Story by Rodger Nichols for Gorge Country Media
There were some interesting takeaways from The Dalles City Council meeting last night. One of them is to let you know that if you’re at Kelly Viewpoint, you should know that “Somebody’s watching you”.
Which means the city has installed cameras there. Police Chief Tom Worthy explains:
“It was a city council initiative to improve public safety at the Kelly Viewpoint to reduce instances of crazy driving and littering and minor misconduct.”
Councilor Tim McGlothlin, who lives in the neighborhood, added:
“We want to keep it open, but we also want to curtail any of the things that were going on. Some vandalism and speeding — some of those things. So just be aware there are cameras up there and we’ll be right on top of that.”
Kathy Kirkpatrick and Emily Reed of Mid-Columbia Economic Development District did a presentation about the current public transportation situation in the gorge, and the news is good. The four independent public transportation agencies over the past few years have joined together to provide regularly scheduled bus service on both sides of the gorge in a system that reaches from Goldendale and The Dalles all the way into Portland, including the VA hospital and the Portland Airport and points in between. The system also serves a number of trailheads in the gorge, dogs and bicycles are welcome on the ADA-accessible buses and the price is the best of all according to Kathy Kirkpatrick:
“We have the Gorge Pass. It’s an annual transit pass, costs $40 for 12 months of unlimited rides.”
And, as Tom Peterson might have said, $40 for unlimited rides for a year is a very good price.
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