the roundabout slated for Clow Corner Road.
By Commissioner Lyle Mordhorst, Polk County Board of Commissioners
As our communities and county continue to grow, so too, does the demand of increased traffic on our transportation system. I am grateful for the men and women that came before me, who developed the transportation system that we rely on today. Their foresight and sheer determination to get things done paved the way for the economic growth of our region. Take the creation of the Hwy 22 corridor, which single-handedly provided Polk County merchants the ability to export products thanks to the accessibility it provides to the I-5 corridor.
Following in the footsteps of these predecessors, I am determined to make every effort to improve the safety and efficiency of the local transportation system. This includes working closely with the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) on projects on State Highways, which are not in Polk County’s jurisdiction, but encompass some of Polk County’s busiest, most dangerous intersections and thoroughfares.
Clow Corner Road at the intersection with Hwy 99W is at the top of this list. Here, ODOT already has plans in place to install an Offset Roundabout beginning in 2021. We may not all agree on the design, but we can agree that between a choice of a roundabout, or doing nothing, in order to prevent any more lives being lost at this intersection, we support building a roundabout. Statistically speaking, roundabouts effectively alleviate serious head-on or rear-end accidents compared to a conventional lighted intersection. I was, like most of you, skeptical of a roundabout design at first.
In Oregon they are a relatively new concept, and with anything new, most of us react to change with hesitation or resistance. “Will our farm equipment fit through it?” “How will it handle oversized freight loads?” “Is it equipped to handle college football game day traffic?” These are all valid questions that I can assure you have been asked and addressed in the roundabout design.
Next is the Hwy 22 corridor & Hwy 51 interchange. This stretch of highway has seen the highest growth in Polk County in usage, with over 36,000 vehicles passing through daily and growing at a rate of 3 percent per year (per ODOT). Last year we took the first step in creating a safer commute along this corridor by eliminating the left turn off of Doaks Ferry onto Hwy 22.
The Hwy 51 intersection itself is entering the first phase of improvement, the design phase. All aspects of traffic control improvements will be considered, from overpasses to frontage roads, in order to find the safest and most efficient design possible. ODOT and Polk County are partnering on this project so we will be updating you as it progresses.
Further west is the Hwy 22 and Perrydale Road intersection, which experienced one of the largest increases of severe accidents in the state in 2019. We participated in a community meeting in December with local concerned citizens and parents to discuss options to reduce accidents at this location. From that meeting, a task force was created that includes members from Polk County Fire District, Perrydale School, Polk County Sheriff’s Office, Polk County Public Works, The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, community members, ODOT and me, as your Polk County Commissioner.
So far the group has had productive discussions about establishing a Safety Corridor through this area until intersection safety improvements can be completed. We’re currently working through the process of meeting the requirements to qualify for the safety corridor which should be in place by the end of summer. There will also be Traffic-Activated Warning System lights placed at Perrydale Road intersection this spring, similar to the lighted signs that were installed on Hwy 99 prior to Clow Corner Road to alert drivers that a car may be entering the highway at the intersection ahead.
We are also exploring the possibility of realigning Perrydale Road to Smithfield Road, which would eliminate the northern connection of the
Perrydale Road interchange. The intersection of Hwy 22 and Kings Valley Hwy/Smithfield Road is located less than one mile from the Perrydale Road and Hwy 22 intersection, and is scheduled for improvements starting in 2021. Polk County estimates that by incorporating the Perrydale Road realignment into the Smithfield Road intersection improvement project, it would accelerate safety improvements at the Perrydale Road intersection, while saving over $6 million by eliminating the need for future improvements to the Perrydale Road intersection. The south half of the Perrydale intersection would also be upgraded by squaring the roadway entrance onto Highway 22 for better visibility and access.
Last but not least is the intersection of Hwy 99W and Bethel Road, or as the locals refer to it, the McCoylight. The first phase of this intersection improvement will be completed this fall with a new box culvert, which is being installed in preparation for a future project that will include improving visibility and adding turn lanes.
Polk County was recently recognized by the Oregon Association of County Engineers and Surveyors for having the highest rated roads in the state of Oregon. Our Public Works Department staff are dedicated to maintaining that status and ensuring that the 500 miles of roads, 122 bridges, and over 200 pieces of equipment and vehicles within our care are designed, built, maintained and repaired to support the high-quality transportation system Polk County residents and businesses expect and deserve.
As the Polk County population continues to grow, we’ll continue to prioritize projects that have the largest preservation benefit, while providing improved safety & needed infrastructure that will be effective for years to come.
RECENT TRANSPORTATION NEWS IN BRIEF
by Anne Scheck
Central High School Students Weigh in on Local Parking and Streetscape Issues. At a special Independence City Council meeting held at Central High School (CHS) in early March, CHS students identified the need for improved sidewalks and crosswalks in the city, so that walking and bicycling would be easier for youth. One called for a lighted crosswalk on Gun Club Road; Another noted the rainy, dark winter weather decreases visibility so flashing lights are becoming more necessary at crossings that have gotten busier with time, such as those at Hoffman and Stryker roads.
Parking was also seen as a problem – it seems more limited now, according to CHS students. City Councilors took note of the issue, with Councilor Marilyn Morton later observing that these comments showed the high school students had a sense of community that extended all the way to the town’s traffic-serving infrastructure.
Finalists Mulled for Feasibility Study of Independence-Monmouth Trolley. Two consulting firms are vying for a city contract to investigate how a trolley would operate between Monmouth and Independence, according to Shawn Irvine, the city’s economic development director. No decision has been made, but $300,000 was awarded to the City of Independence by the state, with the assistance of Rep Paul Evans, so that the evaluation can move forward. Mr. Irvine confirmed that consideration for the contract award was underway at a meeting at Indy Commons a few weeks ago.
Independence Transportation System Plan Kicks Off.
A long-range plan will soon be underway to meet the future needs for car, bike and pedestrian travel for the City of Independence, according to City Planner Fred Evander, who announced the plan at a city council meeting earlier this year. Community input will be sought, and the project will include some of the elements of the previous plan, which was published in 2007. There will be “numerous opportunities” for residents to register their opinion during the process, Mr. Evander said.
Cherriots Suspends Service in Wake of COVID-19.
All local and regional service by Cherriots vans and buses has ceased except for medical trips “in the interest of public health and safety,” according to General Manager Allan Pollock, who announced the stoppage in a recent news release. The paratransit service, Cherriots LIFT, will provide “life-sustaining trips only, including appointments for medical care and dialysis treatment,” according to the announcement. The action was taken after seven staff members self-reported confirmation of coronavirus. During the suspension, all facilities will undergo deep cleaning and executives of the transit service will continue to meet to formulate a plan for restoring public transportation to Marion and Polk counties, the news release stated.
Lyle Mordhorst was appointed to the Polk County Board of Commissioners in early 2019. He is seeking election to the board in May. He’s Involved in the county’s effort to address county traffic-safety issues with the Oregon Department of Transportation. He wrote the following editorial about several spots affecting travel here, including the Highways 22 & 51 interchange and the roundabout slated for Clow Corner Road.
By Commissioner Lyle Mordhorst, Polk County Board of Commissioners
As our communities and county continue to grow, so too, does the demand of increased traffic on our transportation system. I am grateful for the men and women that came before me, who developed the transportation system that we rely on today. Their foresight and sheer determination to get things done paved the way for the economic growth of our region. Take the creation of the Hwy 22 corridor, which single-handedly provided Polk County merchants the ability to export products thanks to the accessibility it provides to the I-5 corridor.
Following in the footsteps of these predecessors, I am determined to make every effort to improve the safety and efficiency of the local transportation system. This includes working closely with the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) on projects on State Highways, which are not in Polk County’s jurisdiction, but encompass some of Polk County’s busiest, most dangerous intersections and thoroughfares.
Clow Corner Road at the intersection with Hwy 99W is at the top of this list. Here, ODOT already has plans in place to install an Offset Roundabout beginning in 2021. We may not all agree on the design, but we can agree that between a choice of a roundabout, or doing nothing, in order to prevent any more lives being lost at this intersection, we support building a roundabout. Statistically speaking, roundabouts effectively alleviate serious head-on or rear-end accidents compared to a conventional lighted intersection. I was, like most of you, skeptical of a roundabout design at first.
In Oregon they are a relatively new concept, and with anything new, most of us react to change with hesitation or resistance. “Will our farm equipment fit through it?” “How will it handle oversized freight loads?” “Is it equipped to handle college football game day traffic?” These are all valid questions that I can assure you have been asked and addressed in the roundabout design.
Next is the Hwy 22 corridor & Hwy 51 interchange. This stretch of highway has seen the highest growth in Polk County in usage, with over 36,000 vehicles passing through daily and growing at a rate of 3 percent per year (per ODOT). Last year we took the first step in creating a safer commute along this corridor by eliminating the left turn off of Doaks Ferry onto Hwy 22.
The Hwy 51 intersection itself is entering the first phase of improvement, the design phase. All aspects of traffic control improvements will be considered, from overpasses to frontage roads, in order to find the safest and most efficient design possible. ODOT and Polk County are partnering on this project so we will be updating you as it progresses.
Further west is the Hwy 22 and Perrydale Road intersection, which experienced one of the largest increases of severe accidents in the state in 2019. We participated in a community meeting in December with local concerned citizens and parents to discuss options to reduce accidents at this location. From that meeting, a task force was created that includes members from Polk County Fire District, Perrydale School, Polk County Sheriff’s Office, Polk County Public Works, The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, community members, ODOT and me, as your Polk County Commissioner.
So far the group has had productive discussions about establishing a Safety Corridor through this area until intersection safety improvements can be completed. We’re currently working through the process of meeting the requirements to qualify for the safety corridor which should be in place by the end of summer. There will also be Traffic-Activated Warning System lights placed at Perrydale Road intersection this spring, similar to the lighted signs that were installed on Hwy 99 prior to Clow Corner Road to alert drivers that a car may be entering the highway at the intersection ahead.
We are also exploring the possibility of realigning Perrydale Road to Smithfield Road, which would eliminate the northern connection of the
Perrydale Road interchange. The intersection of Hwy 22 and Kings Valley Hwy/Smithfield Road is located less than one mile from the Perrydale Road and Hwy 22 intersection, and is scheduled for improvements starting in 2021. Polk County estimates that by incorporating the Perrydale Road realignment into the Smithfield Road intersection improvement project, it would accelerate safety improvements at the Perrydale Road intersection, while saving over $6 million by eliminating the need for future improvements to the Perrydale Road intersection. The south half of the Perrydale intersection would also be upgraded by squaring the roadway entrance onto Highway 22 for better visibility and access.
Last but not least is the intersection of Hwy 99W and Bethel Road, or as the locals refer to it, the McCoylight. The first phase of this intersection improvement will be completed this fall with a new box culvert, which is being installed in preparation for a future project that will include improving visibility and adding turn lanes.
Polk County was recently recognized by the Oregon Association of County Engineers and Surveyors for having the highest rated roads in the state of Oregon. Our Public Works Department staff are dedicated to maintaining that status and ensuring that the 500 miles of roads, 122 bridges, and over 200 pieces of equipment and vehicles within our care are designed, built, maintained and repaired to support the high-quality transportation system Polk County residents and businesses expect and deserve.
As the Polk County population continues to grow, we’ll continue to prioritize projects that have the largest preservation benefit, while providing improved safety & needed infrastructure that will be effective for years to come.
RECENT TRANSPORTATION NEWS IN BRIEF
by Anne Scheck
Central High School Students Weigh in on Local Parking and Streetscape Issues. At a special Independence City Council meeting held at Central High School (CHS) in early March, CHS students identified the need for improved sidewalks and crosswalks in the city, so that walking and bicycling would be easier for youth. One called for a lighted crosswalk on Gun Club Road; Another noted the rainy, dark winter weather decreases visibility so flashing lights are becoming more necessary at crossings that have gotten busier with time, such as those at Hoffman and Stryker roads.
Parking was also seen as a problem – it seems more limited now, according to CHS students. City Councilors took note of the issue, with Councilor Marilyn Morton later observing that these comments showed the high school students had a sense of community that extended all the way to the town’s traffic-serving infrastructure.
Finalists Mulled for Feasibility Study of Independence-Monmouth Trolley. Two consulting firms are vying for a city contract to investigate how a trolley would operate between Monmouth and Independence, according to Shawn Irvine, the city’s economic development director. No decision has been made, but $300,000 was awarded to the City of Independence by the state, with the assistance of Rep Paul Evans, so that the evaluation can move forward. Mr. Irvine confirmed that consideration for the contract award was underway at a meeting at Indy Commons a few weeks ago.
Independence Transportation System Plan Kicks Off.
A long-range plan will soon be underway to meet the future needs for car, bike and pedestrian travel for the City of Independence, according to City Planner Fred Evander, who announced the plan at a city council meeting earlier this year. Community input will be sought, and the project will include some of the elements of the previous plan, which was published in 2007. There will be “numerous opportunities” for residents to register their opinion during the process, Mr. Evander said.
Cherriots Suspends Service in Wake of COVID-19.
All local and regional service by Cherriots vans and buses has ceased except for medical trips “in the interest of public health and safety,” according to General Manager Allan Pollock, who announced the stoppage in a recent news release. The paratransit service, Cherriots LIFT, will provide “life-sustaining trips only, including appointments for medical care and dialysis treatment,” according to the announcement. The action was taken after seven staff members self-reported confirmation of coronavirus. During the suspension, all facilities will undergo deep cleaning and executives of the transit service will continue to meet to formulate a plan for restoring public transportation to Marion and Polk counties, the news release stated.
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