Following citizen complaints, and council questions and comments, the City Council approved the removal of two stop signs at 47th Avenue and Long Street during its Sept. 10 meeting. It won’t take much effort, though, since the signs are already missing.
Prior to the decision, area residents spoke about their experiences in the neighborhood since the stop signs were installed.
Ross Duncan told the council that noise on the street has doubled, and speeding cars present a safety concern.
“Somebody’s gonna get hurt there,” Duncan said. “You can never tell when someone’s gonna stop.”
He believes that putting in speed bumps will cut the noise down and reduce speeding.
Rob Lambert and Elaine Evans also complained about increased noise, speeding and drivers who don’t stop at the signs.
“I’ve seen a lot of changes to Long Street over time, but nothing as illogical and ridiculous as the stop signs at 47th and Long,” Evans said. “Not only has it increased the noise level greatly, it’s just not safe.”
She noted that five driveways converge at that three-way stop section, creating “a congested mess,” adding that even crime has increased because the signs have been stolen.
Police Chief Jason Ogden said the signs have been stolen or damaged two or three times already since installation.
What might be termed a rebellious reaction to the stop signs allegedly began on the day Public Works employees first tried to install them.
During a Public & Traffic Safety Committee meeting, Councilor Josh Thorstad reported that the employees were yelled at and things were thrown at them, so they did not complete the installation that day. According to Ogden, after the signs were successfully installed on Aug. 15, a theft report was filed Aug. 31 and again on Sept. 4 for the stop signs that went missing. That means the signs have only been erect for about two weeks.
City Council entered a discussion about their thoughts and questions, and how to proceed. Councilor Angelita Sanchez stressed she would like a traffic engineer hired to conduct traffic studies before the city proceeds on any further decisions about traffic issues.
“It’s my understanding that… it’s not considered best practice to use a stop sign for speed control,” Assistant City Manager Cecily Pretty said. “They are designed for traffic flow. Do we need a full blown traffic study? Probably not. But again, once we have an engineer that can at least look at this and say, ‘OK, what’s your goal for this?’ Having that official review on record would help us in these situations.”
Mayor Susan Colemen explained the process that has taken place regarding the new stop signs, as well as regarding decisions for traffic management at 1st Avenue and Highway 20. She said she personally went to observe the issue on Long Street and agreed that stop signs might not be the best solution at the particular location, but she also urged the community to not let the issue cause division.
“We need our community to not stay divided, and to realize that we don’t need to fight over stop signs,” she said. “Let’s walk through the process, let’s make it happen, let’s see what’s best for the community.”
Given the city council’s motto (“To do the most good for the most people for the longest period of time”), she asked what could be done to get to the solution.
“Let’s figure it out together,” Coleman said. “If this is what we’re really upset about, let’s fix it. It’s a stop sign. Let’s figure it out.”
Councilor Dylan Richards then made a motion to remove the stop signs, but no second was made. Councilor Lisa Gourley motioned to revisit the issue in four months, but no second was made.
Councilor Sanchez then urged for a paid traffic study to be conducted. She motioned for the stop signs to be removed, for the city’s process of traffic-making decisions to be reviewed, and for traffic impact studies to be conducted by a traffic engineer. The motion passed 4-2; councilors Gourley and Thorstad opposed, Councilor Greg Mahler was absent.
Pretty told the council that funding has been identified for professional engineering services, which could cover the cost for the studies.
Food Trucks
Community & Economic Development Director Blair Larsen spoke about a possible ordinance to regulate food trucks and other vendors who want to conduct business in on-street parking spaces.
Following this year’s Oregon Jamboree, the city received complaints about two food trucks that were allowed to conduct business during Jamboree weekend in two separate on-street parking spots, one near the library and one on Main Street near Downtown Lounge. Larsen said this is, as far as he could find, the first time the city has allowed food trucks on a street parking spot. He reported the truck on Main Street was struck by a vehicle, and complaints to the city addressed concerns about safety (improperly stored propane tanks, visual obstruction) and competition with local businesses.
Current code regulates food trucks on private and public property, but does not address the operation of food trucks in public right-of-ways. It should also be noted that on-street parking spaces are limited to two-hour parking.
Larsen said an option to help regulate this more specific question is to issue permits for vendors wanting to operate in on-street parking spaces. They would have to maintain their business safely within one parking space, not obstruct the sidewalk, be a certain distance from street corners or driveways, and be at least 100 feet from a competing business building.
Councilor Gourley said what happened was “incredibly egregious,” noting the obstructions the food trucks created, and adding that this went against the city’s push to support Sweet Home’s downtown businesses. She also reported there was a hot dog cart and people sitting in lounge chairs in downtown parking spaces spanning one block, as well as a sandwich board blocking ADA pedestrian traffic at a crosswalk.
“Frankly, I don’t want to see any vendor on Highway 20 within the city limits in the parking spaces,” she said. “I don’t want to see any vendors coming in and blocking access to our businesses that are already existing and having a hard time.”
Staff will continue drafting a proposed ordinance, taking into consideration Councilor Gourley’s suggestion.
In other business:
- Two area crafters asked if the city would consider opening one of its vacant buildings to area crafters and vendors who would like a space for selling and teaching their skills.
- The council approved authorization for Interim City Manager Jason Ogden to hire a public works director, plant operator, administrative services manager, police officer, planning assistant, code enforcement officer and part-time community services officer, all of which he said are already budgeted for. Staff already have candidates lined up for the first three positions, two of which would be internal hires.
Some concern was raised by residents and councilors, including how the decision may interfere with the city’s charter. Mayor Coleman read from the charter, which states a pro-tem manager can only hire employees with at least five council members approving the hire. The issue on the agenda was to give Ogden the authority to make the hiring decision himself for specific vacancies that needed to be filled.
Councilors Gourley and Sanchez expressed concern about the fact that discussions to hire a new city manager haven’t even yet been started. They also noted there will be a new city attorney and councilors moving in soon. - The council set a date for a work session on Sept. 24 to discuss the city manager hiring process.
- The council tabled an agenda item for a month regarding abandoned shopping carts. It was revealed that the city has been collecting and storing as many as 118 “abandoned” shopping carts, coming mostly from one store, and the cart owners have not yet collected them. Staff would like to find a solution to the problem without affecting other businesses that use shopping carts and have been responsible for retrieving them.
- In an effort for better communication, staff looked at the possibility of sending out newsletters. They determined the cost to do so would be about $42,000 a year. Ogden recommended the council make “better communication” a council goal next year as a way to look into other options.
- Ogden reported staff have contacted Google, requesting the company remove from its map system 1st Avenue as a recommended route for traffic to travel between highways 20 and 228.
- Ogden reported staff met with the Army Corps of Engineers regarding this year’s drawdown. They still don’t have an exact date for the drawdown, he said, but they expect it to begin mid-October and it will be drawn down much faster and lasting until some time in January.
“They’re waiting for the water temperatures to cool off so that it doesn’t impact the fish as much as it did last year,” he said.
USACE informed the city the turbidity will be about the same as last year. While upgrades have been made at the water treatment plant in preparation for the drawdown, Ogden said residents may still see some slight discoloration or notice the smell of chlorine.