Ordinance No. 20258 - Laserfiche WebLink

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WEST EUGENE PARKWAY MOENFIED PROJECT-.CoNsiSTENCY W)TH THE STATEW~DE PLANNING GOALS AND TRANSPORTATION PLANNING RULE Significant transit hnprovements are being made through the implementation of the Bus Rapid Transit program. These improvements are expected to increase overall transit ridership in the metropolitan area by 50 percent over current figures. Further, TDM measures could reduce VMT by about 10 percent. But even with these measures, West 1 l th Avenue still operates an unacceptable levels of service. Widening Royal Avenue and West 18th Avenue cannot reasonably accommodate the need. Such improvements would disrupt well~established residential or commercial land use patterns and would significantly increase out-of-direction travel and vehicles miles traveled per capita. Likewise, additional improvements to BekHne Highway beyond those already planned cannot reasonably accommodate the need because the WEP serves primarily east-west travel while Beltline Highway serves circumferential travel. Additional improvements to West 1 l th Avenue also cannot reasonably accommodate the need. Already~ that roadway has been widened and provided with turn lanes to accommodate increasing traffic volume in the area~ Stilly by the year 2015, all major intersections will experience volumes substantially exceeding their capacity. Further widening of West 1 I th Avenue to increase capacity and accommodate through traffic would displace lands from many properties, with over 100 commercial and industrial businesses directly affecte& The modifications necessary to meet identified state and regional transportation needs would severely disrupt the existing land use pattern of the area, and the costs of compensation and providing new accesses would be enormous. These impacts, cumulatively, render this alternative unreasonable. Alteration of West I 1 th Avenue also would run contrary to the need to restore this roadway as a local road serving local residents and businesses. The identified need for the WEP is fbr a facility that provides for relatively high speed movement of people and goods into and out of or through the regiom West 1 lth Avenue can not reasonably function as both a local road and a higher speed facility serving through traffic. tn summary~ despite improvements resulting from BRT~ TDM~ and improvements to existing facilities~ the WEP still is needed to meet the identified predominantly statewide and regional transportation need. Accordingly, OAR 660-012~0070(4) is satisfied~ Compliance with ORS Goal 2 Part OAR 660-004-0020(2)(a) and OAR 660-004 0022 ORS 19T732(1)(c)(A), Goal 2 Part H(c)(1) and OAR 660-004-0020(2)(a) and -0022 parallel OAR 660-012-0070(4). ORS 19T732(1)(c)(A) and Goal 2, Part II(c)(1) require an exception to include reasons whichjustify why the state policy embodied in the applicable goals should not apply.64 OAR 660-004-0020(2)(a) interprets these requirements by explaining that the exception should set forth the facts and assumptions used as the basis ibr determining that a state policy embodied in a goal should not apply to a specitic property or situation, including the amount of land for the use being planned and why the use requires a location on resource land. OAR 660-004-0022 expands on OAR 660-004- 0020(2)(a) by giving examples of the types of reasons which may justify exceptions, including demonstrated need for the activity based on one or more requirements of Goals 3 to 19 and special features of the proposed use or activity that necessitate its location on the proposed exception site. The reasons Whichjustif~ exceptions to Goals 3~ 4~ 11 and 14 to locate the West Eugene Parkway with the Modified Project alignment on resource lands are stated in this document. These reasons relate principally to Goals 12 and 5. Regarding Goal 12, a statewide and regional need has been identified to move through traffic effic[endy in an east-west direction through the metropolitan 64 Those state policies am identified above in the goal comD~iance section of this document. EXHIBIT C-1 -FINDINGS 34