Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutSkyliners Road Event UseDate: To: From: Re: January 20, 2010 Board of County Commissioners Erik Kropp, Deputy County Administrator JANUARY 25th WORK SESSION ITEM: EVENTS USING SKYLINERS ROAD At the January 25th Work Session, staff will discuss event permitting for Skyliners Road for the upcoming 2010 event season. This item is not scheduled as a public hearing. There is considerable interest in this issue among Skyliners Road residents, event organizers, event participants, and representatives from the tourism industry. If the Board would like to take action on this item, staff recommends that a public hearing be scheduled at a future date to provide sufficient time for public comment. Background Events that take place on a County right-of-way require a County permit as detailed in Deschutes County Code Chapter 8.16. The County event permit fee is $35. Skyliners Road has been a popular location for events. The chart below shows the number of permitted events using Skyliners Road as well as the number of "event days" (some events run multiple days) from 2005 — 2010. "Attachment A" contains the list of these events for 2009 and likely requests for 2010. No events for Skyliners Road have been approved for 2010. Year 2010* 2009 2008 No. of Events No. of Event Days 6 4 11-12 13 10 2007 2006 4 4 8 2005 4 *The 2010 events are projected requests. 14 12 Issue Residents in the area have expressed concerns about events that use Skyliners Road. The concerns include issues related to safety, neighborhood access, neighborhood notification, Tumalo Falls access, the number of events, inconvenience, cyclist/driver interaction, and road conditions. For some events that use Skyliners Road, the permit has included requirements that the event organizer notify the neighbors; cyclists stay within 3 feet of the fog line; and emergency vehicles, local traffic, and service and delivery vehicles will continue to have access. Staff organized a meeting on January 13, 2010 for residents of Skyliners Road and event organizers to discuss the 2009 event season, areas for improvement, and potential solutions. The feedback from the residents included the following comments: some event riders stayed in the middle of the road even when the resident was following a Bend Police motorcycle serving as an escort; the turnaround points are dangerous due to shadows, curves in the road, and inexperienced flaggers; prior to events a large number of cyclists practice the course and some unsafely ride more than 2 across the road and some are accompanied by a slow moving car following the rider; pilot cars are not helpful; and all events on Skyliners Road are not safe and should not be approved until the road is reconstructed. Suggestions from the meeting that had general support from residents and event organizers included adding a sign along the road informing cyclists to ride single file, more enforcement of cycling laws during the event and at other times, and more education for the cycling community. There are planned improvements for the road. Skyliners Road is on the Forest Highway project list for 2016. Deschutes County and the City of Bend have asked that this project move up due to the planned waterline replacement beginning December 2011, the overall deterioration of the road, and safety issues. The Road Department has serious concerns about the inability to maintain the road if it is not reconstructed by 2013. Options The full range of options for event approval for Skyliners Road include the following: 1. Approve all event requests on Skyliners Road 2. "Every other year" event approval until road is reconstructed 3. Use lottery system for event permits using Skyliners Road until road is reconstructed 4. Require use of pilot car for events on Skyliners Road until the road is reconstructed 5. Create a new higher event fee for those using Skyliners Road — use this fee to pay for Sherriff's Office reserves or CDD code enforcement to cover certain events on Skyliners Road 6. For events that currently run multiple days, allow no more than 2 "event days" until road is reconstructed 7. Ban all events from Skyliners Road until road is reconstructed Recommendation Staff recommends a combination of options 5 and 6. Option 5, increasing the fees to support more event oversight on Skyliners Road, will help address some of the residents' concerns and increase overall event management and safety. Option 6, limiting the number of event days, will provide a margin of relief for residents until the road is re -constructed. In addition, staff recommends that events that merely cross Skyliners Road (such as the Cascade Lakes Relay) or have minimal use of Skyliners Road (such as the High Cascade 100) not be included in any permit limitations since these events have negligible impact on the residents. ATTACHMENT A — Skyliners Road Event Permits Projected for 2010 and Permits Issued in 2009 Preliminary requests for 2010 events to use Skyliners Road Event (sponsor) Date Details Major Impact Events Duel in the Desert Duathlon Mt. Bachelor Rotary Club Time Trial/Duathlon Series (FreshAir Sports) 6/3, 6/10, 6/17, 7/1, 7/8 and 7/15 6 p.m. — 8 p.m. Duel in the Desert Duathlon (Mt. Bachelor Rotary Club)* May/June 9 a.m. — 2 p.m. US Elite Nationals Thursday, 6/24 9:00 a.m. — 4:00 p.m. High Desert Omnium Saturday, 7/10 Afternoon. Time trial portion would be held on Skyliners. Cascade Cycling Classic Thursday, 7/22 Saturday, 7/24 8 10:00 a.m. — 1:00 p.m. 8:00 a.m. - noon Minor Impact Events 7/23 10:00 a.m. — Cascade Lakes Relay — running event (Smith Rock Race Group) Saturday, 7/31 Small impact on Skyliners. Crosses over Skyliners at Skyliners Ranch Road. Haulin Aspen (FreshAir Sports) Sunday, 8/8 May request to cross Skyliners Road. High Cascade 100 (Mtn. bike ride on trials and short distances on Skyliners to Bear Wallow Rd)* Mudslinger Events Very little impact on Skyliners. Didn't use permit last year *Received a permit last year and may request a 2010 permit Skyliners Road Permits Issued in 2009 Event Sponsor Date(s) Time Duel in the Desert Duathlon Mt. Bachelor Rotary Club 5/30 9 a.m. — 2 p.m. FreshAirSports Time Trial and FreshAir Sports 6/11, 6/18, 6 p.m. — 8 p.m. Duathlon Series 6/25, 7/2, 7/16, 8/6 Cascade Cycling Classic Mt. Bachelor Sports 7/23 10:00 a.m. — Education Foundation 12:30 p.m. 7/25 8 a.m. — 10 a.m. USA Cycling National USA Cycling 7/28 8 a.m. — 2 p.m. Championships 7/31 8 a.m. — 4 p.m. High Desert Omnium Bend Bella Cyclists/ 8/2 7 a.m. — 6 p.m. Oregon Bicycle Racing Association High Cascade 100 (Mtn. bike ride on trials and short distances on Skyliners to Bear Wallow) Mudslinger Events 8/23 6 a.m. — 8 p.m.