CC Minutes - 04/20/05 WS - Laserfiche WebLink

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B. ACTION: Resolution 4831 Forming a Local Improvement District For Paving, Constructing Curbs and Gutters, Sidewalks, Pedestrian Medians, Street Lights, and Stormwater Drainage on River Avenue From 200 Feet East of River Road to 100 Feet West of Beltline Highway City Manager Taylor explained that this was a matter that had been coming before the council for some time. He noted that the project had first appeared in the TransPlan in 1986 and had been in the current TransPlan and is part of the Eugene Arterial and Collector Street Plan, adopted in 1999. He said the project, as it currently stood, had been included in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2001 Capital Budget. He underscored that the entity that had submitted the successful bid to undertake the work had agreed to hold to the amount of the bid from July 2004 until May 2005. He emphasized that expenses would only continue to increase should the work be delayed. Mr. Papd appreciated the memorandum staff provided on the subject. He related that he attended one of the public sessions that had been held and a great deal of concern had been expressed about the level of development that had been proposed. He tended to agree with area residents. He felt, given that most of River Avenue was commercially developed by businesses that did not draw pedestrian traffic the need for sidewalks on both sides of the street and two bicycle paths was not great. He hoped the council would consider scaling down the project so that only one sidewalk and the curbs and gutters would be constructed. Mr. Kelly commented that it was disturbing that bicycle lanes were considered as an afterthought for many people. It was important to him that bicycle facilities be improved. He noted that State law required such facilities for major collectors. Regarding the plan for sidewalks on both sides of the street, he asked how flexible the standards were. Principal Civil Engineer for the Public Works Department, Michelle Cahill, explained that the standards required sidewalks for both sides of a collector and were not flexible. City Manager Taylor added that the same standards applied for the County portion of the road. Ms. Bettman acknowledged that there had been a lot of citizen input and that both sides of the issue had been heard. She appreciated that the City had standards. She remarked that perhaps the reason the street did not have pedestrian traffic was that it did not have sidewalks. She indicated she would support postponement of the item until more input could be garnered. She did not feel well-acquainted enough with the details of the engineering to provide a qualified response to it. She suggested that staff work with the affected people and come back with another proposal. Mr. Poling observed the similarities the situation on River Avenue had with the Crest Drive neighborhood. He agreed with some of the public input, stating that he thought the proposal was %verbuilding" for the street it was planned for. He did not believe it necessary to have a sidewalk go by the Metropolitan Wastewater Treatment Plant. He felt there was very little pedestrian traffic east of the post office. He recommended that the plan be made less ~frilly." He added that no one was certain what the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) was going to do with the River Avenue/Beltline Road interchange and whether ODOT would choose to shut it down altogether. He pointed out that if the latter should occur, the City would have a ~nice road to nowhere." Mr. Poling, seconded by Ms. Solomon, moved to substantially modify the improvements, re-bidding if necessary, and then conduct a hearing on the modified improvements. MINUTES--Eugene City Council April 20, 2005 Page 5 Work Session