12/10/1980 Meeting (2) - Laserfiche WebLink

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carpooling nor was there rides,~aring. If these 300 spaces had been available at that time, they might have continued for another year. He cautioned the council that with these numbers, LTD would be unable to provide the same service. . Ms. Miller left the meeting. Mayor Keller stated that item VII on the agenda, FIELD BURNING UPDATE, would be held over until December 17 at 11 a.m. Also, item VIII on the agenda, FURTHER DISCUSSION ON PROPOSED ACQUISITION OF GILLESPIE BUTTE, will be held over. Mr. Obie stated that looking at this on a financial basis, the service should not be extended past January. $15,000 is available, but it would not be logical to use that money to extend the service. All are short of funds in lots of areas. The City has 800 parking spaces available and would be better off to give those people a free parking permit for three to six months instead. If money is to be spent, that is what they should do. Or, they could charge for the parking spaces but another $15,000 should not be spent on a nonproductive service. He noted that he would like to hear any energy or transportation arguments about this, however. Mr. Delay stated that if the Downtown Development Board wants to continue having the responsibility for downtown promotion, they should look at revenue growth. They could encourage more investment by downtown businesses. He agrees with Mr. Obie that there are cheaper ways to deal with this. There are drastic conflicts between short-term and long-term goals. The chart shows that the riderShip is going up and perhaps it could go further. The investment would be diminished if it were discontinued. They are continually looking for alterna- tives for parking. They probably could not fill all, the spaces for parking even . if they paid people to park there. People should be given time to adjust. If people feel that the City will try something and stop it, they will stop think- ing that the council is trying to promote alternative modes and take less advantage of them. If more and more people would be interested in programs like this, it would reduce the pressures on the Ferry Street Bridge also. It may be cheaper to invest in having people change their habits. Ms. Schue indicated agreement with Mr. Delay in regard to the long-term goals. Mr. Obie stated that he agrees about the short-term goals, but there is a problem with the financial situation. Employees should be converted to Park and Ride or LTD. He would like to see the shuttle continued. There is not much hope for a permanent solution, but Park and Ride could take up some of the sl ack. However, he feels the same thing could be accomplished by free parking permits. He does not feel this will change the course of history. Mr. Lieuallen stated they are talking about long-term financial commitments and the short-term situation of changing people's habits. There is a vision in the long term. Mr. Delay noted that long-term goals are frustrating because they look dismal in the present. Mayor Keller asked who was responsible for the shuttle. He asked if that is an expectation of the Downtown Development Board. He does not recall alternative transportation modes ever having been a charge to them. They pay for LTD through the employer tax and pay Downtown Development Board taxes and more taxes . MINUTES--Eugene City Council December 10, 1980 Page 10