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From Danika Esden-Tempski 9/20/16 <br />Dear Mayor, City Council, City Manager & Planning Staff, <br />I wantedto submit my writtentestimony in favorof supporting a community driven <br />Refinement Planprocesswith the Brown/Clark Initiative. A refinement plan needs to be the <br />foundation for any future changes tomy neighborhood, in order for the area to grow in a <br />way that makes sense and remains sustainable, livable and walkable. So that we preserve the <br />greenspaces andnatural character of the area. <br />The changes made to Willamette Street with the new re-stripping have significantly impacted <br />my home. The traffic being diverted from Willamette Street onto West 29th Avenue is <br />significantly more dense and noisy than it was previously. The car traffic throughout a <br />normal day remains in a constant state of rush hour with hurried people driving well over <br />the 30 mphspeedlimit, more toward 45 miles per hour. This is unacceptable, I opposed the <br />re-strippingbecause this was a clear outcome of the road narrowing along South Willamette <br />Street. It was apparent that making the changewould not in any way reduce the traffic but <br />would redistribute it to be the burden of the neighborhood residents to bear the significant <br />noise and pollution increase along their streets. There has not been an uptick in the number <br />of people riding bikes through the area. This is a select community of individuals and their <br />numbers are in the great minority compared to the amount of auto traffic present. The city <br />needs to enforce the speed limit in this area with a police officer ticketing people not driving <br />the posted speed for the area. It is unreasonable for the residents to have to listen to the <br />highway likedinof trafficnoise because people know they cango well over the speed limit <br />without cause for caution. I think a speed limit sign needs to be posted on West 29th Ave <br />before Lincoln St and off Willamette St so that when people drive down the street towards <br />Market of Choice or when they drive from Willamette Street towards Lincoln St, they will be <br />aware of whatthe speedlimit is. Please address the issue ofregulating traffic speed <br />throughout South Eugene. <br />I would also like to suggest that I think Willamette Street would be betterserved if trees <br />wereplantedalong the sidewalks instead of having the bike lanes. Having a tree lined street <br />wouldhelp significantly to beautify the area,but I also think it would naturally helpslow <br />down the traffic. Studies have show this to be true. The trees would help clean the air along <br />the transit corridor and I think that it would encourage people to walk along the sidewalks. I <br />presently don’t have an issue walking down Willamette St or through any of the streets of <br />South Eugene. I walk avidly and have never had an issue with walking down the sidewalks of <br />29th Ave or Willamette St. <br />A month ago, my neighbors dog washit by a car on West 29th Ave, it was a gruesome, <br />horrible scene, because the traffic would not stop and the dog was hit multiple times. I was <br />shocked how poorly the drivers behaved in this situation just because they were so <br />frustrated with the congestion, they had no patience to slow down. The increased congestion <br />along West 29th Ave is unsafe for themany small children that live along my street. The <br />majority of the residents on Charnelton St off West 29th Ave are now young families with <br /> <br />