Over the past two years, the 21-member Citywide Transportation Advisory Committee (CTAC) worked to develop a new Transportation System Plan (TSP) for the City of Bend, and LandWatch was there every step of the way advocating for a safer, more equitable and more sustainable transportation future.

After two years of work, the 21-member Citywide Transportation Advisory Committee (CTAC) recently held their final meeting. Thank you CTAC for your hard work and your commitment to creating a better future for transportation in Bend!

We've seen an incredible response from the helpers in our community as we face the threat of COVID-19 and its fallout together.

Things are moving quickly with the City of Bend's Core Area planning process, which aims to create an Urban Renewal District in the Bend Central District and surrounding areas by August of this year.

Honey I Shrunk the BCD drew hundreds of neighbors, business owners, developers and community leaders to reimagine the Bend Central District together in a fun and exciting setting last week!

The Transportation System Plan (TSP) Steering Committee will review the first draft of Bend's new TSP at their meeting on Thursday. The TSP will be the guiding document for transportation in Bend over the next 20 years. Any new transportation projects built in the City over the next 20 years, including transit, bike lanes, sidewalks, and road projects will be included in this plan. Learn more here.

he BCD Initiative advocates for a safe, inclusive, and community-oriented transformation in the Bend Central District. We aren't just here to talk about the community vision - we want to show you how public investment has catalyzed real changes in other cities around Oregon.

For more than a decade, Central Oregon LandWatch has been concerned about the risk of catastrophic wildfire in the forested area next to the west side of Bend.  Most of this land would have been developed at urban levels had it come in with the City of Bend’s 2009 Urban Growth Boundary proposal to expand the city by more than 8,400 acres. Instead, our advocacy helped reduce the approved expansion by 70% by increasing densities inside the existing city boundaries.

The City of Bend has completed Phase 1 of its Transportation System Planning (TSP) process. Phase 1 identified a Citywide Transportation Framework, which includes projects and programs that principally affect the City’s arterial and collector system and transportation patterns in the City as a whole. The Citywide Transportation Framework will serve as the basis for Phases 2 and 3 of Bend’s Transportation Plan.

As the City of Bend moves forward with its “Core Area" Planning, we are preparing for the next steps in engaging the community to advocate for a vibrant, healthy, and resilient mixed-use neighborhood through the BCD Initiative

Central Oregon LandWatch received a $100,000 grant from Meyer Memorial Trust to continue work on the BCD Initiative, which is building broad support for policies and programs that promote the community’s vision for a vibrant, healthy, and resilient mixed-use neighborhood in the Bend Central District.

The City of Bend is proposing changes to its Comprehensive Plan that would allow more density in the Residential Standard Zone (RS) by permitting duplexes and triplexes (referred to as "plexes") on smaller lots. 

Thanks in large part to our advocacy, the Westside Transect is a new concept for Central Oregon that is being used to plan development on Bend’s western edge where we are at most risk of wildfire sweeping into town from the Cascade Mountain forests.