12/04/1985 Meeting (3) - Laserfiche WebLink

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Paul Sturtz, 244 West l2th,/Stephen Chrisman, 342 East 13th Apt. 2, Eugene, e submitted a working paper for a potential citizens' advisory team concerning alternative modes of transportation for Sacred Heart Hospital. Mr. Sturtz said they believed the hospital could grow and still preserve the culture and vitality of the neighborhood and its buildings. They proposed organizing a committee to assist Sacred Heart in developing solutions to building and parking plans. He suggested it work within TransPlan goals, using various tactics to promote alternative modes of transport, and maximizing use of already existing flat parking and parking structures. Mr. Sturtz said he believed Sacred Heart and other employers in the area had subsidized single- occupant auto trips by offering parking to employees at artificially low prices of about $15, rather than the market range of about $30 quoted by Diamond Parking representatives. He said TransPlan advised subsidizing public transport and alternative modes, and LTD was enthusiastic and flexible about working with the hospital to increase ridership, which also should decrease parking need. Mr. Sturtz said although LTD ridership had not increased substantially with the offer of a $5 discount last year, they believed a larger discount would pay dividends. He also said Sacred Heart was "endorsing a dismal trend of overreliance on the automobile" by financing parking, and if subsidized parking were halted, solo driving to work would decrease, according to a Transportation Quarterly report attached to the working paper. Mr. Sturtz said proposals emphasized working with LTD to improve the bus system. He said he believed Sacred Heart had eliminated bus service as a e solution in order to strengthen the argument for parking lots. He also said a meeting between the two groups was expected soon, and they hoped the hospital would pursue the matter sincerely. Mr. Sturtz said it would be more cost effective to sudsidize public transit in the long and in the short run than to build new parking structures. Some suggestions for solving some of the area's parking problems included making routes and times more convenient for hospital employees, offering bulk discounts to Sacred Heart employees on passes, and establishing more convenient transfer stations and a park-and-ride network in areas such as Autzen Stadium and the Lane County Fairgrounds, with a shuttle to and from the hospital at shift times. Mary Ann Rombach, 85782 Springfield-Creswell Highway, Pleasant Hill, representing the League of Women Voters of Lane County, said the league felt the TransPlan overall set a satisfactory level for street improvement and continued to work toward a balanced transportation system. Ms. Rombach said the group would prefer that implementation strategies under Planning and Coordination (Page 4) include level of service and safety as prime reasons for implementing projects and that those reasons be assigned more weight than other criteria listed. She also asked that the mention of transit service to the airport on Page 6 also include service to the Amtrak system. Ms. Rombach said the league wondered why no federal or state money was available for the Ferry Street bridge project (Page 11), adding that more data concerning funding of that project and present and future levels of services was wanted. She also asked why the project was included in the mid-range of e priorities rather than the short-range if the bridge already was congested. MINUTES--Joint Elected Officials Hearing--TransPlan December 4, 1985 Page 5