Problem Solvers: Neighbors, workers sound off as busy Galveston corridor on Bend’s westside is set to see major new additions
Harley Coldiron
BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) — Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the Galveston Avenue corridor on Bend’s westside has blown up with businesses and visitors. Now, major upgrades to two buildings are sparking more debate on issues relating to traffic, parking and street safety.
The Problem Solvers have previously reported on parking issues in the area, which have led to missed mail deliveries, and neighbors to put up dozens of illegal signs to prevent people from parking in front of their mailboxes.
In recent weeks, the debate over growth has heated up after a local family company bought the building that houses Boss Rambler, which they plan to turn into a two-story building with three restaurants and office space on top.
Side by side of the current Boss Rambler building (left), and a rendering of the upgrades (right).
The company, RSM Investments, also bought the Bakery Building on Galveston and plans to improve the interior and exterior. The construction will also include adding a new restaurant space in the back of Bosa, which includes a covered year-round patio.
Rendering of the new restaurant space in the back of Bosa, which includes a year-round covered patio.
Rendering of the interior of the new restaurant space in the back of Bosa on Columbia Street.
The Problem Solvers spoke to Ty, who grew up blocks away and now works at Blue Eyed Burgers and Fries, located at the Boss Rambler building. He says while it’s been growing for over a decade, it has become really busy since COVID: “There’s constant traffic. It’s a bustling street, and it never really used to be like that.”
Piper, who works in the corridor and was also raised in Bend, echoed the same sentiment: “Galveston has become the spot to go to. I mean, being in high school a few years ago, kids would come to Taco Salsa at night.”
McKenna Mikesell with RSM Investments said they wanted to upgrade the buildings to better benefit the community: “We wanted to design something that we want to go to. We are local. We live here. We’ve been here for a while, and we want something fun and exciting.”
But to make the project work, the 16 current parking spaces had to go. While many like Piper can’t wait for the new businesses, saying, “Growth is super important, especially for Bend, because it just keeps getting better and better.”
The Problem Solvers also talked to a neighbor, Gail Ngo, who says she and many others are up in arms: “The big concern is parking, because I live right around the corner. I live on the same block, and as it is, there’s never any parking.”
The owner of RSM Investments told the Problem Solvers there’s a reason they had to remove the parking.
“The only way to pay what we paid for the building is to demo it and to take advantage of the entire lot and build one larger building,” Rick Mikesell said in an interview at their downtown Bend office.
It’s exactly why the Oregon Legislature passed the state law forbidding minimum parking requirements for certain developments. But some neighbors like Gail say it’s a slap in the face: “I don’t think that it’s being respectful of the city, and the neighborhood needs of the residents to do such a thing.”
But Rick and McKenna of RSM Investments say they’re committed to a solution, already working with the city and neighbors.
“There are lots of alternate ways of transportation, and Bend is moving towards that. And hopefully we can enhance that with some sort of trolley system or bus routes,” Rick told the Problem Solvers.
One thing the City of Bend wants to do is make it safer for people walking, biking and rolling on the corridor. It’s a long-standing issue that’s only been exacerbated with the increased traffic. Along with new pavement, the bike lanes will also be made bigger, with painted buffers helping create more space between people riding and driving.
The city also plans to put in more street lighting and a raised crosswalk on 12th Street to help people cross the road. The Problem Solvers observed many close calls between drivers and pedestrians while preparing this report.
Pedestrians and bikers said crossing Galveston is often scary, and creates close calls with drivers.
Many people we spoke with say the street infrastructure upgrades are long overdue. “I would get on a bike ,if it were that much more bike-friendly,” Ty said in an interview.
But others like Gail are skeptical that it’s a solution to the parking problem: “You know, they’re imagining that people are going to bike, they’re going to carpool, they’re going to commute. But the bottom line is we don’t have a good infrastructure for that here in the city.”