Item 2A: Approval of City Council Minutes

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Mayor Piercy opened the public hearing. There being no requests to speak, Mayor Piercy closed the public hearing. Councilor Poling referred to 44115(2) and asked if minors would be able to take advantage of the City’s diversion program. Ms. Hammitt indicated she believed that was the case, and would confirm it with Judge Allen. Councilor Bettman, seconded by Councilor Taylor, moved that the City Council adopt Council Bill 4969, an ordinance concerning offenses and State traffic laws. Councilor Poling requested that the vote be postponed pending an answer to his question. Mayor Piercy called for a brief meeting break. 6. PUBLIC HEARING Crest Drive Community Team Recommended Design for Crest Drive, Storey Boulevard, and Friendly Street Jenifer Willer of the Public Works Department was present to answer questions. Mayor Piercy opened the public hearing. Julie Redner , 2899 Friendly Street, expressed concern about the assessed cost of the road improvement project being contemplated on her street. She had about 100 street of frontage and would be assessed the maximum costs, about $20,000 or more. She did not think she used the street anymore or any less than those on narrow or panhandled lots. She did not qualify for a senior deferral or income subsidy but was a single head of household working for a small nonprofit, and the amount involved was huge to her. She asked the council to reduce the assessment, change the formula to be fairer, or explore alternative funding strategies. Paul Moore advocated the inclusion of safe and inviting bicycle paths in the street improvement project, particularly uphill bicycle lanes, to attract riders. He said the lanes would not add costs to the property owners or increase the costs of the project substantially, but the design committee would not investigate the question. He said if cost were to become an issue, it would be reasonable to consider alternate funding sources for the bicycle lanes, not to eliminate them. Speaking to concerns such lanes would take too much space, he pointed out the City owned a 60-foot easement on each of the streets and it had not been proved such lanes would not fit. Mr. Moore suggested that bicycle lanes could be narrowed where necessary because of terrain. In regard to safety, he said that concerns had been expressed about speeds from wider lanes but concerns about speed seem to be dismissed when considering bicyclists traveling on a 23-foot road width. Mr. Moore said another argument was that no one used bicycle lanes in that area but that was not the case. He acknowledged that many people did not ride but that was to be expected given the condition of the streets and speeds at which cars travel. He asked the council to include uphill bicycle lanes on all roads in the project area. Kathy Saranpa , Friendly Street, spoke of the work done by the Crest Drive Community Team and staff in designing the project. She said the team, which worked very hard for a long time, had included bicyclists. She suggested there were differences about what constituted bicycle safety, and she suggested that the addition of such lanes gave a false sense of security to those using them. The team worked hard to weigh all MINUTES—Eugene City Council February 19, 2008 Page 8 Public Hearing