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WEST EL,~.~ NE P,~AKWAY MODiFiED PROJECT,-(A)NSISTENCY WiTH rilE STATEWIDE PLANNING GOALS AND TRANSPORTAT{ON PLANNING RULE
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<br />Reservoir, the Hult Center for the Performing A~, the Lane County Fair Grounds, the University of
<br />Oregon and Autzen Stadium, and the Oregon Country FMr?
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<br />The WEP also would serve "state trans~rtation needs," which the TPR defines as "needs for
<br />movement of people and goods between and through regions of the state and between the state and
<br />other states." OAR 660-012~0005(29). Maintaining an accep~ble level of service along Highway 126
<br />through Eugene and the City of Springfield is very important because Highway 126 is the major east-
<br />west ~nnector through the metropolitan region. Highway 126 not only serves the Eugene~Spfingfield
<br />area, but connects th~s region to destinmions along the Oregon Coast, in the Oregon Cascades, and in
<br />Central and Eastern Omgonfi7 Until ODOT eliminated the classific~ation recently, Highway 126 from
<br />Eugene to Florence3s was ~dentifie~ as an Access Oregon Highway, deeme~ the most important for
<br />statew~de travel ODOT's 1999 Oregon H~ghway Plan classifies the road as a "Statewide Highway"
<br />intended primarily to provide inter-urban and inter-regional mobility and provide connections to
<br />larger urb~ are~? ~e management objective for facilities of this nature ~s to provide safe and
<br />efficient~ h~gh speed, continuous operation flow, w~th interruptions to that flow within urban areas
<br />only "minimah'40 Existing Highway 126 along West 1 lth Avenue already fails to meet this objective
<br />and will only deteriorate further with time.
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<br />Table 2 of the Alternatives Memorandum demonstrates the statewide and regional nature of travel
<br />along the WE?. As described in the Alternatives Memorandum, Table 2 identifies the percentage of
<br />trips neit~._.h~r ~.n....~ _r destined for the West Eugene Corridor, defined as Royal Avenue to the
<br />north, West 18th Avenue to the south~ River Road to the east, and Green Hill Road to the west. It
<br />shows that over 42 pement of total trips on the facility between the west end of the WEP and its
<br />~ntersection wkh Highway 99 are through trips beginning or ending outside the UGB.4~ From the
<br />western WEP terminus to Ga~eld street, the percentage of through trips along selected links varies
<br />~?om a low of 49 pement to upwards of 78 pement. ~ese through~trip travel needs are most
<br />appropriately met on facilities designed to serve statewide and regional rather than local trips.
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<br />The general configuration of the Eugene-Springfield metropolitan area is aligned along an east-west
<br />axis that, traveling east to west, follows Springfield's Main Street, Franklin Boulevard and West 11 th
<br />Avenue~ Highway 12~ ~s the main east-west route through the metrolx>l~tan regiom This route enters
<br />Springfield on the eastern edge of the region from the McKenz~e Valley as H~ghway 126 and runs
<br />through Thurston and east Springfield as "Main Street". At 58th Street, the route tums northward and
<br />follows the Eugene~Springfield Highway, a fouMane, limited access facility. As it crosses Interstate
<br />5~ this h~ghway becomes Interstate 105~ and the Highway 126 route tums southward across the
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<br />36 Access to reservok facilities is year-round, although most intensive uses occur during the summer months. The Hult Center,
<br />Lane County Fair Grounds, and the University of Oregon provide entertainment and culture~ even[s year round. The Country
<br />Fair is held annually dudng Ju~y and draws a large number of people from the Lane County region, statewide, and from other
<br />states.
<br />37 Highway 126 is one of on~y four major routes connecting the Willamette Valley and interstate 5 with the Oregon Coast. The
<br />other routes are Highways 18, 20 and 26. Coasta~ destinations easily accessible from Highway 126 incJude historic downtown
<br />Florence, the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area, Jessie M. Honeyman Memodal State Park, Cape Perpetua, and the
<br />c. Aies of Yachats and Reedsport. Cascade destinations include skiing and hiking destinations at Sandam Pass and Willamette
<br />Pass, the Mt. Jefferson, Mt. Washington and Three Sisters W~derness Areas, and the Metolius recreation area. Central and
<br />Eastern Oregon destinations loc~ude the cities of Sisters, Bend, Redmond, Pdneville, Klamath Fails, John Day, Bums and
<br />Ontado and the IVlalheur and Kiamath Wildlife Refuges.
<br />38 Highway 126 from Eugene to Florence a~so passes through and serves the communities of Veneta, Noti, and Mapleton.
<br />39 Further, Highway 1126 is an element of the National Highway System (NHS). The NHS purpose is to provide an
<br />interconnected system of principal artedal routes which will serve major population centers, international border crossings,
<br />ports, airports, public transportation facJlities and other major travel destinations; meet national defense requirements; and
<br />serve ~oterstate and ~nter-re¢onal travel
<br />40 The ~Statew~de" and 'HHS' c~assifloatlor~s extends eastward all the way along Highway 1126 to ~s terminus, where ~t joins
<br />with US Highway 20 and State Highway 22 near Sangam Pass in the Oregon Cascedes~
<br />41 it is like~ that many other tdps begin and end inside the UGB but outside the West Eugene Corridor. Still other tdps begin
<br />er end ~nside the West Eugene Corridor, but do not both begin and end inside the West Eugene Corridor.
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<br />EXHIBIT 0-1 - FINDINGS 23
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