The Bend City Council voted 5-1 Wednesday night to ask the Oregon Transportation Commission to remove the expressway designation from U.S. Highway 97 on the north end of the city and sections of U.S. Highway 20.

Businesses in the area, including the Cascade Village Shopping Center and the mall where Target and Home Depot are located, had raised concerns that the expressway designation would limit their connections to the highway if it is rerouted in the future. It is unknown when that project might go forward.

Attorney Liz Dickson, who represents the Bend Center Mall, said the owners are just wrapping up development and “just as they’re getting finished, they’re dealing with the possibility of getting cut off from Highway 97.”

ODOT Region 4 Manager Robert Bryant reiterated concerns that removing the expressway designation from part of Highway 97 might make it easier for businesses to build more connections to the highway, which could make the highway more dangerous and increase traffic congestion. That in turn could make it more difficult for additional businesses to locate in the area.

Prior to the Wednesday night meeting, Bend staff recommended the council ask the Oregon Transportation Commission to remove the expressway designation from U.S. Highway 97 between Nels Anderson Place and the urban growth boundary. City employees also recommended asking the transportation commission to remove the expressway designation from U.S. Highway 20 in Bend where it branches off toward Sisters, and from Highway 20 by Pilot Butte. ODOT supports removal of the designation on Highway 20 near Pilot Butte.

City Councilor Mark Capell said the discussion about the expressway designation is based on concerns about future highway plans.

“I think this discussion isn’t about changes in our current Highway 97 north,” Capell said. “This discussion is about how will the next version of Highway 97 north be designed and built.”

Councilor Sally Russell cast the lone “no” vote on a motion to request removal of the expressway designation. “Even for people who go and visit these shopping centers, it’s very important to have a level of mobility to get in and out,” Russell said. It could be a decade or more before the Highway 97 reroute is built and, in the meantime, the city should do its best to prevent traffic from clogging the existing highway, Russell said.

In other business, the council discussed a report on city options to address long-term financial problems in the Fire Department. Mayor Pro Tem Jodie Barram said fires early Wednesday at Trinity Episcopal Church and other nearby buildings are a reminder of the importance of the Fire Department.

Tom Fay, manager of Deschutes County Rural Fire Protection District No. 2, suggested the district’s board members and the City Council meet soon to research a potential public education effort regarding annexation. A majority of the City Council indicated its support for this approach, although the council did not take a formal vote.

The City Council was also scheduled to listen to public testimony on a proposed update to the city’s plan for future water facilities, but had not reached that agenda item as of 10 p.m. Additionally, because Barram was excused from the meeting due to illness, the council agreed to make a decision on the plan at a future meeting in order for Barram to participate.