06/08/1981 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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e e . Ms. Miller asked how fire trucks get access if traffic cannot go underneath the covered area. Mr. Smith stated that fire trucks could not get through but an ambulance could. Mr. Smith said that the vertical clearance is ten feet. Mr. Gleason indicated that cars could drive through on one lane, but if two lanes are desired, some significant design decisions would need to be made. He feels that design questions would be best handled in a format other than at a City Council meeting. Mr. Obie indicated agreement but feels Mr. Smith has overstated the permanency of what is going to happen. As a member of the Civic Center Commission, he has not seen the overpass concept prior to tonight, although he has seen many models in the past three years. There are areas where pedestrians and vehicles can co-exist, such as by the First Interstate Bank. He granted that the area would be more aesthetically pleasing without cars, but he is concerned for the downtown retailers. He would like to see alternatives before making a decision. He is concerned about closing off that end of town and wonders what would happen to that area. He does not want to see empty storefronts such as now exist between 10th and 11th. He feels the post office is a traffic generator. Convenient access is important. He is concerned that a barricade is being placed to the downtown area. He feels Mr. Poticha presented an excellent case. Mr. Haws stated that the issue is whether the street should be vacated. If it is not vacated, design features would need to be changed. The greater good would be to vacate the street. He will vote in favor of the vacation. Mr. Lindberg stated that the range of problems has been well identified. He asked about people who would be using the origination point of the arcade and the open space and whether people need encouragement to go to the 5th Street district or to downtown. He would like to see a number of alternatives exam- ined, including the cost of a walkway over 6th and 7th avenues, shuttle service around the mall, and the cost and benefit of promotional activities to change people's habits in order to keep the same design. He asked what the conse- quences would be of delaying to explore other options. Mr. Smith stated that the rehearsal hall has already been excavated and they had to go out on to Willamette Street for that purpose. They would have to back off from some foundation wall construction. He said that the discussion now centers on a street through the area. If that is what was wanted originally, then concep- tually many things should have been done differently. This may mean some drastic and expensive design changes. Temporary closures were examined, but staff was unable to determine the times when the area would need to be closed. The major delay will be in finishing the rehearsal hall. Ms. Wooten asked about the street closure at the time of the council adoption of the Master Site Plan. Mr. Haws noted that he had not envisioned cars in the middle of this project. Mr. Hamel stated that Willamette Street was blocked off at the time due to the construction and he does not recall any discussion of permanent closure of Willamette Street. He appreciated Mr. Poticha's remarks and liked the idea of a similar treatment as in front of First Interstate Bank. Another option would be similar to that used on 6th Avenue in Portland. He would like to see something that would help business and be culturally pleasing as well. MINUTES--Eugene City Council June 8, 1981 Page 7