07/13/1987 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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Mr. Hamaker said Don Miles' report is excellent and the recommendations should be implemented. e Ruth Mill er, 2460 Malabar Drive, said she is a member of the Friends of Downtown. She said the downtown mall is an asset to the City and should be preserved. She said Friends of Downtown support five of the six recommendations of the Planning and Downtown commissions. They are: East Broadway should not be opened to vehicular traffic; the Broadway and Willamette intersection should remain a public plaza and include public rest rooms; a design advisory committee should focus on the Eugene Downtown Public Spaces report and develop a design for Willamette between 8th and 10th and the central plaza; and the redesign should be expeditious with adequate public participation. Ms. Miller said Friends of Downtown do not support opening Willamette between 8th and 10th to vehicles. They do support a retail management program for Willamette Street and creative signs for the mall. Sue Girardeau, 2398 Douglas Drive, said she represented the League of Women Voters of Lane County. She said there is no proof that a physical rearrangement of the downtown mall will ensure the success of retail businesses. She said more advertising, coordinated operating hours, proper signs, and better security should be tried first. She discussed recently constructed shopping malls and said shoppers and vehicles usually do not mix in them. She urged the council to maintain the status quo on.Willamette Street. Ms. Girardeau said there have been problems with marketing existing commercial e sites. Therefore, the league recommended that the expansion of the Urban Renewal District be postponed until a study of the demand for commercial space has been completed for the Metropolitan Plan Update. James Ivory, 94 West Broadway, said he owns a sporting goods store in the downtown. He said millions of dollars were spent, 118 buil di ngs were destroyed, 110 small businesses were displaced, and the critical mass was defused when the mall was created. Many people think it was a mistake. He said the Downtown Development Strategy is good. It will make the mall better. He said opening Willamette to vehicles probably should not be a major focus. Charles Fletcher, 856 Willamette, said he manages Scan Design. He said he opposes opening Willamette Street to vehicles. He said about 80 percent of his customers do not want the mall changed. He urged the council to direct the Planning and Downtown commissions to survey downtown customers about changes to the ma 11 . Jack Roberts, 965 Sherwood Place, said he works downtown. He said closing Willamette Street to vehicles deprived the mall of access and visibility. Therefore, many people do not go there and did not come tonight. He sa i d traffic has been diverted away from the downtown and people drive by the downtown to shopping malls. He said the downtown should be a center of diversity. Everyone should be included in the downtown. He supports opening Willamette Street to vehicles. It MINUTES--Eugene City Council July 13, 1987 Page 11