Photo tickets and safety: Let’s see numbers
The Albany City Council, the city administration and the police all say the expanded photo enforcement of traffic laws should increase safety in Albany traffic. How can we tell if that’s the case? The...
View ArticleWhat’s up with Wells Fargo lot downtown
On a bike ride through downtown Albany in mid-April, I stopped on the former Wells Fargo Bank property, wondering what happened to the plan for redevelopment of the site. Members of the city council...
View ArticleHearing called on new use for old home
The owners of the historic Sternberg House in downtown Albany have renewed their request for their business, Recovery First LLC, to use the house as a drug and alcohol treatment center. On Monday, the...
View ArticleNo paddle boats at Waverly Lake this year
Last spring a sign at Waverly Lake caught my eye, so I got off the bike and took its picture. Now the sign’s message has been superseded by events. The sign may have been there for years, but I had...
View ArticleAnd as for the duck, well, read on
Wednesday’s story about the suspension this summer of paddle boat rentals on Albany’s Waverly Lake prompted a few questions along the lines of “Too bad, but what about the duck?” The Waverly Duck has...
View ArticleCan’t always tell what’s a school day
Now that speed cameras have begun watching drivers in an Albany school zone, a question that came up four years ago needs to be asked again: “What exactly qualifies as a school day?” If you missed it,...
View ArticleBus station or bike lane? It’s both
A bike ride last week brought me to what has to be the busiest bus stop of the Albany Transit System. And as you can see, buses stopping there take up pretty much the entire bike lane on that side of...
View ArticleHere and there: Random shots of what I saw
For the last week I have been away, sometimes riding a bike around Jacksonville in Southern Oregon but mainly taking it easy. So here are are few photos from around Albany over the last month....
View ArticleNew gas station planned on South Pacific
A vacant former shop building on Southwest Pacific Boulevard in Albany is likely to be gone soon, and a new convenience store and gas station will take up the space. That’s according to an application...
View ArticleMuddy Creek solar project asks more time
Driving up I-5 toward Albany the other day, I saw banners in the fields on the right with the word “Solar.” At freeway speed, I could not make out the rest. But whatever happened to the proposal to...
View ArticleMaking end of Water Avenue one-way
The reconstruction of Water Avenue in Albany is moving along, and the shape of a new traffic pattern has become obvious at the street’s western end. After coming back to town from a week away, I took...
View ArticleWell, that didn’t take very long
As expected, it didn’t take long for vandals to start undoing the volunteer work of Albany’s “graffiti chasers” on the Periwinkle Bikepath behind Lowe’s, near Ninth Avenue. The bike took me through...
View ArticleHub City Experience: Queen Ave. suspense
Waiting at the Queen Avenue railroad crossing is part of life in Albany. It’s an essential element, you might say, of the Hub City Experience. From time to time I and many others have waited there...
View ArticleCouncil again votes for gay pride flag
As it did two years ago, the Albany City Council on Monday voted once again to venture into the contentious field of identity politics by flying a “pride” flag at City Hall during the month of June. In...
View ArticleLogjam under RR bridge being removed
For years the Willamette River logjam on the Albany railroad bridge had grown every winter. On Tuesday it was being dismantled. I happened on the scene on a bike ride along the Dave Clark Riverfront...
View ArticleWatching crew demolish that big logjam
Workers for Advanced American Construction on Wednesday made progress in dismantling the big logjam under the Albany railroad bridge. After becoming aware of this project Tuesday afternoon, I went...
View ArticleChapter 2 in council’s ‘pride’ flag vote
The Albany City Council majority Wednesday confirmed its stand in favor of displaying the gay-pride flag at City Hall in June. But no, the flag will not actually be hoisted on the pole outside. The...
View ArticlePedestrian access: Public walkway reopened
On a bike ride this week I was reminded of an issue that had occupied the Albany neighborhood east of I-5 and south of Knox Butte Road: Whether to close a public walkway between houses or keep it open....
View ArticleDebris cleared; look at railroad bridge now
Now that the job of clearing a big pile of river debris is complete, let’s take one more look at the Albany railroad bridge where the work was done. For years the southern-most in-water pier of the...
View ArticleAlbany airport’s future? City hires consultant
The Albany city government is about to launch another one of the periodic exercises of trying to figure out if there’s a better use for the the city’s airport. At a cost “estimated” at $113,469 — that...
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