City Council Newsletter - 07/06/06

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Go! Write! Travel Writing Fair at the Library Eugene Public Library’s third annual Writers’ Fair, "Go! Write! Travel Writing," joins in the travel theme of Summer Reading for Adults 2006. Learn from experts, ask questions, and meet local writers at this free event on Sunday, July 16, 1:30 - 3:30 p.m. at the Downtown Library. Panelist Myrna Oakley (Oregon: Off the Beaten Path) talks about the freelance writing and marketing process. Writer and instructor Gail Davis shares expertise on self-publishing and travel writing. Brandon Barnett of Multnomah County Library tells how she and two other librarians created and published an award-winning Internet travel guide for a local audience. Library visitors can sign up for Summer Reading for Adults, pick up official review forms, and receive a coupon worth $1 towards used books at the Friends of the Library's Second Hand Prose book store, or a free coffee at Novella Café, both located at the Downtown Library. Participants who return three brief reviews will receive a free journal (while supplies last), and are entered in a drawing for one of three Library book bags filled with great reads, plus gift certificates from Destinations: The Travel Store and LetterHead Fine Papers & Gifts. For more information, contact the Eugene Public Library at 682-5450. Bicycle Safety Events Teach Skills and Offer Free Helmets to Youngsters To promote safe bike riding among young people in Eugene, the City's Transportation Options Team will be conducting bicycle safety events at affordable housing developments across the city over the next several months. The first bike safety event will take place at Woodleaf Village in south Eugene from 2 to 5 p.m. on Thursday, July 13. Woodleaf Village is owned by Metropolitan Affordable Housing Corporation and was developed with City assistance in 1998. At this event, City staff will teach young people who live at Woodleaf Village bicycle safety tips and will also offer a free helmet to those who are in need of one. Oregon law requires children under the age of 16 to wear helmets when bicycling, inline skating, skateboarding, or riding a scooter (ORS 814.485 & 814.600). For more information, contact Transportation Options Coordinator Cindy Clarke at 682-5285 or cindy.j.clarke@ci.eugene.or.us. River Festival Promises Summertime Family Fun The Whiteaker Neighborhood River Festival, the second in the series of summer festivals presented by Eugene Recreation Services, will be held from 4 to 7 p.m. on Friday, July 21. This family-oriented event is free and includes river kayaking demonstrations, Oregon’s largest slip-n-slide, story- telling by Eugene Library staff, water safety information, food, and lots of other entertainment, including live music by “Mariachi Gallos De America” from 6 to 7 p.m. It all takes place in Skinner Butte Park, behind the River House, at 301 N. Adams Street. The first festival in the summer series, the We Are Bethel Celebration, was held on June 3 at Petersen Barn. The Multicultural Festival will be held on August 11 at Sheldon Community Center. For information about the River Festival, call the River House at 682-5329. Repairs to Bricks on Broadway Allow More Time for Long-Term Solution The brick pavers in the Willamette Plaza area at Broadway and Willamette Street were installed in 1996 as part of the Willamette Street opening. Unlike the bricks on Willamette and on Broadway at the alley crossings east and west of the plaza, the brick paving in the plaza was originally designed for pedestrian traffic and not for the wear of continual automobile traffic. When Broadway was opened in 2002 very minor modifications were made to convert the portion of the plaza in the street area for vehicular traffic. These modifications included better drainage for the street, tactile warnings where people might enter the street from the walking areas, and bollards to help control movement between street and plaza. No changes were made to the actual brickwork in the plaza at that time. Over the past several months, staff has been reviewing the condition of the bricks in the plaza. The bricks have begun to fail and the failure area is expanding. Analysis has been done on a variety of long- term repair options as well as on timing considerations. The conclusions of the analysis are that substantial work is needed to fix the failing brick problem, that repair options should be coordinated with EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 3 July 6, 2006