Community members are invited to join the City of Bend for a unique engagement opportunity on Monday, June 10 from 5:30 – 7 p.m. at Bend Municipal Court (555 NE 15th Street, Bend).
The Public Safety Open House will cover how the City of Bend’s police and transportation planners work to enhance traffic safety and enforce our traffic laws. Open house guests will hear from Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz and Janet Hruby, Assistant City Engineer for Transportation & Mobility about how safety is considered in Bend using the “Three E’s of Traffic Safety: Education, Engineering and Enforcement.”
There will also be tables with interactive displays, information and staff from Bend Police and Transportation & Mobility departments to answer questions.
“I’m looking forward to connecting with community members about a topic that matters to all of us: ensuring a safe traffic system here in Bend,” said Bend Mayor Melanie Kebler. “I know City staff are excited to share some of the projects and initiatives being worked on currently, like automated traffic enforcement, and we’re also very interested to hear what sort of questions and ideas come from attendees.”
Following the open house, from 7 to 8:30 p.m. representatives from each of Bend’s neighborhood district boards are invited to participate in a roundtable discussion with Bend City Council and staff around Public Safety Council Goals like the coming automated traffic enforcement program, and related neighborhood concerns. Community members can observe the discussion in person or virtually. Virtual meeting links will be posted to the City Council Meeting webpage prior to June 10.
Those wishing to share comments about traffic safety should search and connect with their neighborhood district board at bendoregon.gov/neighborhoods, who can then include this input in discussions with Council and staff at the roundtable.
The 2023-2025 Council Goal for Accessible an Effective City Government includes an action to research and develop innovative engagement tools to try as pilot programs, including ways to engage new voices. This engagement opportunity is a new opportunity for neighborhoods and their members to be included in decision-making about topics they care about. The theme of this opportunity came from outreach done last winter requesting topics from neighborhood leaders.
