Benton County is looking to connect its two largest cities, Corvallis and Albany, with a pedestrian bike path. The County has been approved to receive $2 million dollars from a state grant for the project.
Benton County is still in the planning stages to connect Independence Road in Albany to an already completed section in Corvallis. Commissioners are in the process of reviewing a conditional use permit application for the path. Benton County Spokesman Rick Osborn says in addition to linking the two cities, the pathway would create a safety corridor.
Osborn: "There isn't a great shoulder on Highway 20, which is the nearest automobile passageway, so this creates a much wider, safer alternative for folks who want to use that method of commuting back and forth for whatever reason, whether for it to be to get back and forth to work, or recreational."
Osborn says the pathway would reduce carbon emission and automobile counts along that stretch of Highway 20. There are about 25 property owners that would be affected. So far about half have expressed concerns or opposition.
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