04/10/08 City Council Newsletter

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Willamette Street Study Follow-up Community Meeting Set for April 16 The Willamette Street Study stakeholder group, City staff and a local consultant will be holding a follow-up community meeting to discuss the possible conversion of Willamette Street to two-way thth operation between 18 and 20 Avenues at 6:30 p.m., Wednesday, April 16, at the Roosevelt Middle School cafeteria (680 East 24th Avenue). The meeting includes a drop-in time at 6:30 p.m., with the actual meeting scheduled from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. thth City staff initiated a discussion about Willamette Street (18 -20) at the first community meeting in January 2007. Following that first meeting, a stakeholder group was formed that met a dozen times over the last year and discussed myriad issues with the possible conversion of traffic flow on Willamette Street. Now is an opportunity for the general community to review the work of the stakeholder group before they finalize their recommendation and presentation to the Eugene City Council. Stakeholder group members, City staff and a local consultant will be on hand to: ? Provide an overview of the past year of study considering the conversion of Willamette Street (between 18th-20th avenues) to two-way traffic ? Present the stakeholder draft recommendation ? Provide opportunity for questions and comments ? Allow for detailed review of issues related to traffic, businesses, neighborhoods, and accessibility for pedestrians, cyclists and students For more information, please contact Chris Henry, Transportation Planning Engineer, at 682-8472, chris.c.henry@ci.eugene.or.us, or visit the project web site at www.eugene-or.gov/pwprojects (click on Willamette St. Study). Unplug Yourself for Turnoff Week An important message from Eugene Public Library, "Kids: unplug yourself! Turn on your imagination and turn off your screens for a fun week without TV, movies, or computers, April 21 through April 27." Or just cut down on screen time each day -- every hour counts. Visit any Eugene Public Library starting April 14 to pick up Turnoff Week pledge cards and get great ideas for stuff to do and a bookmark, too! Youth ages 5 - 12 are invited to create posters on the theme “Power Down, Dream Big.” Drop in at the Downtown Children’s Center, Monday, April 21, through Friday, April 25, anytime between 3:30 – 5:00 p.m. Posters can be entered in the national contest, brought home for display, or posted at the Library. Turnoff Week is supported by more than 70 national organizations including the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the National Education Association, and the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports. For more information, contact Eugene Public Library, 682-8316. Popular Spencer Butte Park Trail Improved Eugene's most popular Ridgeline hiking trail is getting some major improvements this winter. Natural Resources staff in the Parks and Open Space Division contracted with a local stone mason to build a dry stone retaining wall and raised causeway. The work will enable improved maintenance access to the butte's trails, thereby improving the quality and accessibility of the trail system. Unlike the porous volcanic soils of the Cascades, the majority of Eugene's ridgeline is comprised of poorly draining clay soils. As a result, gravel must be placed on trail surfaces to make them usable during the rainy season. Natural Resources staff relies on motorized wheel- barrows to help haul tons of gravel each year to resurface the trails. Though Spencer Butte is Eugene's most popular ridgeline hiking trail, much of the butte has been inaccessible to motorized EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 2 April 11, 2008