CC Minutes - 10/27/10 Work Session

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MINUTES Eugene City Council McNutt Room — Eugene City Hall 777 Pearl Street—Eugene, Oregon October 27, 2010 Noon COUNCILORS PRESENT: Mike Clark, Betty Taylor, Jennifer Solomon, George Poling, Chris Pryor, Andrea Ortiz, Alan Zelenka, George Brown. Her Honor Mayor Kitty Piercy called the October 27, 2010, work session of the Eugene City Council to order. A. WORK SESSION: Update on Transportation System Plan and Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan The council was joined by Transportation Planners Kurt Yeiter and David Roth. Public Works Kurt Corey, City Engineer Mark Schoening, and Transportation Division Manager Rob Inerfeld were also present for the item. Mr. Yeiter provided the council with an update on the Transportation System Plan (TSP), the City's long -range comprehensive transportation planning effort, highlighting that the plan would be a Eugene -only plan with co- adoption by Lane County; the plan would have local policies and project lists; and the plan would address automotive mobility and safety, pedestrian and bicycle needs, public transit, freight movement, passenger and freight rail, and air transportation. Mr. Yeiter suggested that TransPlan could be considered a basis for the City's TSP and many of its policies had placed the City on good footing for the future, but there were emerging issues the plan did not address. Those issues included greenhouse gases and climate change, the availability and pricing of fuels, higher densities along transit corridors, and community acceptance of increased congestion along those corridors. Mr. Yeiter noted that several related plans and projects were in the process of being updated or created and anticipated that those planning efforts would also inform the TSP. He reviewed the timeline for the two planned phases of the TSP. Mr. Roth reported on the status of the update to the City's Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan, first noting the formation of a project advisory committee and a technical advisory committee. He reviewed the goal of the planning process, which was to increase mode share for walking and bicycling. That required expansion of the pedestrian bicycle network, increased mode safety, increased mode accessibility, and fostering a community culture that supported those modes. Mr. Roth reviewed the five phases of the project. He described the scope of planned public outreach efforts. He invited questions. Mayor Piercy said the planning period was a huge challenge as well as an opportunity to bring many community planning efforts together. She emphasized the need for an iterative conversation with the public so it understood what was happening and had the ability to participate. She expressed appreciation to the community members who had been involved with the planning processes to date. MINUTES— Eugene City Council October 27, 2010 Page 1 Work Session