'Sidewalks to nowhere' in Beatty and Bly

Some people call them sidewalks to nowhere.

Others question the cost.

Despite the criticism, residents in Bly and Beatty seem to increasingly like their new sidewalks.

“Some people say why waste the money on Beatty and Bly,” says Daryl Malvern, owner of the Palomino Store in Beatty. “Why not? It’s time.”

“I never thought I’d see sidewalks in Beatty,” admits Russell Pederson. “We stop places and people say, ‘Hey, I hear you’ve got sidewalks now.’ They’re nice to have because you used to have to walk in a ditch.”

“It’s a non-stop topic of conversation,” says Cathy Snow, owner of the Coyote Café in Bly. “It doesn’t bother me at all, but a lot of people are against it. You can’t please everybody. I think anything to improve a town like this is fine with me.”

Sidewalks were built in Bly, population 1,000, and Beatty, population 500, over the summer as part of a larger $5.4 million Oregon Department of Transportation road improvement project that paved 18 miles of Highway 140 east.

Project manager Tom Feeley says about 90 percent of the price is paid with federal funds, and the other 10 percent comes from the state. Although he doesn’t have breakout costs, Feeley says about $300,000 was money designated for bicyclist-pedestrian improvements, including sidewalks.

Bly’s sidewalks were built on both sides of the highway, but only the south side has a sidewalk in Beatty.

Some people, however, believe money spent on the road improvements and sidewalks would have better spent on Gearhart School, Bly’s elementary school. The school was reconfigured this fall, offering a Web-based education program, and most students are bused to the school in Bonanza.

Feeley is sympathetic with that concern, but notes money for schools and roads comes from different funding sources.

In Bly, the Community Action Team partnered with ODOT and received a $60,000 grant for solar-powered streetlights, planters, benches and other improvements.

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