Ordinance No. 20258 - Laserfiche WebLink

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WEST EU~NE PARKWAY ~O(FIED PROJECT-CONSISTENCY WFFH THE STATE. DE PLANNING GOALS AND T~ANSPORTAT)~ PLANNING RULE to place the three intemhanges needed and still meet the design requirements of the project. Under OAR 660~012-0065(5Xa), jurisdictions need not consider alternatives that are inconsistent with applicable standards or not approved by a registered professional engineer. Moreover, any design that would remotely approach meeting the geometric design requirement would displace substantial property associated with the West Lawn Memorial Park cemetery, and/or the Lane Memorial Gardens cemetery, and displace commercial and industrial properties in the vicinity of Terry Street and Beltline Highway near West 1 lth Avenue. The Green Hill Road At-Grade Alternative would extend the Modified Project westward to Green Hill Road, where k would terminate with an intersection. A sweeping curve to connect the Green Hill Road and West 1 lth Avenue leg of the alternative would extend west to the project terminus. Double legs and double rights would be required at each of the intersections of Green Hill Road with West 11 th Avenue and the WEP. This alternative cannot reasonably accommodate the identified transportation need primarily for two reasons. Fimt~ the alternative would impact sensitive species and wet prairie wetlands south of the railroad. Second, from an engineering standpoint~ the alignment would be unsafe and is not recommended. This alternative would create conditions likely to result in a high accident location at the intersection of the WEP with Green Hill Road. Drivers traveling ea~st to west would encounter conditions where traffic moving at high speeds along a limited access facility first must nearly come to a stop in order to negotiate the curve from the WEP onto Green Hill Road, and then immediately cross a railroad crossing. The likelihood is high that this design would result in a high pementage of violent crashes resulting in debilitating i~uries or death. Traffic volumes across the railroad track would increase to an excess of 26,000 daily crossings, increasing the number of traim'anto conflicts significantly. The proximity of the intersection of the WEP at Green Hill Road to the railroad crossing also conflicts with railroad safety standards. For these reasons, the Green Hill Road At-Grade Alternative is operationally infeasible and environmentally unreasonable and therefore cannot reasonably accommodate the identified need. Southern and Southern (~odified) Alternative~ The Southern Alternative would follow the Modified Project alignment to Danebo Avenue, then shift the alignment southward through the Green Hill Technology Park and other parcels identified in the g'EW? as developable industrial lands before reconnecting to West 1 lth Avenue east of Green Hill Road. ~[he Southern (Modified) Alternative would be located somewhat to the north of the Southern Alternative, and connect to West 1 lth Avenue slightly to the west of the Southern Alternative although still east of Green Hill Road. Compared to the Southern Alternative, the Southern (MOdified) has greater adverse impacts on wetlands and threatened and endangered plants, but would provide a larger buffer distance from a plant, Kincaid's Lupine~ that serves as a host to the federally proposed endangered Fender's blue butterfly. While both the Southern Alternative and Southern (Modified) Alternative would function from a design and engineering standpoint, neither is a reasonable alternative because of their impacts to threatened and endangered species; their significant impacts to developing industrial lands in a manner inconsistent with acknowledged comprehensive plans, the g'EW? and reasonable investment- backed expectations; their damage to the integrity of the compromises realized in the g'EgzP; and their overall costs. These impacts are addressed in detail in the Alternatives Memorandum, incorporated herein by reference. E)~H~B~T C~ - FINDINGS 37