CC Minutes - 01/22/01 Work Session

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Create and Connect Special Places Ms. Nathanson highlighted the following elements of this section of special interest to her: 1) a restored, daylighted millrace; 2) connection of special places, not just streets; 3) green street treatments on more downtown streets; and 4) enhancing downtown alleys. Mr. Kelly endorsed this element of the plan and said he had no disagreements. He agreed with Ms. Nathanson's summary of key points. He did not want to neglect the millrace east of downtown. Mr. Kelly noted the recommendations for two-way streets and angled parking, which he endorsed. Mr. Kelly liked the street car idea suggested by Ms. Bettman, and said it was being tried in smaller communities. He suggested the downtown shuttle starting in fall 2001 could evolve into the street car. Mr. Fart said the council should bear in mind there were some pretty special places already downtown, and the City should do what it can to facilitate Saturday Market and the Farmers Market to ensure they happen. Mr. Meisner agreed with the remarks of other speakers, saying all the key next steps were important to him. He suggested that a streetcar system could start small and grow, and would provide an impetus for other neighborhoods to connect to the system. He was enthusiastic about daylighting the Millrace. Ms. Bettman objected to angled parking as it looked like a parking lot on the street, and to make room for angled parking it was necessary to use part of the right-of-way in some cases. She thought it problematic unless located on an alley or someplace where it did not have the same visual impact. She would object to losing pedestrian travel area. Mayor Torrey advocated for a park-and-ride facility somewhere near downtown. The meeting adjourned at 7:25 p.m. Respectfully submitted, James R. Johnson City Manager (Recorded by Kimberly Young) MINUTES--Eugene City Council January 22, 2001 Page 8 Work Session