Petition To Stop Development of OSU-Cascades' Westside Bend Campus
507 Comments
P
Paul Craig
11 years ago
The need for a 4 year college in Central Oregon is logical. The placement of that college at the currently proposed site is completely illogical. It's time for LOGIC!
C
Charles Cusack
11 years ago
Great idea but wrong site!
A
Anonymous
11 years ago
It can already take 10 minutes to get through the Reed Market and Skyliners Rd traffic circles on Mt Washington at peak traffic times during the school year. And they have just added a new Jr. High School on Skyliners for the upcoming year.... not to mention there is an ongoing very large new expansion to the Northwest Crossing subdivision underway on the west side of Mt. Washington that will also add to already very heavy traffic in this area. Now Bend wants to drop a College campus right in the middle of all this? I doubt anybody has done the proper traffic impact study as this makes zero sense. The area obviously does not have the infrastructure to handle this. I think the person above me has it right... can only be greed and politics responsible for such an ill conceived plan. Follow the money... who are the people in Bend responsible for approving it? Unfortunate that a select few can ruin the quality of life for the whole area.
D
Douglas Lonergan
11 years ago
I fully support a 4 year university in Bend but not on a site that cannot accommodate the long term needs of a growing resident student population. I fully disagree with the current site due to a lack of roads, parking, housing and other limitations. I fully support the site being on the east side of Bend where sufficient land is available, jobs will be created for new food service and other retail operations that need to be built. Douglas Lonergan
A
Anonymous
11 years ago
We are missing an opportunity to make another part of town more desirable!
B
Bip Nelson
11 years ago
I am a long time Bend resident and have seen the population of the town more than quadruple since moving here in '79. The ensuing growth has gone both poorly and, more lately, better. This hasty move, however, seems to contradict ideas for the success of our projected 15 year growth. I am all for the university to be here in Bend, but cramming it into an already dense and somewhat historic area of town seems like it will clog the west side of the river. Add 40-50,000 people to the community (as is projected by the year 2028) and the west side will not be navigable.
With so much undeveloped land in the s.e. quadrant of Bend, it seems far more logical to begin to develop and connect that area of the city limits, turning another corner of town into productive space. I am not a city planner, but have seen years and years of development in this community. Rather than to just jump at this opportunity, I encourage you to take the time to investigate and evaluate better areas than what is proposed. I attended OSU in Corvallis and will be proud to host OSU-Cascades in Bend, but there will be long term benefits and ramifications associated with it. It would be best for both the school and the community if it were given some long-term thought.
G
Gary Lang
11 years ago
Stand on the property and see for yourself. Look at the current traffic and housing. For me, the promises and studies don't pass the "smell test". I want better for Oregon.
H
Hal Hewes
11 years ago
Altho a 4 yr university will benefit Bend , locating it in a heavy residential are is a very bad idea !!!
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Bret
11 years ago
Site is not big enough.
T
Toni Weir
11 years ago
Yes to school, no to site.
M
Marcia Harrison
11 years ago
Bend deserves a first class university that can grow and expand this decade and the next five decades. The current site is shortsighted. . .I implore President Ray and VP Johnson to be vionaries at this critical time in the life of OSU and Central Oregon. Think of the economic future of this region. .build a campus where OSU can be the catalyst for business, housing, retail and restaurant development. Be the showcase model for other university satellite campuses that are incubators for economic development in small cities like Bend. Do it right. . .do it now!
J
Julie M
11 years ago
Like others, I'm in favor of the 4 year college, but bummed about the location. As a west side resident, my fear is traffic. I feel the current roadways will not support the influx of students. And where to house those students? Housing isn't exactly cheap or plentiful on the west side. I agree that the campus would be better suited towards the north part of Bend, where there is adequate room for growth.
V
Varina Wooster
11 years ago
I fully support a 4-year university in Bend, but I strongly feel the proposed location is a short-sighted choice that will prove to be the wrong decision. I live on the eastside and would love to see the campus over here, where there is room to expand, where new apartments are proposed, where the influx of businesses to serve the students and faculty will enhance our part of town, and where the OSU campus can become a shining star of Bend, not crammed in where the moneyed interests desire you to be, on substandard soil, in too small a site
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Anonymous
11 years ago
We are for the 4 year university but against the chosen westside site. We have not been able to make a left turn out of our street for over 10 years now, so the side streets are now becoming collector streets and we are only 1/2 mile north of the OSU site. Can you imagine the traffic with even 2,000 additional students and faculty, let alone 5,000!
J
Jeff Walkup
11 years ago
We would appreciate to know fully what the impacts of the Westside location would be to traffic and housing. I wonder why you are not working with us? Thank you
C
CHRISTINE Castle
11 years ago
I am for a university but not in the heart of our city. It will destroy what is great about it. It is to bad greed and politics are in the way!
J
Justin Montoya
11 years ago
We only support an OSU-Cascades campus where there is room to grow and thrive. The proposed Westside location is not that! There's barely enough road capacity to handle what's already there. Adding thousands of students and hundreds of staff is going to create a traffic disaster! We need real solutions before breaking ground. All I see is unlawful tactics by greedy people with no shared love of Central Oregon. Cutting down hundreds of trees even without infrastructure or building permits!? Shame on you OSU!
L
Lisa Handley
11 years ago
A 4-year university will be such a great asset to our community, BUT... it must be built in a location that will serve those who live in Central Oregon - a location that will be close to 'affordable' student housing (not located in the most expensive area in all of Central Oregon,) a location with room for university growth and expansion over time, a location that will be easy to access by students driving from outlying areas, a location that won't cripple an already over crowded area of town - a location that will allow for many new businesses to be built which will create many new jobs for Central Oregonians - a location that will not cost exorbitant amounts of money to develop, which will then be passed on to students in the form of tuition and to tax payers for land remediation costs, widening roundabouts, streets, and bridges. OSU...listen to the people in this community.
K
Kip Harris
11 years ago
We need to control the things we can to make our city pleasant to live in. We cannot control how many people move here but is our responsibility to manage the infrastructure to support the growth. This project in this location will add to the ever growing grid-locked Bend that is a reality.
The need for a 4 year college in Central Oregon is logical. The placement of that college at the currently proposed site is completely illogical. It's time for LOGIC!
Great idea but wrong site!
It can already take 10 minutes to get through the Reed Market and Skyliners Rd traffic circles on Mt Washington at peak traffic times during the school year. And they have just added a new Jr. High School on Skyliners for the upcoming year.... not to mention there is an ongoing very large new expansion to the Northwest Crossing subdivision underway on the west side of Mt. Washington that will also add to already very heavy traffic in this area. Now Bend wants to drop a College campus right in the middle of all this? I doubt anybody has done the proper traffic impact study as this makes zero sense. The area obviously does not have the infrastructure to handle this. I think the person above me has it right... can only be greed and politics responsible for such an ill conceived plan. Follow the money... who are the people in Bend responsible for approving it? Unfortunate that a select few can ruin the quality of life for the whole area.
I fully support a 4 year university in Bend but not on a site that cannot accommodate the long term needs of a growing resident student population. I fully disagree with the current site due to a lack of roads, parking, housing and other limitations. I fully support the site being on the east side of Bend where sufficient land is available, jobs will be created for new food service and other retail operations that need to be built. Douglas Lonergan
We are missing an opportunity to make another part of town more desirable!
I am a long time Bend resident and have seen the population of the town more than quadruple since moving here in '79. The ensuing growth has gone both poorly and, more lately, better. This hasty move, however, seems to contradict ideas for the success of our projected 15 year growth. I am all for the university to be here in Bend, but cramming it into an already dense and somewhat historic area of town seems like it will clog the west side of the river. Add 40-50,000 people to the community (as is projected by the year 2028) and the west side will not be navigable. With so much undeveloped land in the s.e. quadrant of Bend, it seems far more logical to begin to develop and connect that area of the city limits, turning another corner of town into productive space. I am not a city planner, but have seen years and years of development in this community. Rather than to just jump at this opportunity, I encourage you to take the time to investigate and evaluate better areas than what is proposed. I attended OSU in Corvallis and will be proud to host OSU-Cascades in Bend, but there will be long term benefits and ramifications associated with it. It would be best for both the school and the community if it were given some long-term thought.
Stand on the property and see for yourself. Look at the current traffic and housing. For me, the promises and studies don't pass the "smell test". I want better for Oregon.
Altho a 4 yr university will benefit Bend , locating it in a heavy residential are is a very bad idea !!!
Site is not big enough.
Yes to school, no to site.
Bend deserves a first class university that can grow and expand this decade and the next five decades. The current site is shortsighted. . .I implore President Ray and VP Johnson to be vionaries at this critical time in the life of OSU and Central Oregon. Think of the economic future of this region. .build a campus where OSU can be the catalyst for business, housing, retail and restaurant development. Be the showcase model for other university satellite campuses that are incubators for economic development in small cities like Bend. Do it right. . .do it now!
Like others, I'm in favor of the 4 year college, but bummed about the location. As a west side resident, my fear is traffic. I feel the current roadways will not support the influx of students. And where to house those students? Housing isn't exactly cheap or plentiful on the west side. I agree that the campus would be better suited towards the north part of Bend, where there is adequate room for growth.
I fully support a 4-year university in Bend, but I strongly feel the proposed location is a short-sighted choice that will prove to be the wrong decision. I live on the eastside and would love to see the campus over here, where there is room to expand, where new apartments are proposed, where the influx of businesses to serve the students and faculty will enhance our part of town, and where the OSU campus can become a shining star of Bend, not crammed in where the moneyed interests desire you to be, on substandard soil, in too small a site
We are for the 4 year university but against the chosen westside site. We have not been able to make a left turn out of our street for over 10 years now, so the side streets are now becoming collector streets and we are only 1/2 mile north of the OSU site. Can you imagine the traffic with even 2,000 additional students and faculty, let alone 5,000!
We would appreciate to know fully what the impacts of the Westside location would be to traffic and housing. I wonder why you are not working with us? Thank you
I am for a university but not in the heart of our city. It will destroy what is great about it. It is to bad greed and politics are in the way!
We only support an OSU-Cascades campus where there is room to grow and thrive. The proposed Westside location is not that! There's barely enough road capacity to handle what's already there. Adding thousands of students and hundreds of staff is going to create a traffic disaster! We need real solutions before breaking ground. All I see is unlawful tactics by greedy people with no shared love of Central Oregon. Cutting down hundreds of trees even without infrastructure or building permits!? Shame on you OSU!
A 4-year university will be such a great asset to our community, BUT... it must be built in a location that will serve those who live in Central Oregon - a location that will be close to 'affordable' student housing (not located in the most expensive area in all of Central Oregon,) a location with room for university growth and expansion over time, a location that will be easy to access by students driving from outlying areas, a location that won't cripple an already over crowded area of town - a location that will allow for many new businesses to be built which will create many new jobs for Central Oregonians - a location that will not cost exorbitant amounts of money to develop, which will then be passed on to students in the form of tuition and to tax payers for land remediation costs, widening roundabouts, streets, and bridges. OSU...listen to the people in this community.
We need to control the things we can to make our city pleasant to live in. We cannot control how many people move here but is our responsibility to manage the infrastructure to support the growth. This project in this location will add to the ever growing grid-locked Bend that is a reality.
Thank you for all your hard work on this.