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<br />Beltline Highway Open Houses Scheduled
<br />The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) is holding two open houses next week to hear community
<br />opinions about Beltline Highway between River Road and Coburg Road:
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<br /> Monday, August 4, 5:00 to 7:00 p.m., Irving Grange, 1011 Irvington Drive, Eugene
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<br /> Wednesday, August 6, 5:00 to 7:00 p.m., Eugene Christian Fellowship, Room 105, 89780 N. Game Farm Road,
<br />Eugene
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<br />ODOT staff will be on hand to answer questions and take comments at the informal, drop-in sessions as they begin
<br />a study of potential improvements. ODOT is developing a Facility Plan for this section of Beltline Highway over the
<br />next several months. This phase of the Facility Plan will develop a problem statement along with a purpose and
<br />need for the project. ODOT and their consultants will also be developing a project work plan, decision process, and
<br />a stakeholder/public involvement plan for later phases of Facility Plan development. The Facility Plan work for
<br />Beltline Highway is a necessary step that precedes future Environmental Assessment work and further project
<br />development.
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<br />The Eugene City Council previously took action on October 9, 2006, to “Identify the Beltline Corridor from River
<br />Road to Coburg Road as the City’s top priority for funding in the State Transportation Improvement Program...”
<br />For more information about the project, please contact Savannah Crawford, ODOT project manager, (541) 747-
<br />1354, or Savanah.Crawford@odot.state.or.us. The City of Eugene project liaison is Chris Henry, transportation
<br />planning engineer at (541) 682-8472, or chris.c.henry@ci.eugene.or.us
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<br />GEARs and City Co-Sponsor Events to Benefit Local Bicycle Education
<br />The Jamboree community fun ride will take place on Saturday,
<br />August 2, starting at 9:00 a.m. at the EWEB Plaza on the River
<br />Trail just below the DeFazio Bike Bridge. This 20-mile ride winds
<br />through the neighborhoods of Eugene with stops planned at
<br />community centers and parks along the route. Participants will
<br />have the option of completing one or two 10-mile loops, each
<br />rolling back to the starting point for a short break. Cost is $5 for
<br />the whole family. Everyone gets lunch and blackberry cobbler and
<br />ice cream after the ride. T-shirts will be available.
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<br />The Jamboree is a wonderful opportunity to get out and ride a bike around Eugene, through the neighborhoods,
<br />and on the streets with lots of other people. Participants will be able to explore parts of Eugene they may not be
<br />familiar with. This ride is family-friendly, with participants able to set their own pace and stop when needed. Come
<br />and enjoy our community on bike, listen to music and help support local bicycle education all at the same time.
<br />The ninth annual Blackberry bRamble will be held Sunday, August 3. This is a longer ride with three distance
<br />options - a full century (100 miles), a metric century (62 miles) or the 43-mile route in the beautiful coastal range
<br />southwest of Eugene. Rest stops will feature pasta salad, bagels, water, a support car, and more. A blackberry
<br />cobbler and ice cream at the end of the ride awaits those who finish. Registration is $30. Please visit the
<br />Blackberry Rides website for more information and registration at www.eugenegears.org/rides/bramble, or contact
<br />Lindsay Selser, traffic planning technician at 682-5094.
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<br />Golden Gardens Park/Delta Ponds Update
<br />The Golden Gardens Park project, which was designed for
<br />safety, recreation and natural resource enhancements,
<br />continues to progress to final form. With work about
<br />halfway completed on the excavation of material at Golden
<br />Gardens and placement of those recycled soils in Delta
<br />Ponds, the contractor and City staff have achieved a
<br />significant transformation of both sites, with the most
<br />noticeable difference being the elimination of steep banks
<br />and the gradual restoration of more natural pond
<br />conditions.
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<br />The projects remain on schedule to be completed by the
<br />end of October or sooner, and both areas will be planted
<br />this winter. Look to next spring to see budding willows, nine
<br />bark and spirea plants stretching their limbs with a variety
<br />Delta Ponds
<br />of other native fauna. For more information, contact Terry
<br />Colvin at 682-5398, or terry.r.colvin@ci.eugene.or.us.
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<br />EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 3
<br />July 31, 2008
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