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<br />Mr. Pryor saw two times as many people getting on buses per mile on West 11th Avenue than on Highway <br />99, and it made sense to put the new service in this area. <br /> <br />Mr. Papé disagreed with Mr. Pryor, noting the quality of the bus service was an unknown factor. He asked <br />why the UO was a partner in the process, rather than a hired consultant. Mr. Schoening said the UO was <br />participating as a technical partner in the process for planning and transportation issues. <br /> <br />Ms. Taylor remained skeptical about EmX, suggesting that the City of Eugene should be studying street cars <br />instead. She asked why the improvements would be made where people were currently riding rather than <br />encouraging new riders along Highway 99. She asked how frequently service went to Veneta and if EmX <br />service would be provided to Veneta. Mr. Viggiano responded that there were currently six trips daily to <br />Veneta. He added that EmX was intended as an urban service, and there was likely not sufficient demand to <br />offer EmX service to Veneta at the present time. <br /> <br />Ms. Taylor believed the City of Eugene made too little use of the expertise at the UO. <br /> <br />Mayor Piercy said the idea of a collaborative discussion about the corridor would be very helpful. She <br />added she attended the city design institute where the UO was cited one of the best in the country for urban <br />and transportation planning. <br /> <br />Ms. Solomon agreed that the UO did have great programs, but expressed concern that the City transporta- <br />tion study would be conducted by students rather than fully trained professionals. She did not want the <br />project to be a “class project”, but supported student participation in the process. She asked if access <br />management changes would come back to the City Council. Mr. Schoening said access management would <br />come back to the City Council through the Planning Commission for changes to the land use code. <br /> <br />In response to a question from Ms. Bettman, Mr. Viggiano said typical spacing between bus stops was <br />approximately two blocks or six stops per mile. He added that spacing was approximately one-third of a <br />mile on the EmX corridor. <br /> <br />Ms. Bettman said the EmX gained time by offering fewer stops, and riders would get less service by needing <br />to walk much further with EmX system, thus decreasing rather than increasing service. She said most <br />communities that currently had EmX service used it as a commuter route to bring workers into the city core <br />from outlying areas. She said she could not support EmX on West 11th Avenue as the only corridor study. <br />She said she could support a study that included both corridors. <br /> <br /> Ms. Solomon, seconded by Ms. Taylor, moved to: <br />? <br /> Identify the Beltline Corridor from River Road to Coburg Road as <br />the City’s top priority for funding in the State Transportation Im- <br />th <br />provement Program and West 11 Avenue from Terry Street to <br />Greenhill Road as its second priority; <br />?th <br /> Identify West 11 Avenue as the City’s priority for the next EmX <br />corridor study; <br />? <br /> Support a transportation corridor study of West 11th Avenue and <br />the City’s application for $150,000 of STP-U planning funds for <br />the study; and, <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />MINUTES—City Council October 9, 2006 Page 6 <br /> Work Session <br /> <br />