I live outside the Baker City limits but drive 10th Street five days a week getting to and from work. For the last 12+ years I’ve considered Baker City my town. As a professional civil engineer I’d like to offer my opinion on the 3-lane vs. 4-lane planning consideration for 10th Street. Regarding local credentials other than growing up in Baker County, prior to working for the Forest Service I was a consulting engineer for 31 years. Although based in Bend, I was on the team that prepared the transportation master plan update for Baker City in the 1990s and I was the design engineer for the water and wastewater systems, roads, and parking lots for the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center, also in the ’90s.

It is my professional opinion that a 3-lane section should be adopted for 10th Street for the reasons of safety and efficiency. A 4-lane configuration is dangerous because traffic backs up in the inside lanes waiting for vehicles to make left turns. A waiting driver can get frustrated, switch to the right-hand lane to get past the waiting vehicle(s), and get “T-boned” by a passing vehicle. A 3-lane layout eliminates this risk. With fewer lanes, it is also safer for pedestrians to cross. Because traffic flows more freely, it can be as efficient, even with half the number of active lanes. Aside from Baker City’s Campbell Street being switched from a 4-lane to 3-lane section successfully, another example involving a highway on a city street was when the city of Prineville and ODOT changed 3rd Street/Highway 26 from a 4-lane to 3-lane layout. Accidents were greatly reduced and traffic flow greatly improved.

If there is a desire to maintain a 4-lane section but improve safety, an alternative is to eliminate left turns. This alternative is typically unpopular because the out-of-direction travel to go another block, turn right, and go around the block adds driving time, fuel consumption, and frustration. I do not recommend it.

Jim Carnahan

Baker City