CC Minutes - 10/27/10 Work Session

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Mr. Zelenka asked for examples of the "tool box" mentioned by staff. Mr. Roth offered shared lane marking as an example of a tool communities used to complete system gaps in a bicycle network or to demonstrate more clearly to bicyclists where they should position themselves in a shared lane system. Another example was hawk signals for pedestrians, which remained dark unless activated by the pedestrian to alert motorists to stop. Springfield was exploring their use on Harlow and Gateway roads. Mr. Zelenka concluded that the tools in the tool box would be employed to help the City meet the standard it set. Mr. Roth concurred. Mr. Zelenka asked if the City had a numeric metric for increases in bicycle and pedestrian use. Mr. Roth said the advisory committee had discussed assigning specific modal targets but concluded it made more sense to do so in conjunction with the TSP. The metric currently used was commute -to -work trips, and Eugene was the highest in the nation for bicycle use for a community of its size and consistently exceeded Portland levels as 10.8 percent of the population used a bicycle for their primary means of transportation. Mr. Zelenka asked how numeric mode splits would be established in the TSP. Mr. Yeiter suggested that the council consider the purpose of having such targets. He said it was one thing to set such targets and tie achieving a percentage of the target to system improvements, but the approach ran into problems if the additional alternative mode increases came at the expense of another mode. If the goal was to increase bicycle, pedestrian, and transit use, the next question then became "will we do something to discourage auto use," which was a huge policy question that he anticipated would require extensive community discussion. Mayor Piercy suggested the story of the State gas tax was reflective of lower VMT, and reduced gas tax revenues were making it increasingly hard to fund the transportation system. She recalled that speaker Gordon Price had recommended to RailVolution attendees that they not position one mode against the other, but instead provide real choice for everyone, which would lead them to make more of the choices the City wanted to see. Mr. Yeiter said if the community provided great choice and a variety of choices, he questioned if it needed targets. Ms. Ortiz determined from Mr. Roth that the technical advisory committee included representation from Lane County, but there were no Lane County residents on the advisory committee. Ms. Ortiz regretted the lack of such representation and hoped staff did not forget to involve the residents of River Road and Santa Clara. Ms. Ortiz commended the crossings on Gateway and Harlow roads and encouraged the council to view them. She thought they could be used on Highway 99, where crossing was a challenge. Ms. Solomon recalled that she had testified before the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee about the need for improved passage for residents living west of the railroad tracks to better access downtown on foot and by bicycle. She asked the status of her suggestion. Mr. Yeiter said gaps in the system were being addressed through the Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan. He acknowledged that the railroad tracks and river worked against the establishment of a grid network. The TSP included a technical advisory committee with a representative from Union Pacific and ODOT Rail staff. He believed Ms. Solomon's concerns would be addressed but had no idea of the solution or ultimate cost. Mr. Roth added that the BPAC heard Ms. Solomon's input and the issue had also come up several times in outreach. Staff had taken some field trips to view the area and see what options were available. He recommended that Ms. Solomon stay plugged into the process through the Web site and interested parties list. He believed that there would eventually be a recommendation for such a crossing. MINUTES— Eugene City Council October 27, 2010 Page 3 Work Session