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From Randy Prince 09/21/2016 <br /> <br /> <br />4® - ª¤ 0®²²¨¡«¤ &´­£¨­¦ ®¥ .¤¢¤²² ±¸ )­¥± ²³±´¢³´±¤Ǿ &®±¬   #¨³¨¹¤­ 0« ­­¨­¦ <br />4¤ ¬  ­£ ¶±¨³¤   2¤¥¨­¤¬¤­³ 0« ­ ¥®± 3®´³§ 7¨«« ¬¤³³¤ȁ <br /> <br /> <br />To realize the goals that have been set city-wide, the Council should 1)Form a Citizen <br />Planning Team 2) Select members of the team from residents, business owners and <br />property owners in the area, 3) Write an official Refinement Plan to guide land use <br />and 4) If there is agreement on the “20 minute neighborhood” concept, use that to <br />collect support for a Local Improvement District or Urban Renewal District that can <br />pay for the necessary public infrastructure. <br /> <br />Amazon Neighbors like myself are most concerned with access and transportation <br />issues in the South Willamette corridor; it is our business district and we are close <br />enough to be considered part of the “twenty minute neighborhood”. Residents of our <br />neighborhood can reach the area in about ten minutes by bike, in as little as five <br />minutes by car. Many can walk there in about 15 minutes. <br /> <br />The South Willamette area currently needs many transportation improvements to <br />permit a more pedestrian and bike oriented environment. It will be especially <br />important if additional multi-family housing is built there to increase density and <br />serve city-wide land use goals. <br />--Streets will need to be modified and deteriorating pavement and curbs will need to <br />be replaced. <br />--Bikeways will need to be installed and enhanced where they already exist. <br />--Motorists need a public parking lot or structure where they can park without having <br />to move their vehicle each time they shop at a different store on the street. <br />--Public transit will turnouts and shelters, perhaps for streetcars or EmX, or just for <br />frequent service by normal bus service on the street. <br />--Sidewalks need to be widened to fit the needs of a pedestrian-friendly business <br />district. <br />--Utility service lines need to be relocated or buried to permit adequate sidewalks and <br />minimize the reconfiguration of auto parking and entryways required when <br />walkways are widened. <br />There are other public improvements beyond transportation that a successful 20 <br />minute neighborhood will require <br />for example pocket parks, signage and attractive <br />lighting for streets and public areas. <br /> <br />&´­£¨­¦ ®¥ 4± ­²¯®±³ ³¨®­ )¬¯±®µ¤¬¤­³² § ² ¡¤¤­ ­¤¦«¤¢³¤£Ǿ -504% 3´¡²¨£¨¤² <br />7¨«« .®³ $® 4§ ³ *®¡ȅ <br /> <br />The failure to consider transportation improvements was a key defect of the SW-SAZ. <br />It was permitted by use of the MMA district concept, which allows planning for <br />building code and zoning change without significant transportation planning. This <br />was in accord with the balkanization of the city government—Planning & <br />Development takes care of buildings, Public Works the streets—but it does not do <br />what’s needed to transform a strip-mall environment into a pedestrian-friendly <br />neighborhood.It will not build a Pearl District or revitalize an undeveloped transit <br /> <br />