If all goes according to plan, a new street behind Philomath Elementary School will be in place by the time classes begin this fall.
The Philomath School Board unanimously approved during its meeting Wednesday night the transfer of necessary deeds and easements to the city of Philomath, pending the review of legal counsel.
“I’m super excited about moving this project forward,” City Manager Chris Workman told board members following the vote. “It’s going to be great for the kids, it’s going to be great for the neighborhood.”
School Board Chair Rick Wells sees the project’s benefits as well.
“From what I can see, it’s going to be a lot safer for everybody and improve the traffic flow,” he said.
The new, widened street will extend South 16th to the south and then curve to the east to connect with the intersection of South 17th and Cedar. Sidewalks, stormwater runoff and pullouts for buses or vehicles will be included.
The city’s draft bid documents show construction to take place between June 17 and Aug. 30.
The issue of South 16th Street first picked up steam during the development of a 2018 Transportation System Plan in Philomath when concerns were voiced about the circulation of people, school buses and vehicles around the schools. Although a school circulation and safety study was funded by the Corvallis Area Metropolitan Planning Organization in 2020, various staffing delays and a lack of school-related traffic during the COVID pandemic led to delays.
In 2022, the project regained momentum through a communitywide survey and joint work sessions involving the School Board, City Council and a traffic engineering firm. The work led to a March 2023 report that prioritized recommended projects and the widening and extension of South 16th topped the list.
“Every aspect of this project has been built around increasing the safety and efficiency for the kids as well as putting our bus drivers or parent drivers in a better position to come and pick up kids and drop off kids,” Workman said.
Workman told the board that the city will cover all costs related to the project, including the realignment of a running track behind the school, replacement of perimeter fencing and the construction of new sidewalks near the school.
“It will impact the walking trail, the athletic trail they installed two years ago — it’s going to misshape it a little bit and so we’ll have to change the layout of that,” Workman said. “We’ll take down the fence and put the fence back up in a new position.”
The conversation led into specific features of the road, such as street trees, a raised crosswalk and the possibility of a curb cut.
Workman said a city standard is to plant street trees but that did not appear to sit well with most of the board members. Ryan Cheeke stressed that “trees and roads and concrete don’t go together — no trees.” Wells followed that he foresees issues with tree roots and future sidewalk damage.
Workman said the city would repair the sidewalk if it’s ever damaged by a city-owned street tree. Street trees and landscaping are not included in the draft RFP with plans to utilize the city’s Public Works department for that work.
Based on the back-and-forth nature of the conversation, it sounded like a future discussion about the planting of any trees appears likely.
The plan had called for a raised crosswalk to be built into the curve in the road. But School Board members opposed the idea, preferring to keep students on the north and east side with no crossing on the curve.
“I don’t see the need for that crosswalk up there because there should be no kids on the south side of Cedar,” Wells said.
Superintendent of Schools Susan Halliday said a current conversation is how crossing guards will be utilized, including a thought that one might be stationed at Cedar and 17th to direct students on the right path.
“There was some concern that the crosswalk there might be more of a hindrance than a help,” Halliday said.
Although not wanting a crosswalk, Wells did see the benefit of still having a raised area across the road to serve as a speed deterrent while also leaving the option open for a raised crosswalk if warranted in the distant future.
On another note, Wells said he wanted to see a curb cut on the south side of Cedar for a driveway to give the school district access to that part of its property. There are currently no plans for what to do with the lot but that could change.
Workman said a draft request for proposals has been completed with the project ready to go out for bid.
“It’s in sync with the summer break,” Workman said about the construction timeline. “The intent would be as soon as school’s out, they’re going to be on site and they’ll be done before school lets back in.”