04/28/1975 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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M I NUT E S EUGENE CITY COUNCIL April 28,1975 - Adjourned meeting of the Common Council of the city of Eugene, Oregon, adjourned from April 14,1975, was called to order by His Honor Mayor Lester E. Anderson at 7:30 p.m. OP April 28, 1975, in the Council Chamber. Council members present were: Neil Murray, Gus Keller, Wickes Beal, Tom Williams, Ray Bradley, D. W. Hamel, Eric Haws. and Edna S~iref. (0001) I - Public Hearings A. Removal of parking from 6th and 7th Avenues, Blair Boulevard to Ga~field ~tre~t Council members on tour previously viewed the area where removal of parking was recommended by staff. Al Williams, traffic engineer, explained the parking removal was petitionee as .~e result of a presentation before a service club, and owners of abutting p~operty o far as possible using existing records had been polled for an indicatlc: of aI proval or disapproval. He said there was no attempt to contact other than those directly affected by the proposal. Also. the Traffic Safety Commission 5uppor~' ~ the proposal. Public hearing was opened. e Ed Anderson. owner of Eugene Linen Supply, 1850 West 6th Avenue, ofiered comments with regard to traffic congestion on 6th Avenue. He called attention to available parking space on side streets where cars could be parked with little inconvenience to drivers. He noted the difficulty in crossing 6th from side streets where there were no traffic lights, and suggested a third lane to allow a continuous turn mov~- ment from Garfield. It was his opinion that the parking removal would permit a lot of traffic movement without the cost to the city of extensive road work or requir- ing an expressway vote. Richard Freeman, 1140 West 6th Avenue. presented a petition opposing the parking removal bearing 60 signatures, many of which he said represented people responding favorably to the traffic engineer's poll. but had changed their mind~. He thought two lanes on 6th and 7th were sufficient to handle the traffic if obstructions created by the State in building the Washington/Jefferson interchange were eliminated. He also thought the railroad tracks presented a problem. that there ~as no access at that point to the overpass (without going through the interchange). Helen Dougherty. 1055 West 6th Avenue (Boon's Red Carpet Motel), thought the pa~king ban in itself would be enough. but to add three lanes of traffi., would have a really negative effect on small businesses abutting 6th and 7th. And she felt that her parking lot. provided in accordance with code requirements, would have increased use from the general public shopping in adjacent retail stores., She commented that the motel parking was used even now by the public using a nearby phone booth. Ms. Dougherty felt the issue of par~ing on 6th and 7th was a matter of "life and death" for the small businesses on those streets. Public hearing was closed. there being no further testimony. - Traffic Engineer Williams explained that the petition presented by Mr. Freeman contained signatures of people owning property or who were tenants on side streets and not directly affected by the proposed parking removal. Only one of those polled by the traffic division and directly affected had changed positions. With regard to the Red Carpet Mote, he said, prohibition of parking on other streets in the city appeared to have no adverse effect on establishments similar to the Red Carpet Mote. He didn't .think the parking removal would present the problem antici- pated by Ms. Dougherty. Assistant Manager added that experience had shown three lanes of traffic permitted easier access to businesses than two lanes on which heavier traffic had a tendency :0 impede movement. ~C)~ 4/28/75 - 1