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From Jeff Cole 09/19/2016 <br />Dear City ofEugene: <br />I live in Portland yetI’mwritingto youon Envision Eugene & South Willamette because I am fond of <br />your city – in fact, I am seriously contemplating a move to Eugene. <br />Portland is well knownforits planning prowess - much of it is well deserved. Yet there are some lessons <br />to be learned that I think areworthconsidering going forwardin Eugene. <br />InPortland, wearelaudedin the press andwe have indeed become a tourist destination. We have <br />grown rapidly, especially in the recent post-recession period. Despite this abundanceof apparent <br />prosperity ourcityfacesmultiple systemic challenges: <br />Roads: Portland has a billiondollar backlogof unmetroad maintenance needs.Ourstreets areliterally <br />falling apart, and delayed maintenance means the cost of future repairs is increasing exponentially. <br />Voters recently approved a local gas tax - yet it’s just a small bandaid on the larger problem - decades of <br />underfunded road maintenance now must be reversed. <br />Traffic and parking: it’s bad and getting worse. And Portland’s decision to allow mixed-use <br />buildingswith noparking on transit corridors running through century old neighborhoodshas cast <br />a plague of parking headaches. <br />Police: While our population has increased our police force has shrunk - and due to attrition the <br />problem will get worse before it gets better. Two blocks from me a pedestrian - a teenage girl legally <br />attempting to cross the street - was killed by a reckless motorist driving 50-60mph in a 30mph zone. <br />Yet Portland’s traffic enforcement capabilitieshavebecome skeletal. Portland’s police force responds <br />by shifting a shrinking number of officers from one crisis area to the next. <br />Parks: Portlandvoters have repeatedly passed and renewed parks bond measures. System Development <br />Charges are levied on each unit of new construction. Yet, in Portland’s rapidly growing close-in <br />neighborhoods nonewparkresourceshave been dedicated and a long promised community center <br />remains unbuilt.My ownneighborhood officially remains “park deficient.” Two decades ago our nearest <br />park had two full time maintenance staff - now there is only one half time position. Legions of volunteers <br />try to make up this gapyet at some point there is a limit to howmuchcan be expected of them. <br />Our City’s Character: once Portland focused newdevelopment into truly distressed areas where <br />previous economic activity was in decline. Oldwarehouses and railroadyards were converted into our <br />Pearl district. In South Waterfront a similarstory istold.Nowdevelopment isoverwhelming perfectly <br />goodstreetcar era neighborhoods thatare already walkable with a fullrangeof services. Irreplaceable <br />vintage urban fabricisbeingdemolished in favor of boxy mixed use buildings with tiny units and <br />deficient ground floor commercial space. <br />* * * * * <br />Onewould think Portland’s eraof prosperity meant that more resources would beavailable to makeour <br />city more live-able - yetwearecomingup short on many accounts. <br /> <br />