02/22/1982 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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e e e methods of keeping through traffic on the designated arterial streets in the area. He said that the neighborhood group had attempted to distribute question- naires to all the houses in the area. He indicated that of 966 questionnaires delivered, 222 had been returned, for a response rate of 23 percent. He said that 64 percent of those who responded had said that they favored efforts to control traffic. Mr. Stafford said that the only form of traffic management that the Public Works Department seemed to believe in was traffic diverters. He urged the council to authorize installation of permanent diverters on 10th Avenue. Kate Rogers Gessert, 1230 West Broadway, said that a group of concerned neighbors had recently conducted a house-to-house survey in the area affected by the diverters. She said that of 236 households contacted, 137 favored retention of the diverters; 65 were opposed; 22 were undecided; and 12 households were vacant. She submitted a petition in favor of the diverters, signed by 224 residents of the area and 81 people residing outside the survey area. She noted that the area covered by the survey was the same as the area to which the City had mailed its questionnaire and said that several residents had changed their minds on the issue since the time of the City survey. Ms. Gessert encouraged those who live in the area to accept the inconvenience caused by the diverters as necessary for the protection of the safety and comfort of all area residents. Ann Fidanque, 952 West 10th Avenue, said that in the time before installation of the diverters, residents had noted increases in the volume and speed of traffic in the area and increases in the number of accidents, particularly at the cor- ners of 10th and Jackson and 10th and Adams. She said that since installation of the diverters, traffic volume, traffic speed, and numbers of accidents had been reduced. She urged councilors to weigh the mild inconvenience caused by the diverters against the increased safety for children, cyclists, pedestrians, and all people who use Monroe Park. Ms. Fidanque said that the City, through a number of its policies, has encouraged families to settle in the downtown area and that the City now has an obligation to ensure the safety of those families. Mark Palmer, 801 West 12th Avenue, said that he has lived near the diverter at 12th and Monroe since 1978 and has noticed that the diverter has reduced the number of speeders in the area, made the streets safer, and improved the identity and quality of the neighborhood. He said that the City needs to use every available tool in re-establishing the inner-city neighborhoods. He urged that the diverters be retained. Sarah Hendrickson, 572 West 11th Avenue, said that she lives in the area of the diverters and also is a partner in a commercial investment in the area. She said that the survey done by the Traffic Division on diverters was uneven and that many residents in the area were not polled. She urged the council to seek a compromise acceptable to all residents and suggested that if the diverters are not acceptable, that stop signs be installed at all the corners of the inter- sections involved. She said that residents of the area would volunteer to sweep the streets in order to retain the diverters. MINUTES--Eugene City Council February 22, 1982 Page 3