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session and said the clear direction would be helpful to staff in their work. He noted that earlier in the day there had been a groundbreaking ceremony for the new Fire Station No. 1 on the comer of 13th Avenue and Willamette Street and Mayor Torrey had announced in the afternoon that Delta Airlines would begin service between Eugene and Salt Lake City on May 1, 2004. B. WORK SESSION: Joint Meeting with Lane Transit District Board of Directors Ms. Bettman introduced Hillary Wylie, chair of the LTD Board of Directors. Ms. Wylie thanked the council for its invitation to a joint meeting and opened the LTD Board meeting. She said that board members appreciated the opportunity to share information on recent transit activities and discuss transportation issues with the council. Board members introduced themselves and described the area they represented. Ms. Wylie introduced LTD General Manager Ken Hamm and explained that each board member would speak briefly on an aspect of LTD's activities and answer questions from the councilors. 1. Bus Rapid Transit Presentation Ms. Hocken said that each presentation was shaped by the areas of interest or concerns expressed by councilors during individual conversations with board members. She said that the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) presentation would include a brief update on the Franklin and Pioneer Parkway corridors and then focus on Coburg Road BRT planning activities. Ms. Hocken said that some preliminary construction activities on the Franklin Corridor had begun and consisted of undergrounding utilities and preparing trees along the route to minimize disruption to them during later construction. She said the remaining construction would begin in 2005 to coordinate with delivery of the BRT vehicles in early 2006. Ms. Hocken said that LTD had initially considered purchasing the vehicles from a European manufacturer; however, a North American manufacturer, New Flyer, was able to deliver a BRT vehicle with the desired features at a lower price. She said that New Flyer was a Canadian company with a manufacturing plant in the United States and she referred council members to information in their agenda packets on the new vehicles. Continuing, Ms. Hocken said that a public process with stakeholder groups had been completed for the Pioneer Parkway Corridor and preferred alignments had been identified for most of the corridor. She said the Springfield City Council would make decisions on those during the next month. She identified the close working relationship with PeaceHealth to design the corridor to meet the needs of the new hospital as one of the most exciting aspects of the project. She said that LTD was applying, as part of the United Front request, for $4 million in federal funding for the BRT vehicles and $31 million in construction funds for the Pioneer Parkway Corridor. Ms. Ban related that Coburg Road was identified as the next BRT corridor, based on a recommendation by the Eugene City Council, which was adopted by the LTD Board. She referred councilors to the Coburg Road Bus Rapid Transit Corridor Study. She said the study described the process by which a stakeholder group, composed of property owners, business owners, neighborhood residents, and representatives of the MINUTES--Eugene City Council February 23, 2004 Page 2 Work Session