CC Minutes - 07/09/07 Work Session

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Ms. Taylor suggested that the motion say that the passes would be provided if needed. City Manager Taylor pointed out that the motion was not a request from the Eugene Celebration; rather it had been requested by the downtown merchants. He thought a motion that went forward with free bus passes would be closer to the goals of sustainability the City was embracing. He felt the parking spaces would be taken up by the booth vendors in the downtown area first. Ms. Solomon opposed providing free parking, but she found the idea of providing LTD bus passes compelling. She was uncertain how to vote on it without knowing what LTD intended to do and what it had done in the past. She recommended that the amendment be deferred until this information was available. Mr. Pryor concurred. Ms. Ortiz withdrew her motion pending further information. Mayor Piercy ascertained that there was no objection to withdrawal of the motion. Ms. Solomon said if it was determined that the City would pay for bus passes as well as provide free parking she would expect the cost not to exceed $9,000, as previously stated. Mayor Piercy thought the City should do what it could to encourage people to walk, ride bicycles, and take the bus to the Eugene Celebration given that this year’s theme was sustainability. She said one possibility would be to consider not ticketing people for parking violations during the Celebration as this would be more “friendly.” Ms. Taylor noted that there were people who did not live close to a transit stop. City Manager Taylor indicated that staff would summarize the discussion and determine what the costs would be and what LTD intended to do. City Manager Taylor recalled that the council adopted the Fairmount/University of Oregon Special Area Study several years earlier. He said Transportation Planning Manager for the Engineering Division, Rob Inerfeld, would present one of the outcomes of the study, which was how to address traffic that cuts through the area. Mr. Inerfeld reviewed the previous council direction on the issue. He provided a summary of the transporta- tion studies that had been completed and reviewed the public participation that had taken place, as outlined in the Agenda Item Summary (AIS) on the topic. He provided an overview of the proposed plan as agreed upon by the Fairmount Neighbors Traffic Calming Committee and the University of Oregon. He asked for council direction as to whether staff should proceed with the proposal. Ms. Bettman favored traffic calming. She asked if the University had offered to contribute to any of the proposed capital improvements. Mr. Inerfeld replied that the University offered to contribute to the potential enhancements to the traffic calming devices on the streets that went through the campus area. MINUTES—Eugene City Council July 9, 2007 Page 6 Work Session