PRINEVILLE, OR — Prineville is developing its next 20-year Transportation System Plan. Josh Smith, City Planning Director, says immense growth has caused significant issues with its five highways, “We have a lot of coordination with ODOT in those five highways that come through our community. And, to try to figure out what those solutions are to those issues, is the challenge.” He tells KBND News, “Specifically with the O’Neil intersection. [It’s] Very dangerous. We’ve had some fatalities there that needed to be corrected, so we need to have a comprehensive plan on how that gets addressed.” Smith says the last TSP was finalized in 2013, and was supposed to address the O’Neil intersection. But problems remain.
Smith also hopes an update will consider changes to Third Street, which is the main arterial through downtown. A previous plan proposed a couplet, “Kind of like Madras, where they have the two one-way streets. It doesn’t really work very well in Prineville because of our topography, but we want to solve that problem. Is that a thing or is it not? We want to make that decision. Because, if it’s going to be a thing, we need to plan for that.”
And, he wants to see work on the west “Y,” at the bottom of the Prineville grade, “It’s all ODOT right-of-way; it’s the intersection of Highway 26 and 126. We need a solution to that. It’s essentially a roundabout that’s poorly designed and it’s just at capacity.” There are also smaller projects in the proposed TSP aimed at improving connectivity and safety for all users. Smith says any work must maintain Prineville’s personality, “It still has a small-town feel. But we do have big-city issues.”
The public is asked to weigh in on the draft plan next Thursday, from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m., at the Golden Coffee Company on Fourth Street. For those unable to attend the open house, an online survey is also available through May 17.
