Holiday Travel
This Saturday is expected to be one of the busiest days for travel over the Christmas and New Years holiday. AAA is reporting that 1.4 million Oregonians will be on the roadways visiting family and friends. Vacationing is also a holiday favorite with expectations of interstate travel to be most prevalent. Bend and Portland are popular destinations, but so is Seattle according to Marie Dodds with AAA Oregon. Those choosing to travel outside of the state are choosing destinations like Disneyland and Las Vegas. Traveling by auto should be a little cheaper with gas prices still pushing downward. Here along the coast the average price of a gallon of regular gas is $3.25 with the Oregon average hovering around $3.90 a gallon. AAA Oregon suggests getting an early start if traveling on Saturday.
Rhododendron Road Construction
City Manager Erin Reynolds says the City of Florence is looking to be in budget for the upcoming reconstruction of Rhododendron Drive from Wildwinds to 35th street. During the recent City Council meeting Public Works Director laid out the cost cutting measures that they are looking at to keep the project in the proposed 7 million dollar range. Reynolds says more details about the project will be available at an upcoming open house tentatively planned for January.
“It’s going to be a beautiful project we are really proud of the design and excited to share more as we turn into 2024 for that project.”
She also says there will likely be disruptions along the construction area but a necessary inconvenience to enhance the area.
Call for Artists
The City of Florence is still looking for artists to complete the enhancement of the Revision Florence project along Highway 101 and Highway 126. The deadline for submissions has been extended to the end of the year. The city would like to place upto 6 more pieces of art along the roadway. Details about the art exposed project is available on the city’s website at ci.florence.or.us.
Warming Center Volunteers Needed
The Florence Warming center is having a volunteer training on January 3rd at the Bromley room at the Siuslaw Public Library. They are looking for individuals to assist in intake and meals. The training will take place beginning at 3pm that day.