Item 2A: Approval of City Council Minutes

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asked people if they wanted bicycle lanes. He did not mention that Chambers Street was not desirable for bicyclists due to the steep grade, similar to Crest, Storey, and Friendly. Mr. Moore failed to mention that none of the Bicycle Coalition advocates lived on affected streets. None of the coalition members had offered to share in the costs of the assessments. th Howie Bonnett , 325 East 28 Avenue, thought the proposal before the council was unsustainable. He shared information from Portland about its infrastructure investments in alternative modes due to peak oil. The project was neither bicycle- or pedestrian-friendly. The streets involved served a school and accommo- dated school buses. He described his own attempt to ride his bicycle in the area, noting the current lack of bicycle facilities and sidewalks. He said he currently bicycled part of the way and walked part of the way to his house, but it did not work as well as it would if there were facilities in place. When he inquired about improvements to his street, he was told he must have a 20-foot street and five-foot sidewalk, but the council was being asked to approve an 18-foot street and four-foot sidewalk. He asked the council to envision how that would work with a bus on the road. Mr. Bonnett said that a bicycle lane helped protect pedestrians by placing space between them and vehicles. He said the City needed to start again. Mayor Piercy closed the public hearing. 7. PUBLIC HEARING Resolution 4927 Concerning Sidewalk Widths in the Crest Drive Area, and Amending the City’s Design Standards and Guidelines for Eugene Streets, Sidewalks, Bikeways, and Access ways, the Eugene Arterial and Collector Street Plan, and the Eugene Local Street Plan Assistant City Manager Luell noted the council was scheduled to take action on the item on March 14. Mayor Piercy opened the public hearing. Charles Quinn , 375 Mary Lane, asked that if the council approved the project, it include the bicycle and sidewalk consistently on the same side for the entire route for the sake of pedestrian and bicycle safety and so that motorists knew what to expect. Robert Hutchins , 575 Fulvue Street, said he had two small dogs that easily took up two feet when he walked them on their leash; if there was anyone else on the sidewalk, someone would have to move off. Teresa Dingman , 575 Fulvue Street, opposed the four-foot sidewalks being proposed because they resulted in inadequate bicycle facilities and because she wanted the project to be as pedestrian-friendly as possible. th Fred Lorish , 907 West 36 Avenue, suggested the item should have been incorporated into the earlier item. He said the sidewalks in the plan reached from the top to the bottom and were connected. The team made a conscious effort to separate the sidewalks from the streets whenever possible. There were sections of the street where that was not possible. The team envisioned a sidewalk that meandered down the road He said where the sidewalk was connected to the street, the team worried about “optical width;” that meant that as a driver looked down the street, the more spaces that opened up created an image of something that allowed for faster speeds. Mr. Loresch said that was one of the reasons the team requested the four-foot sidewalks and narrower streets. Virginia Starling , 3302 Storey Boulevard, reminded the council to consider the safety of all users of the streets in question. That included automobiles, bicyclists, and pedestrians. She thought the four-foot MINUTES—Eugene City Council February 19, 2008 Page 11 Public Hearing