With the impacts of the COVID-19 virus still uncertain, priorities are shifting in Bend. In this unprecedented moment, it feels prudent to take stock of the situation, marshal resources and work together to help our neighbors in need.
“We have recommended that the Bend City Council make the difficult decision to remove Measure 9-131, the Go Bend 2020 bond measure, from the May ballot,” said Mike Riley, co-chair of the Go Bend 2020 Coalition, which had formed a political action committee in support of the bond measure.
The projects included in this proposal remain a critical investment for our future. The proposed road and safety improvements would fix many of the most troubled spots in Bend — where there is heavy traffic, where safety improvements are needed around schools and neighborhoods and to improve east/west connections from one part of town to another.
It is hard to step back and pause. We know we will need the economic stimulus, job creation and the real transportation improvements this bond will address. Therefore, the Go Bend 2020 Coalition, made up of more than 100 businesses, nonprofit organizations and community leaders, will continue to support the transportation bond when the City Council deems it time to ask the community for its support.
We want to thank the hundreds of people who helped develop the list of projects, pouring over maps and data, and debating which investments would relieve congestion and help Bend prosper the most. We want to thank the GoBend 2020 Steering Committee, our supporters and our donors for working together, shifting competing interests into support for this Transportation Bond.
“When this challenging time is behind us, our neighbors and our community will still need a safe and efficient transportation system that works for all. We stand by and will be ready to bring Bend’s Transportation bond to voters in the future,” stated Katy Brooks, co-chair of the Go Bend 2020 Coalition.
For now, the Go Bend 2020 Coalition joins other community leaders as we turn our attention to those hardest hit by the impacts of the pandemic — those individuals with underlying health issues, older citizens and folks in lower-income brackets who will be hit the hardest. Coming together as a community has never been more urgent than in this moment.
