Keizer council presses staff for near‑term fixes as Transportation System Plan proceeds

City staff told the council on Jan. 20 that the Transportation System Plan (TSP) has funding and a contract pending approval; staff estimated the TSP process will likely take 12–24 months. Councilors asked for immediate, site‑specific evaluations at Keizer Station and areas on River Road to address congestion, sight lines and pedestrian safety while the longer TSP work continues.

Council President Star described daily congestion when exiting Keizer Station, suggested reviewing signal timing at key intersections and requested staff investigate short‑term 'band‑aid' measures as well as long‑term TSP solutions. Staff and representatives noted some limits (jurisdictional control and an overpass that constrains turn movements), but agreed Salem and ODOT partners could review existing signal timing and possible low‑cost mitigations such as tree trimming and pedestrian visibility improvements.

Brown recommended adding a TSP focus on those corridors during scoping and creating targeted deliverables for short‑term mitigation recommendations. The council asked staff to prepare information on options from Wheatland to the city limits on River Road and to examine pedestrian‑activated crossings and signal timing at Keizer Station.

No funding decisions were made; staff indicated individual development projects will still be required to update traffic studies as they come forward and that pieces of traffic mitigation will return through the TSP and project review processes.