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CAHILL Michelle R From: ROSE Lynda L Sent: Tuesday, April 12, 2005 12:44 PM To: CAHILL Michelle R; SCHOENING Mark A Subject: FW: Residents deserve more say over River Ave. improvement project For the record... ..... Original Message ..... From: Becky Riley [mailto:briley@efn.org] Sent: Tuesday, April 12, 2005 12:46 PM To: mayorandcc@ci.eugene.or.us Subject: Residents deserve more say over River Ave. improvement project April 12, 2005 Dear Mayor and City Council, I am hoping that the record is still held open to receive this comment on the River Ave. Improvement project. I am writing to you as a River Road resident and bicyclist who appreciates your attention to the problems of River Avenue and the work that has gone in to trying to address those problems. The road is in terrible shape, and I feel that it is unsafe for pedestrians and cyclists. I would like to see something done to improve the situation, for the safety of all who travel along that road. I agree that it is a priority situation that I would hope could be addressed soon. However, I am also sympathetic to the concerns of those who feel current plans are "overkill", too costly, and perhaps not as well thought out as they need to be to make sense over the long term (especially relative to uncertain ODOT/Beltline plans for the on-ramp, and connectivity to the still-dangerous, but evidently not addressed, Beltline underpass and Willamette Greenway). And I was dismayed to hear that street trees have evidently already been cut down to make way for the project? I keep hoping that we can find ways to avoid doing that - along the lines of the Wilsonville model where an effort is made to spare every last mature tree - recognizing their immense aesthetic and functional value to our landscapes/streescapes. My own opinion is that I don't want the project - or at least, those parts truly needed for safety - to be needlessly delayed. However, our community feels that it has not had adequate input to the plans, and many people I've heard from are unhappy with the resulting design. Many also want more information - about whether speed limits will be increased on the road after improvements are made, etc. We want to know that this will not turn in to another Maxwell or River Road - the two most loathed streets in our neighborhood. Instead, we hope it might have the potential for a more sensitive design that minimizes pavement, maximizes trees and greenspace, and achieves important public safety goals without unintentionally creating massive paved areas and ugly landscapes with higher speed traffic that while intended to be safer for pedestrians - instead become pedestrian-repellant. I hope you will vote against establishing a local improvement district at this time, and will instead direct city staff to work with a committee of local residents to take more public input and !