Item 2A: Approval of City Council Minutes

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pedestrians. He stated that a bus would not be able to roll up onto the curb. He said where there were setback sidewalks, there would be bioswales, and the curb was flush with the street so that a bus would not be able to pull onto that. Continuing, Mr. Schoening reiterated that the fundamental difference between City staff and the CDCT was that staff was comfortable that with a 20-foot street width the balance between pedestrian safety and traffic would be met, while the CDCT felt an 18-foot width was adequate and more in line with the neighborhood. Ms. Taylor thanked the staff for allowing the council to consider an 18-foot width. She averred that it was important to listen to citizens that had worked on an issue “for years.” She commended the commitment of the neighborhood residents who worked on it. Mr. Lorish said the thing to do was to slow down traffic. He believed an 18-foot wide street would serve that purpose, while enhancing the neighborhood and keeping bicyclists and pedestrians safe; neighborhood residents wanted to maintain the rural feel of the area. Ms. Taylor asked if there had been discussion of adding stop signs. Mr. Lorish replied that the CDCT had discussed them. He said this issue resided with the traffic engineers. Ms. Taylor asked if the council could ask for additional stop signs to be installed. Mr. Schoening responded that there were standard criteria across the country, but the council could give direction to the traffic engineers to disregard the standard. Ms. Taylor thought that installation of stop signs every two blocks would slow traffic down. Ms. Taylor acknowledged that some people could not afford to pay the assessments for street improvements. She said she understood that some people who lived in the cul de sacs had indicated a willingness to help pay for road improvements. She wondered if there was a mechanism to facilitate that. Mr. Schoening thought there would be such a mechanism. Ms. Bettman said she wished staff could have resolved this issue administratively. She supported allowing the street width to be 18 feet wide. She believed the City should change to “skinny streets.” Ms. Solomon thanked the staff members and community members for working together. She was reminded of Ayres Road when she thought of skinny streets, but had discovered that Ayres Road was actually three feet wider than what was being proposed for Crest Drive. She felt that building a narrower street seemed like trouble. Mr. Clark expressed admiration for the area residents who had worked hard on this issue for a period of years. He said the decision boiled down to the desires of the residents who lived in proximity to the streets versus safety issues. He recalled the accident that resulted in a bicyclist’s fatality that happened on a narrow rural road in 2006. He wanted to be sensitive to the safety issues involved in this. In response to a question from Mr. Clark, Mr. Schoening said Mr. Corey had indicated that the streets were currently “20 feet and wider.” Neighborhood residents present disputed this. Mr. Clark observed that even “chock full of potholes” he rarely witnessed anyone driving under 25 miles per hour on Crest Drive when he traversed it. He said though it was a “skinny street filled with potholes” people “zoomed down” the street. He was not certain that “just making it skinny” would slow traffic down. MINUTES—Eugene City Council October 8, 2007 Page 6 Work Session