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Section Three: Risk Assessment with the north River Road area has been proposed since 1967. This proposed bridge appears in the 1986 revision of the area Transportation Plan (TransPlan). However, for a number of reasons, including resistance on the part of residents in the immediate area and the cost of the project, a study to pursue the project and identify a specific location has never been conducted. In the meantime (1976), Eugene Fire Station 9 was constructed in the Valley River area near the east bank of the Willamette River. This site was selected, in part, in anticipation that a nearby bridge would be developed in the foreseeable future. Unfortunately, without this planned-for crossing, the station remains blocked by the river to the west, and consequently has a relatively small first-in area which it can serve in an adequate response time. In the early 1990s, the City began the implementation of a city-wide traffic signal pre-emption system, designed to allow a fire, rescue, or EMS vehicle to request and receive a green light as it approaches a controlled intersection, while on an emergency response. At a considerable investment by the City, all traffic signals in Eugene's service area are now equipped with this system, and all Eugene Fire & EMS emergency response vehicles are equipped with the appropriate signal emitters. While this system enhances the ability to respond to emergencies faster and with greater safety for everyone sharing the road, its benefit is being reduced by the development of new traffic calming designs throughout Eugene. Development and Population Growth The 2003 population estimate for the City of Eugene is 143,910 (source: Population Research Center at Portland State University). This reflects an annual average increase of 1.4 percent between 2000 and 2003. During the 1990s, the annual average growth rate was 2 percent. In 1970 the population within the city limits was 69 percent of the total population in the Eugene Urban Growth Boundary. By 2000, this figure had increased to 86 percent. The Eugene portion of the population within the UGB is projected to reach approximately 200,000 by the year 2015, which would represent a 1.5 percent average annual increase. During the 1990s and into 2004, the majority of annexations in the Eugene area have been small- scale annexations primarily in the River Road and Santa Clara portions of the city's urban transition area. Annexations in this area have created a pattern of non-contiguous service delivery. Most of the annexations have been to undeveloped lands that subsequently undergo development following annexation. In 1990, 5.8 percent of all persons residing in the River Road/Santa Clara area lived within the city limits of Eugene. By 2000, this percentage had increased to 26 percent. Growth within the Eugene UGB has not been uniform over the past decade. Population figures declined in the West University, Fairmount, and Friendly neighborhoods during the 1990s. Generally, the greatest growth in the 1990s occurred in the Willakenzie, Bethel, and Santa Clara areas. The two areas with the highest population increase - Valley River and Chase Garden areas - also experienced the greatest increase in multi-family unit development during the 1990s. The Willakenzie, Bethel, and Santa Clara areas are likely to continue to see higher than average growth patterns as they contain the largest amount of undeveloped residential land remaining inside the existing Eugene UGB.