Bend Police say people have been driving around the road closed signs at Neff Road and Purcell Boulevard — even driving on the sidewalks. They are warning drivers to stop it or face a ticket.
The busy Neff-Purcell intersection was shut down Wednesday to begin work to widen it for traffic flow, plus make other improvements. The intersection will remain closed into mid-summer — approximately five months.
The intersection is very close to both St. Charles Hospital and Pilot Butte Middle School, so the closure means a big disruption for hundreds of drivers.
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There are also a lot of homes nearby.
“We have gotten multiple complaints from neighbors in the area, just saying that people are cutting through their neighborhoods, that they’re going too fast in their neighborhoods,” said Bend Police Communications Manager Sheila Miller. “And then we’ve also gotten complaints that people are just going around the road closed signs, which is illegal.”
Miller says she understands the closure is inconvenient of a lot of people, but driving on the sidewalk is flat illegal.
“You put people at risk when you do that. So our officers are citing people,” Miller said.
Police are now patrolling the area. So how much can you expect to pay if you get caught?
“The citation would be failure to obey a traffic device and it’s $265 for the ticket. So pretty spendy,” Miller said.
