02/22/1982 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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e e e Mike Pease, 1910 Charnel ton, said that he is an architect and had worked with inner-city neighborhoods on neighborhood design issues on the block scale. He said that in all of his work, he had found traffic control one of the greatest concerns of inner-city residents. He urged the council to support the diverters as one of the least expensive ways to control traffic. George Gessert, 1230 West Broadway, said that he has lived in the area since 1978 and is the father of two small children. He said that he had contacted eight real estate agents and assessors to determine the effects of diverters on property values. He reported that these people had said it is easier to sell homes on quiet streets with low traffic volumes. He said that some of those contacted had responded that the presence of the diverters would have no effect on the value of property, some had said the value would be increased, and none had said that the value would be reduced by the presence of the diverters. He said those contacted had responded that diverters would only cause a decrease in property values if people had to go seven or eight blocks out of their way to reach the property. Elizabeth Meador, 1265 West Broadway, spoke for the eight small children who live near her and urged that the diverters be retained. Steve Wood, 971 West 10th Avenue, said he has lived in the area since 1974. He said that the issue being discussed is the community's willingness to respond to the needs of the neighborhood. He said that the City had made large commit- ments in this area of Community Development and NIP funds, including housing rehabilitation funds. He said he welcomed the City's attempts to mitigate the effects of traffic in the neighborhood and urged that the diverters be retained. At Mr. Andersen's request, all those who favored retention of the diverters stood up. Scott Lieuallen, 570 West 10th Avenue, said he owns a home in the Westside area and has a made a long-term commitment to living in the Westside. He noted that this area is surrounded by high-speed, high-volume arterials and said that the City must protect the neighborhood from being destroyed by these forces. He said that the value of the investment in the City's housing stock in this area must be protected. John E. Bonine, 1052 West 10th Avenue, said that he had chosen to buy his home because of the presence of the diverter. He said that while residents had tried to make calm presentations in favor of the diverters, there was a great deal of feeling that had been held in check. He urged the council to keep the neighbor- hood safe by retaining the diverters. The following people testified in opposition to retaining the diverters: Patrick Moore, 1060 Tyler Street, said that he has lived in the area for 20 years. He said that if diverters were used to keep traffic off one street, the traffic would just be pushed onto some other street. He said that since all residents of the city are entitled to use all city streets, the residents of the MINUTES--Eugene City Council February 22, 1982 Page 4