Encouraging Respect of Speed Limit (25 mph) on Crystal Lake Drive

[Tracy]

Hi! My family and I are starting a campaign to educate drivers on Crystal Lake Drive about the speed limit of 25mph. The speeding on this road is very unsafe - I wonder if many drivers think its a 35 mph zone. 

It is a well-loved route for walkers/joggers/bikers/parents with babies/kids etc. More drivers seem to be using this road to get to the park and avoid the new speed limit restrictions on Hwy 99.  

If you have feelings about this and would like to support our campaign, please stop at the new kid's Farm/Craft stand at 2610 Crystal Lake Drive (the Park end of the street) and sign the petition. We hope to present it to the Benton Co. Sheriff's office, or ODT or whoever will care to see if we can get their help and raise awareness of the safety concern on this street.  

We are also going to be adding signs to the street, if you want to add one to your driveway that would be great and we could help out with that. 

We just really want to keep everyone safe and able to enjoy this street.  We aren't anti-car, it's just a request for respect of speed limit in our neighborhood. 

Your advice and support is welcome.  

[Andy Gray]

There's plenty of people around who've been longer than I, but this is my recollection:

The city/county's long-range plan is to turn this into an arterial with full-width driving lanes, bike lanes, green strips plus side-walks.. the kind of wide-open asphalt expanse that really encourages speeding. Most people along the street will be very surprised to find out how much of "their" front yard isn't.

When they had a planning meeting about this ~15 years ago, most people were adamantly against it. Presumably the development would be triggered once traffic volume gets to a certain level.

Personally I'd like to see it turn into a bicycle boulevard with restricted vehicle access at the intersection with Park.

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[bobwa...@gmail.com]

Hi Tracy and Andy,

Tracy, thank you for your initiative. Andy, thanks for background info. I'm a relative newcomer.

Tracy, are you mainly concerned with the stretch of Crystal Lake Drive from Alexander to Park? I ask, because North of Alexander the expansion, bike lanes and sidewalks already are done. I agree - very few drivers go 25 along the whole stretch from the 99W to Alexander,, and many go 35. I wasn't aware the speeding continues South from Alexander.  That is really troubling.

Andy, I would join you in opposing any changes South of Alexander that would make it more attractive as a 'rat run'.  I'm curious about the design you mentioned. In Europe I've seen a lot of such schemes, some successful and some not - and some downright dangerous from a public safety perspective.

Tracy, As a renter, and a newcomer, who owns a bicycle and a Smart car, I may not be much use. But many of my friends are long-time Soughtowners and likely to get involved, or at least to be in the loop. You probably know them already, but I'll forward your post. They tend not to spend much time online.

Thanks,

Bob

[Mac Gillespie]

Hi folks-

Just a quick link to the Benton County Transportation System Plan, completed in 2019.  The only mention that I see of Crystal Lake in the Benton County TSP is on page 83 of the plan, 89 of the document: cc-75, Crystal Lake Drive Extension.  "New roadway extension; extend Crystal Lake from Park Ave to Goodnight Ave and construct to neighborhood collector standard".  The City of Corvallis TSP also references the project, M15, here on page 134.  The project is low priority at this time which means it is unlikely to be completed in the near term.

In addition to that proposed project, the City of Corvallis TSP also talks about a Crystal Lake Drive Modernization project, here on page 141: " Modernization improvements along Crystal Lake Drive between Alexander Avenue and Park Avenue".  This project is medium priority which also means it is unlikely in the near term, as it would be difficult for the city to identify funding for the project.

I would encourage folks to be in touch with both the City of Corvallis and Benton County Public Works departments in addition to the groups that Tracy mentioned in her email.

Hopefully this is helpful,

Mac

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[Richard Hervey]

Seems like most of my education on this came from Jo (don't know her last name), who lives just south of Joe Junker.  I believe that her former husband was part of those who successfully beat back the City the last time they were in the planning stages of "upgrading" Crystal Lake.

Richard

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[Tracy]

Thank you all for your response. I'm so glad to hear from each of you. 

Yes, Bob, I'm concerned about the area between Alexander and Park, since it's without sidewalks and has many people using it in different ways. It's very dangerous to have someone coming through in a car going over 35 weaving in and out of pedestrians and bikes. 

I am aware of the County and City transportation plans that Mac so kindly referenced, thank you Mac! From talking to several folks, I got the impression that they are a very long way off, and I bet government budgets are very tight. These plans do not discourage me from trying to get drivers to slow down now. I realize that I might lose some land in front of my house to a sidewalk someday in the future. But I agree with Bob and Andy and others, that this could be a very different street if planning went a different way. 

If at least you'd be willing to sign the petition that I will present to different agencies that will help a lot, because it will show that many residents are concerned about safety on Crystal Lake Drive. The petition is always available at the kids' farmstand at 2610 Crystal Lake Drive closer to Park street than Alexander. 

I'd be happy to do more if you have suggestions about people to contact. I have had some useful conversations with some of the residents who've been here for a long time, its very interesting and I'm glad to listen.

Bob, do please feel free to share this info with your friends, tell them about the petition. Thank you! 

Thank you. Tracy 

[Andy Gray]

Forwarding for Dylan whose current email isn't on the list.

-------- Forwarded Message --------

Subject:	Re: [south-corvallis] Encouraging Respect of Speed Limit (25 mph) on Crystal Lake Drive
Date:	Thu, 8 Jul 2021 08:27:37 -0400
From:	Dylan Horne <dylanro...@gmail.com>
To:	and...@zoho.com
CC:	south-c...@googlegroups.com

Hi everyone,

From a road design perspective, I've always thought Crystal Lake would be a good fit for an advisory bike lane. 

Essentially, have a one lane street with two bike lanes that provide space for people walking or biking on the street. Motor vehicles must yield to one another, decreasing speed. Here's a video of it in action.

Compared to widening the road with stormwater upgrades, sidewalks and more pavement, advisory bike lanes would use the existing pavement and drainage with new pavement markings. Much cheaper and much quicker than a complete rebuild, while maintaining the local feel of the street.

Thanks,

Dylan 

On Mon, Jul 5, 2021 at 10:57 PM 'Andy Gray' via South Corvallis <south-c...@googlegroups.com> wrote:

[This email originated from outside of OSU. Use caution with links and attachments.]

There's plenty of people around who've been longer than I, but this is my recollection:

The city/county's long-range plan is to turn this into an arterial with full-width driving lanes, bike lanes, green strips plus side-walks.. the kind of wide-open asphalt expanse that really encourages speeding. Most people along the street will be very surprised to find out how much of "their" front yard isn't.

When they had a planning meeting about this ~15 years ago, most people were adamantly against it. Presumably the development would be triggered once traffic volume gets to a certain level.

Personally I'd like to see it turn into a bicycle boulevard with restricted vehicle access at the intersection with Park.

On 7/5/2021 10:56 AM, Tracy wrote:

Hi! My family and I are starting a campaign to educate drivers on Crystal Lake Drive about the speed limit of 25mph. The speeding on this road is very unsafe - I wonder if many drivers think its a 35 mph zone. 

It is a well-loved route for walkers/joggers/bikers/parents with babies/kids etc. More drivers seem to be using this road to get to the park and avoid the new speed limit restrictions on Hwy 99.  

If you have feelings about this and would like to support our campaign, please stop at the new kid's Farm/Craft stand at 2610 Crystal Lake Drive (the Park end of the street) and sign the petition. We hope to present it to the Benton Co. Sheriff's office, or ODT or whoever will care to see if we can get their help and raise awareness of the safety concern on this street.  

We are also going to be adding signs to the street, if you want to add one to your driveway that would be great and we could help out with that. 

We just really want to keep everyone safe and able to enjoy this street.  We aren't anti-car, it's just a request for respect of speed limit in our neighborhood. 

Your advice and support is welcome.  

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Dylan Horne, Ph.D.

They / Them

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