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, e to examine the success of Olive Street and private investment before analyzing Willamette Street again. Ms. Schue said it was not her recollection that the council voted to open Olive Street, but rather had agreed to consider the reopening. She said the community does not like it when the council does not appear to consider its input. Ms. Schue cautioned the commission that their list of involved parties only seems to include City boards and commissions, and that other groups exist that will wish to be involved. She felt it would be wise to share information with both those who support and those who oppose the concept. She encouraged the commission to present its case objectively. Ms. Schue noted that the League of Women Voters' poll of Lane County Fair attendees on the opening of Olive had been overwhelmingly opposed. Mr. Boles congratulated the commission for constructing a work program with clear elements. He said that he had originally come to the council convinced that access and circulation downtown did not need to be addressed, but he had changed his mind. Malls must have shared access with vehicles and pedestrians in at least one direction to be successful. He expressed concern over the absence of the word "quality" in the commission's approach to the reopening. Mr. Boles felt that to give the street anything less than the highest level of quality would be a mistake. He suggested that the issue is much larger than the opening of Olive Street. This concept merely sets the stage for discussion. Downtown patterns for vehicles and people are the major issue. Mr. Boles said the Retail Task Force had to make the assumption that the access and circulation issues were resolved before it could work on e the issue of downtown management. He was not convinced that the task force could handle the larger issue of access and circulation, however. He said perhaps a larger task force to examine access and circulation downtown is necessary. Mr. Boles expressed concern over the lack of a downtown plaza or location for events such as the Eugene Celebration due to the loss of the lot at 8th Avenue and Willamette Street. He concluded by saying that he supported the commission's concept, but felt it belonged in a larger context. Ms. Ehrman said she shared some of Mr. Boles thoughts, and asked what type of street the commission was considering when it looked at Olive Street. Ms. Aspinwall-Lamberts said this was where commission discussion broke down. Commissioners realized that they needed to involve more people in that discussion, such as LTD and the Public Works Department. Ms. Ehrman expressed concern over the closeness of the playground located on Broadway to Olive Street and traffic following the proposed opening. Ms. Ehrman said that it sounded to her as though the commission was attempting to use the reopening of Olive Street as a lever to reopen Willamette Street. Mr. Jensen remarked that it would be interesting to know, of those who voted in opposition to the opening of Olive Street at the fair, how many of them shop and frequent downtown. He said this vote was indicative of the lack of knowledge among Eugene's citizens about what actually happens downtown. e MINUTES--City Council/Downtown Commission-- October 9, 1989 Page 5 Dinner/Work Session