New Beltline signs installed amidst threats
EUGENE, Ore. - Despite anonymous calls threatening to vandalize or steal the two new Randy Papé Beltline signs, the installation was a quiet affair.
A three-person Oregon Department of Transportation crew spent a few minutes drilling holes and then bolting the sign into a wooden post along the highway Wednesday morning.
It was a marked contrast to the protests that have often accompanied the plan to rename the Beltline.
In March, the Oregon Transportation Commission voted to rename the highway the Randy Papé Beltway. That plan called for all signs to be replaced with ones bearing the new name, a move that would have cost $250,000.
After multiple protests, the OTC approved a scaled down plan in April. The road name changed to the Randy Papé Beltline and called for just two signs to be replaced: one just east of West 11th, the other on Beltline West near the Coburg Road exit.
"We certainly at ODOT as an agency, take this as an opportunity to move forward," said Rick Little, ODOT spokesman. "We encourage the community to take this as an opportunity to move forward, move beyond."
But many opponents are still against the name change.
Scott Reynolds, a leader of the Keep it Beltline, watched the signs go up.
"The state is in a $577 million shortfall right now and to go out and spend money like this is just simply irresponsible, regardless of the amount," said Reynolds. "Whether it's $1,500 dollars, $250,000, whatever it is."
Reynolds has proposed a ballot measure that would require renaming a state facilities or assets be put to a public vote. The measure would be retroactive to January 2010, meaning the Beltline name change would be reversed.
He has to gather 83,000 signatures before July 2 to put the measure on the ballot, but has to wait for state approval to begin. He acknowledged it was a longshot but said he was hopeful Keep it Beltline could pull it off.
