Question from Rush K.
Please address specifically how you feel about the road diet the city has initiated making traffic worse and my extreme concern for fire evacuation should we ever have to.
For example, Thousands of homes are being built along 27th and the city just installed curbs to reduce traffic instead of than adding left hand turn and emergency lanes.
More roundabouts are nice? But they don’t help with the added volume of people and cars. We have plenty of bike safety lanes and islands that took away turn lanes.
I would like to support you, but during your recent interview along with the mayor, you were way too vague just saying better communication is needed. It’s going to take more than that to win this election.
Bernadette's Response
Thank you, Rush
Yes, I agree my interview at The Source was not what I had hoped it would be and there were many reasons for that but I'm not here to defend or make excuses.
Here is my answer to your question - While I do believe evacuation routes should be clearly communicated by our leadership, the infrastructure needs to exist for that to be effective! Right now the transportation SDC's the City is collecting are going towards these bike lane and sidewalk projects that The City WANTS, instead of toward the infrastructure projects Bend desperately and urgently NEED.
If elected, I want to listen to what the majority of Bend residents actually want and feel is necessary for livability and safe travel. The use and practical application of these transportation fees should be to maintain our existing transportation infrastructure, and to improve safety on our roads.
The City has no business asking for more money, or pushing forward ineffective pet projects that don't benefit (and I would argue, hinder) the ability for the majority of Bend residents to commute efficiently and safely to wherever they need to go.