Item 2A: Approval of City Council Minutes

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a neighborhood team had been formed to continue to work with the staff on the design. She asked the council to approve the design. Len Bailey , 2932 Friendly Street, found the assessment he would pay to be a princely sum that those speaking in opposition to the plan would not be required to pay. He spoke in support of the process, saying affected property owners worked long and hard and made many compromises. The streets and sidewalks being proposed would help retain the neighborhood character while slowing traffic, improving the safety of all users. He said the streets were not heavily used by bicyclists because they were so steep. Bicyclists prefer to use Lorane Highway. He asserted that residents rarely saw bicyclists on Friendly, Storey, or Crest unless they lived there. Those who wanted to cycle on the streets would find the design made them safer. He said the design was well thought-out and reflected the values of the neighborhood. He asked the council to support the homeowners and residents of the streets and support the design. Meg Stuart Smith , 346 Crest Drive, a member of the design team, thanked the members of the design team who were present for sharing their testimony. She supported bicyclists and pedestrians in the lower Crest th Drive area. She noted a bicycle connection through Morse Ranch that ended at 38 and Crest Drive that was mapped on the draft TransPlan as a discontinuous road and intended for a bicycle route in the future. It was a beautiful route that traveled through a variety of neighborhoods. Her daughter had discovered the path and used it frequently. Lyndell Wilken , 346 Crest Drive, a member of the Community Design Team who represented bicycle interests, said she had voted against the plan as not being acceptable to the bicycle community. She said the community’s vision for sustainability included bicycle access from neighborhoods coming to the core as a priority. She had questioned whether the design for Crest Drive satisfied that vision, and had reservations about that. She had been unable to completely support the plan because there was no evidence the plan would work and that traffic calming would occur. However, there was no evidence bicyclists would be safe in a nine-foot travel lane. Ms. Wilkins noted that lower Crest Drive was a public destination that served Crest Elementary School and deserved better access; at the present time, the sidewalk was on the opposite side of the ranch on the downhill side. She said she had tried to bridge the divide between bicyclists, pedestrians, neighbors, pedestrians, the environment, and aesthetics and continued to hope for a solution. She suggested that an uphill bicycle connection to Friendly Street would tie into Lorane Highway and continue the existing system. Ms. Wilkins submitted a proposal developed by Eugene resident Gary Rayor to the council. th Paul Nicholson , 1855 East 28 Avenue, suggested that the local streets were part of the street system and most residents had paid for a street compatible with past standards. He was concerned because he did not think the City should have a completely new and uninformed process creating an arbitrary set of exceptions. He thought there was no evidence that streets that were smaller than 28 feet were adequate given the current size of cars and the City’s commitment to alternative modes. He agreed with those who felt the assessment system was unfair and indicated he would provide the council with a more equitable system. He said that the City Council proposed to overrule its engineers and those who had studied the issue in the past. He was sympathetic about the cost issue and suggested the council compromise to the degree possible within existing standards. John Rude , 1207 Courtney, a member of the Community Design Team, said that Mr. Moore had not shared that the CDT had a design team in place that included a bicycle coalition member that helped with the trail design. He did not mention that CDT members did due diligence in regard to bicyclists. He felt all effected groups had to compromise. He said that Mr. Moore did not share with others the entire process; he merely MINUTES—Eugene City Council February 19, 2008 Page 10 Public Hearing