(Photo courtesy of Central Oregon LandWatch)
Central Oregon LandWatch is an environmental nonprofit working for more than 30 years to protect what we all love about Central Oregon: farm and forest land, rivers and springs, wildlife habitat and well-designed communities. We were heavily involved in Bend’s recent urban growth boundary plan, and since its adoption have turned our focus to the Bend Central District.
The Bend Central District (BCD) is the area east of downtown bordered by Revere Avenue on the north, 4th Street on the east, and the railroad on the south and west sides. It has long been identified in the City of Bend’s plans to transition from mostly industrial uses to a more urban neighborhood, and it is uniquely positioned to help distribute the load of future growth.
The Bend Central District was featured at the August 2017 City Club forum with panelists Kirk Scheuler of Brooks Resources, Brian Rankin, City of Bend Long Ranger Planner, and Moey Newbold of LandWatch. Panelists discussed opportunities and challenges around this district’s plan to take on a more urban feel over time as the city grows. To engage the community in this conversation, LandWatch and partners have launched the BCD Initiative.
The BCD Initiative seeks to build momentum and support for the district’s transformation into a vibrant mixed-use community with safe connections between east and west Bend.This summer, the BCD Initiative brought together a group of technical advisors, including planners, transportation engineers, urban designers, and architects to identify barriers and opportunities for achieving the community vision in the BCD.
The group is exploring how this area could maximize opportunities for a walkable, bikeable community and encourage movement toward compact, transit-oriented land-uses with designs for complete streets and other transportation networks to open the flow of community across town.
Central Oregon LandWatch, 541-647-930 x802, www.colw.org
