07/08/1987 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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Ms. Ehrman and Mayor Obi e asked whether Mr. Mil e s, in arriving at his recommendation to open Willamette to vehicular traffic, considered the effect e this would have on gut cruising, which currently occurs along south Wi 11 amet te. Mr. Miles reiterated his recommendation that Willamette Street ramp up to sidewalk level at 8th and 10th avenues. This ramping at the two entry points essentially would serve as a speed bump and would eliminate the continuity for fast driving that most gut-cruising streets have. He said the recommended design for Willamette from 8th to 10th--with limited traffic and pedestrian orientation--would not be conducive to gut cruising. Mr. Miles also mentioned that he has done a study of cruising in Boise, Idaho. He sa i d the cruising in this city operates out of several vacant parking lots. He said the idea of a IIturfll is very important in cruising activity; the cruisers feel that they own the lots. He said one of the keys to addressing a problem such as gut cruising is to make clear who owns the space and what the function of the space is. He said the abuse of space is almost always related to the perception of the abuser that no one cares, that the space is no one's property. He said an intense Willamette Street will have a strong pride of ownership associated with it, and this will discourage the abuse of the space. Mr. Farkas mentioned two other factors that will discourage cruising on an opened Willamette Street. First of all, there wi 11 be two narrow traffic lanes from 8th to 10th avenues, as opposed to four-lane streets where most other cruising occurs. Moreover, the density of office and retail development in the downtown core will not be conducive to cruising. Mr. Gleason mentioned that there has been some discussion about th9 possibility of occasionally closing the reopened section of Willamette to auto traffic. Thi s mi ght be done for special events or perhaps on weekends. He said the latter would hinder cruising on the street. e Mr. Bennett said the council has been told before that H-shaped malls, such as Eugene's, do not function as well as linear malls. He asked Mr. Miles to elaborate on this point. Mr. Miles said that people in a car can see about 100 feet into a cross-street. He said H-shaped malls essentially become like islands--a significant portion of the mall is not visible to people driving along adjacent streets. By contra~t, linear malls are still very much part of the overall downtown street grid, they do not become like islands, and the visual access from adjacent streets is much better than it is for H-shaped ma 11 s . Mr. Miles also said that linear malls are intersected by traffic at each block. He said that having traffic close to the pedestrian area can strengthen the street-corner atmosphere, making the mall more active and vibrant. Mr. Miles said that opening Willamette to traffic will give people a better sense of orientation in the downtown. Having driven through the core of downtown, people will know more about what is in the area and more about how to find things downtown. He also mentioned that opening Willamette will place the Hult and Conference Center at a very prominent location in the city--at a type of grand terminus to the mainstreet. Mr. Bennett asked Mr. Miles to discuss the type of uses that will develop on a street with vehicular access, as opposed to the type of uses that will develop on a pedestrian street. Mr. Miles said the national trend is to reopen pedestrian malls to traffic. He said this has to do with the fact that e MINUTES--Eugene City Council July 8, 1987 Page 11