The city of Canby has opened a dialogue with the Oregon Department of Transportation regarding its plans to build a new traffic signal at Sequoia and Hazel Dell, better known as the “Fred Meyer intersection” since it’s also the primary way into and out of the Fred Meyer complex.
City Administrator Rick Robinson told the City Council Wednesday night that ODOT needed to be looped into the process because the already existing traffic light at Sequoia and Highway 99E — which the state manages — could be affected by the signal the city wants to build.
The concern is that if the signal patterns between the two intersections aren’t in sync, it could cause traffic to back up into the intersection with Hazel Dell — which, of course, would be an even worse situation than what we have now.
Robinson, who is taking the lead on the project following the recent departure of Public Works Director Jennifer Cline (she accepted a position with ODOT in Bend last month), reiterated his personal timeline for the project: He wants it operational by the end of the year, and he says there’s a very good reason for that.
The project has been high on Robinson’s and city planners’ priority list for some time, but the urgency has been heightened by Project Shakespeare, a massive, 531,000 square foot beverage distribution facility proposed for 42 acres just north of Hazel Dell Way.
Although the project’s traffic study has not yet been made public, its design features over 60 truck loading bays and accommodations for hundreds of employees, and its impact on surrounding roads is expected to be significant.