Oregon’s Joint Committee on Transportation (JCT) held the Coos Bay leg of their statewide tour of transportation infrastructure on August 7th, 2024. Decision-makers from all over the state convened at Marshfield High School to tour the local area with the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT), participate in a round-table discussion, and hear concerns from the public.
The day began with the ODOT tour of transportation sites around Coos Bay. An ODOT public transportation bus picked up legislators and local industry members at Marshfield High. It took its first stop at the Coos Bay DMV, to discuss the facilities side of ODOT’s purview.
The most impactful stop of the day was at the site of the landslide on Ross Inlet Road, a rural, two-lane street. The amount of road lost to the slide is staggering, as is the bill to repair such a slide. $500,000 according to representatives from ODOT.
Slides are just one area of concern when it comes to roads in Oregon, but they are a common and expensive one. Slides often continue to ‘migrate’ and claim more of the road if unchecked. All repairs have the burden of being cost-effective and long-lasting, while also considering access issues for the road in question. Can emergency services still get through? What are the potential detour routes?
After the tour concluded, decision-makers gathered for a round-table discussion on the biggest issues facing their areas. Mayor Joe Bennetti and Commissioner Bob Main were on hand representing Coos Bay’s interest, alongside representatives from multiple jurisdictions and industries including tourism and trucking.
Sen. Chris Gorsek and Rep. Susan McLain, the co-chairs of the Joint Committee on Transportation, conducted the meeting and asked for feedback from the group. There were a couple of clear areas of focus for Coos Bay, and ODOT in general.
A huge topic for discussion was diversifying ODOT’s funding streams. Currently, the gas tax is the department’s most consistent revenue generator, and with cars becoming more fuel efficient, and electric vehicles hitting the road, that consistency has started to diminish.
Discussion of ideas for bringing in more money took up a large portion of the meeting, with suggested solutions running the gamut from toll roads to cost-based vehicle registration fees, to a more robust system for tracking tourists and truckers.
More local concerns including the health and maintenance of Highway 101, improvements to rail infrastructure, and more robust walking and cycling trails, were all brought to the attention of the JCT.
In closing, McLain asked for one thing those in attendance wanted legislators to remember when in session. The resounding response: Do not forget about rural areas.
Representatives from the coast were very clear about their desire for our fair share of consideration. State Senator Lew Frederick spoke about those differences, contrasting Highway 101 to its counterpart in the city and stating, “we have to avoid a one-size-fits-all solution.”
These sentiments continued into the public hearing portion of the evening, where the members of the JCT took public comments from local citizens. While everyone raised specific concerns, there was one message that continued throughout the evening: Do not forget about us on the coast, and in rural areas, when the time comes to make decisions.
While this was not a legislative session, but an opportunity for JCT members to hear directly from citizens and cities about their needs, committee members seemed very receptive to the feedback. Let’s hope that feedback is well-taken when the next session begins.
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