CC Minutes - 10/25/06 Work Session

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th Ms. Taylor asked if staff examined 16 Street in Denver, which traveled through the heart of downtown and which included moveable furniture and trees in the center so that one hardly knew it was a street. The streets were closed to automobile traffic but open to street cars, and it seemed like a park. Mr. Pryor termed the presentation exciting and said many exciting possibilities existed. He liked the idea of offering residents more recreational activities in downtown and the idea of more park space downtown tied to other developments. He noted the council’s discussion of possibly locating a new city hall at the half- block at the Parks Blocks, and said if that did not occur, the half-block could be linked to the Parks Block to create a significant downtown space; one that could accommodate the Farmer’s Market. It would be directly across from the Hult Center, a major cultural space, creating a critical mass in a key area of downtown. He asked that staff consider how to integrate that area into a major parks and recreation open space, consider the balance between hardscapes and softscapes, and how events and activities could be coordinated. Mayor Piercy liked Mr. Pryor’s idea because the other great streets all went east -west, and the concept he described could create a break or center. Mr. Papé endorsed the need for additional garbage cans in the downtown. Mr. Papé asked Mr. Macy to comment on the idea of installing angled parking on one side of the street versus parallel parking on both sides of the street. Mr. Macy thought angled parking a very effective th approach in some circumstances. For example, the City might decide to install a wider sidewalk on 8 Avenue as a Great Street, and that could be done while maintaining a good inventory of parking using diagonal parking on one side of the street. He described how Portland retained parking near the Park Blocks in Portland using diagonal parking while keeping the area visually clean and safer by reducing the sense of isolation created by automobile parking. Another idea was to get rid of the existing couplet system and install two-way streets, which created more parking opportunities and a safer pedestrian environment. Mr. Papé asked what made a great plaza. Mr. Macy said that in the United States, such plazas must be programmed. He said he was a member of the board of directors for Pioneer Courthouse Square. The organization had a $2 million budget for programming and hosted an unbelievable amount of activity using corporation sponsorships. Millions of people use the space because it is programmed and managed. He believed that if the City moved forward with the Parks Blocks, for example, it needed to program that space. The more families the City could attract to downtown, the healthier the mix of users would be, and the more attractive and healthy the area would become. He said ensuring ground floor retail and encouraging residents to live near the public space helped to provide eyes on the plaza on a 24-hour basis. Mr. Papé asked who owned the property in front of the Shelton-McMurphey-Johnson House. Ms. Weiss said the property was owned by Ya-Po-Ah Terrace and its acquisition was included in the proposed bond measure. She said that preliminary discussions with Ya-Po-Ah Terrace management had occurred but she did not know if the owner was amenable to selling the property. Responding to a follow-up question from Mr. Papé regarding public access to the area from downtown, Ms. Weiss said that a better connection between Willamette Street and Skinner Butte Park was envisioned in the City’s open space plans, and that would require going over or under the railroad tracks. MINUTES—Eugene City Council October 25, 2006 Page 2 Work Session