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Mr. Rayor said that the plan did not stress the preservation of the riverfront bicycle path system <br />and he thought it was obvious that emphasis should be stressed. He suggested there was a <br />relationship between that emphasis and the fish-friendly waterfront mentioned by Mr. Farmer. <br /> <br />Ms. Nathanson did not think there was anything in the report that precluded Mr. Rayor's vision <br />regarding preservation of the riverfront from being implemented. She thought the report as <br />submitted by the ad hoc committee was complete, and that the council's work sessions were <br />intended to provide specific direction on the implementation of the recommendations to the staff in <br />subsequent phases. Mr. Farmer said that was the process he would recommend. He said staff <br />was seeking the council's direction on the types of things staff would be working on over the next <br />year, rather than direction on recrafting the report so that every councilor felt they could support <br />every word in it. <br /> <br />Mr. Pap8 thanked the council members of the Ad hoc Committee on Greater Downtown Visioning. <br />He said that he hoped to have both a fish-friendly and fisherman-friendly river. <br /> <br />Mr. Pap8 was glad no boundaries had been established yet as he thought it premature. <br /> <br />Mr. Pap8 said that the bicycle and pedestrian path on the riverfront was a big community <br />attraction, would continue to be so, and should be enhanced. Regarding the proposal to bring the <br />federal courthouse to the Chiquita site, he noted that the Oregon Department of Transportation <br />(ODOT) had sent a letter critical of the committee's vision for Franklin Boulevard. He asked if Mr. <br />Farmer perceived any problems with realizing that vision. Mr. Farmer said no. He said that the <br />City had no chance yet to sit down with ODOT, which had no opportunity to review the traffic <br />analysis done by Eugene. <br /> <br />Mr. Johnson noted that the ODOT letter referred to by Mr. Pap8 contained several inaccuracies; <br />for example, the automobile/pedestrian accident cited by the agency did not happen at the <br />location, the pedestrian involved was extremely intoxicated, and the driver of the involved <br />automobile was not cited for an infraction. <br /> <br />Mr. Pap8 observed that one could get to the river now but few do. He asked if the City could link <br />the Lawrence and High streets to foster the connection to the bicycle paths. Mr. Farmer <br />responded by referring Mr. Pap8 to the diagram on page 12 of the plan, which suggested use of <br />both 5th and 8th avenues as a connector. He said that many use 4th Avenue to reach the river. <br /> <br />Ms. Taylor liked the idea of mapping activities. She wanted to retain the assets now in downtown, <br />such as the Farmers Market. She was concerned about building on the riverfront and wanted an <br />adequate setback to be established. She thought access should mostly be by foot and bicycles <br />rather than by car; she did not want parking lots too near the river. Ms. Taylor also liked the idea <br />of establishing downtown boundaries. She expressed concern that encouraging development in <br />the vacant areas near Franklin Boulevard could contribute to a loss of businesses downtown. <br /> <br />Ms. Taylor referred to media reports of major retail developments proposed for location near <br />Beltline and West 11th Avenue, and said the more the City approved such developments, the less <br />likely it was downtown would thrive. <br /> <br /> MINUTES--Eugene City Council February 21, 2000 Page 5 <br /> Work Session <br /> <br /> <br />