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ECC UGENE ITY OUNCIL AIS GENDA TEM UMMARY Work Session: West Eugene EmX Update Meeting Date: June 23, 2010 Agenda Item Number: A Department: Public Works Engineering Staff Contacts: Rob Inerfeld, PWE; Tom Schwetz, LTD www.eugene-or.gov Contact Telephone Numbers: 541-682-5343; 541-682-6203 ISSUE STATEMENT At this City Council Work Session, Lane Transit District (LTD) staff will provide an update on the West Eugene EmX Extension (WEEE) with an emphasis on the change in the corridor selection process and the winnowing of the number of alternatives under consideration. BACKGROUND Process Change for West Eugene EmX Project – The Story of 58 Through the extensive outreach conducted in the refinement of the alternative alignments for the West Eugene EmX Extension (WEEE) project, 58 distinct alternatives have emerged for evaluation. Not only is this a large number for the community to sort out in the process of selecting a Locally Preferred Alternative (LPA), it is a large number to take into the currently defined federal process. This Agenda Item Summary (AIS) provides a summary of the following: ? A description of the change in process that will more easily facilitate the process of selecting a preferred alternative; ? An overview of the various public meetings held to discuss the process change; ? A review of the new information developed as part of the preliminary analysis completed to date for the project, the staff recommendations for an initial winnowing of alternatives, and the feedback received about this information during the public meetings; and ? A description of the process and general schedule from this point forward. Summary of Process Change As in previous EmX development efforts, the general approach has been to balance the operational needs for EmX operations in a corridor with the intent to develop design options that avoid and minimize negative impacts where possible. This has resulted in a wide range of alternative permutations – 56 distinct build alternatives, in addition to the no-build and transportation system management alternatives – making 58 alternatives in all. In discussions with LTD Board Members, City Councilors, members of various committees involved in the project, and members of the public, there is general agreement that it would be confusing and difficult for the community to try and sort out differences among 58 alternatives. Through discussion with Federal Transit Administration (FTA) staff, they have indicated that there is a way of working through a project development process that better fits our needs. Z:\CMO\2010 Council Agendas\M100623\S100623A.doc