Need better route
“While a bicycle path between Corvallis and Albany might be useful, the one devised by Benton County is poorly conceived and damaging to agriculture along its route. It was designed and sited with no input from the farming community, even though farms comprise most of the land that would be affected.
I question the validity of using high-quality EFU land for recreational purposes. If the proposed path is mainly for transportation, rather than recreation, then ODOT should provide land for the route, not farmers. ODOT owns a 200-foot-wide swath through the full length of our property from Rondo Lane in the northeast to near Independence Road to the southwest. This would provide ample off-highway space for a path with full visibility and accessibility from Highway 20 in case of emergencies.
Although not consulted about impacts to our property or that of the Adair Village water plant, whose pipelines cross under the proposed pathway on our farm at several sites, we received notice from Lane County assessors hired by Benton County who attempted to coerce our agreement to their terms or face condemnation of our property using the mechanism of eminent domain. There has been no study on other factors affecting our farm, such as floodplain, wetlands, and rare/threatened/endangered plant and animal species. some of which are found on the surveyed route.
This project should be scuttled until a suitable route that impacts agriculture less drastically can be agreed upon by all parties concerned.”
Albany Democrat Herald 12 November 2014.