03/25/1974 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

F. Traffic Diverters, Westside Neighborhood Quality Project - Copies of memo from ,Traffic Engineer were previously distributed to Council members. A sketch attached showed location of temporary traffic diverters proposed by the Westside Neighborhood Quality Project at intersections of Broadway and Madison, lOth and Adams, and 12th and Tyler for the purpose of discouraging use of the six streets as arterials. The proposal included the provision for traffic count before and after the installations to determine whether permanent diverters would be installed. -- Adrian St.Clair, 652 West ~roadway, chairman of the Neighborhood Project's traffic ,committee, pointed o~a picture displaying the type of diverter proposed. She said that a questionn~ire mailed throughout the neighborhood resulted in overwhelm- jing support of the proposed diverters as the best possible solution to traffic iproblems on the neighborhood streets. She added that bike routes were provided in connection with each of the diverters. ~Gordon Elliott, 1287 Irvington Drive, said he planned to eventually live in that neighborhood and he objected to the installations. He,expressed concerns about their! effect upon west-to-east traffic movements, saying they'would effectively block every route except 11 th and 13th, 6th and 7th, and make i t:-even_ more di!ficuTCror people to get to the downtown mall. He felt the installations would be too co~tly .and that the cost would be lost if the diverters were removed after a period of time. Also, .-that_t:hose...p;r:esent. at the meetings and proposing the diverters were not ~.,-," representative of Eheentire neighborhood. He thought the diverters would be con--/ ducive to speeding in the blocks closed off. Mr. Elliott suggested instead revers- ing the one-way traffic on 11th Avenue with a tie-in at about City View. He also suggested lower speed limits or stop sign on the streets in question. He expressed 'concern that such neighborhood proposals would cut off access to certain areas of ,the City and that any proposal should be shown to benefit the City as a whole before (installation proceeds. !. ~.~. ,Bill Turner, 1165 Taylor Street, member of the Land Use Committee of the westside .Neighborhood Project, said the purpose of the group was to maintain the "old Eugene quality" of that neighborhood, and they felt the inconvenience of traveling two or 'three blocks out of the way rather than having arterials through the area would (help to retain the single-family residential character. He added that traffic ,analysis data on the temporary installations would indicate whether there would be : permanent diverters put in. If they proved to be a detriment to the neighborhood or to the City as a whole they would not be installed. '". .~.- . 'Mr. Elliott said that the bus routes would also be affected~b~<the installations. He felt it more convenient for the busses to travel Broadway, [Othh and 12th because the heavier traffic on 11th and 13th would hinder loading and unl()adingof passengers. He added that the extra travel to get around the streets blocked off would also add i to the air pollution problem. ~ -- 'Councilman Murray noted that the busses travel 8th Avenue. He considered the pro- :posal for diverters a preventative measure so that additional streets in the westside . neighborhood, already having several through streets, wc5Uld.Jl~-become used. as r , iarter~als. Councilman McDonald referred to the votes recorded at the westside Neighborhood ~eet- ing on..the issue and said it seemed a small number of people were involved.' Ms.St.Clair explaineri" the membership qualifications and pointed to the number of people living in . ~ the area but not quali.:f.ie_4 for membership at the time of that meeting who voted. . Councilman Hershner asked ~ent on the abili ty of people not familiar w~ :neighborhood to find addresses when confronted with a blocked street. Al Williams, " traffic engineer, felt there would be no problem in that regard. He said there would be no difference between these situations and other parts of the city where continuity of streets was interrupted by terrain, parks, etc. / (councilman- woocFcouT(i see no great probl'em 'wit"h-loca.'t-ion- 'or'c/dd.r~s;~;; -be~~~~~ '()'Tti-ie' blockages. He wondered whether numbering blocks at intersections on arterials had 'eTTer been considered. Councilman McDonald noted the numbering systems in newer :areas of the ci ty and complimented the public works department for that achievement. I . ~ ~~, Mr. Murray moved seconded by Mr. Wood to place the proposal on the March 25 Council :agenda for public hearing. ;Councilwoman Campbell asked Mr. Elliott if he didn't think the inconvenience of itravel;ng two or three blocks out of the way would be worth adding to the liveability lof the ne~ghbOrhood. Mr. Elliott answered that he was concerned with the liveability I.of the ne~ghborhood but he hadn't found any neighbors on Madison Street in favor of lthe diverters. He said any fair reading of the questionnaire mailed would give the ~s 3/25/74 - 4,