Ryan Brennecke / The Bulletin file photoA pedestrian crosses through heavy traffic along Galveston Avenue in this file photo.

A redesign of Galveston Avenue adopted by the Bend City Council will be less safe for pedestrians than a similar plan recommended by city planners and developed with a team of community advisers, though the approved version will allow cars to move through the commercial area more quickly.

City staff had spent five years drawing up plans and working with residents and business owners before settling on a new vision for the commercial stretch of Galveston. At the time of the City Council’s vote in July, city planners suggested the council choose between a concept that replaced the existing left-turn lane with a median and one that preserved the lane in a few spots.

The council voted instead to retain the left-turn lane and “minimize” plans for a median, something featured prominently in the plan supported by staff. A number of other features recommended by city staff and community advisers were left intact, including on-street parking, more robust bike lanes and additional marked crosswalks.

The council decided to go against the median, members said, to avoid slowing down traffic and making it harder to access businesses.

Nick Arnis, the city’s growth management director, said a median would make the area safer, but added a number of features the City Council did approve will also increase safety. When a driver encounters a wide street with nothing in the roadway, such as on Galveston, Arnis said, “People drive fast. We all do. It’s very natural.”

“Driving down the corridor, and seeing a landscaped median breaks up the monotony, and people aren’t as likely to drive so fast,” he said. “So if we’re really trying to get people to drive the speed limit and drive safely, a median is one strategy.”

While slower traffic may make an area safer for pedestrians, City Councilor Victor Chudowsky said he was concerned about Galveston’s role as a main thoroughfare between the city’s east and west sides.

City Councilor Barb Campbell said her vote to minimize the median was motivated by a concern for businesses.

“From what I’ve seen, delivery trucks sit in the middle of that left-turn lane and the driver gets out and wheels a keg of beer or something to a business,” she said. “That’s not a great system, but as far as a I know, it’s all some of those businesses have, and as a business owner, you have to be able to take deliveries.”

Under local and state law, it is a violation for a truck to park and unload in the left-turn lane.

Campbell added she doesn’t feel any pedestrians are in acute danger on Galveston, especially compared with other problem areas such as Third Street.

“There’s this organic nature to the growth of the area now, and it seems to be working,” she said. “You could call it benign neglect, and I think it’s fine to let that keep happening for a while. We obviously have to monitor and keep pedestrians safe, but Galveston is not a big danger at this moment in time.”

Campbell is right about the relative safety of Galveston. From 2007 to 2013, there were 59 reported crashes along the commercial section, according to Oregon Department of Transportation data provided by the city of Bend. None of those crashes was fatal or characterized as serious. According to Arnis, the city’s most dangerous corridors are Third Street and Greenwood Avenue.

However, Arnis did note that 11,000 vehicles pass through the Galveston area today, and that volume is projected to reach 17,000 by 2030. The federal government, Arnis said, recommends that once more than 12,000 vehicles pass through a corridor, marked sidewalks are no longer enough to keep people safe.

While Arnis said the city is still looking at raised pedestrian islands to incorporate into crosswalks, he noted a median along the street would better reduce vehicle speeds and help in case someone attempts to traverse the street away from a crosswalk.

Al Tozer, a community volunteer who spent years working on the project, said he’s confident Galveston will become safer.

“Even if there’s no median, it doesn’t take away from all the other good stuff we’ve created as a template for Galveston’s future,” he said. “There’s improved safety for cyclists, contiguous sidewalks that are ADA compliant. And parked cars on Galveston will be a steel fence between vehicles and families out walking.”

The City Council has only funded a portion of the project’s design work. No timeline is set for the plan to be completed or built.

— Reporter: 541-633-2160, tleeds@bendbulletin.com