The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) will seek feedback from the Mountain community on three different concepts for changing the layout of Hwy. 26 in Rhododendron through a virtual open house, available online between Feb. 1-22 at tinyurl.com/RhodyOpenHouse.

Sandra Hikari, ODOT Major Projects Planner, noted that the U.S. 26
Rhododendron Refinement Plan, which launched last year and included a
drop-in event last August on the Mountain, doesn’t have funding yet and they
hope to identify whether the project is feasible first.

“We’re looking at what’s the feasibility and what are the constraints and
opportunities of each of the designs,” Hikari said.

The project’s goal is to address transportation safety, access and connectivity
issues in the community, including identifying the appropriate number of
highway lanes, identifying the safest locations for pedestrians to cross Hwy.
26, evaluating entry and exit points for destinations and businesses,
evaluating bus stop locations and other improvements, such as sidewalks,
bicycle lanes and dedicated driveways.

The concepts for the open house include a five-lane alternative (with a
pedestrian refuge island), a three-lane alternative (with a pedestrian refuge
island) and a three-lane alternative with no island, along with a “no build”
option.

Hikari added that ODOT has done some analysis that indicates a three-lane
alternative would not cause much more delay than keeping the highway
configuration as it is, but it would push congestion further to the west.
“We’re going to see congestion in the future either way,” she said.
Once ODOT has a preferred alternative, it would be developed in further detail
with a document on it expected to be complete by the end of April.
Visit the online open house at tinyurl.com/RhodyOpenHouse or use the QR
code in this edition.

The community’s desire for improvements to the highway was previously
documented by the Rhody Rising committee of the Rhododendron Community
Planning Organization (CPO), which is also considering the future development
of buildings and the community.

Mike Miskowicz, CPO President, noted that the Rhody Rising committee is
currently in a holding pattern.