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Mr. Fart said that people do drive in the bicycle paths to avoid the chicanes. He was concerned that, under the <br />auspices of safety, the City was making it more hazardous for citizens to ride a bicycle. Mr. Lyle said the City <br />struggled with the issue all the time; it was trying to manage traffic at the "front end" while improving the <br />street, but the reality was the City was trying to include bicycle lanes in its road facilities, and in the absence of <br />an absolute barrier, people would try to cut comers. <br /> <br />Mr. Farr said that as a parent, he would prefer his children ride on a straight bicycle path rather than a path <br />along a chicane. <br /> <br />Mayor Torrey said he hoped a councilor would make a motion to amend the staff recommendation by deleting <br />the chicanes for the reasons mentioned by Mr. Farr. He said children develop a level of confidence riding on <br />bicycle paths and would not be concerned about what was coming behind them. <br /> <br />Mayor Torrey asked if staff met with the owners of the golf course to discuss the project. Mr. Lyle said yes, as <br />well as with many other private property owners in the area <br /> <br />Ms. Bettman said she would like to hold a public hearing on the design and hear from the public about its <br />concerns. <br /> <br />Ms. Bettman believed that the council would have more such discussions as the City tried to accommodate <br />alternate modes and traffic calming in its road designs. She said that in the absence of visual clues not to, <br />people go faster, and the slight curves included in the design intended to slow traffic could pose a greater risk <br />when people drive into the bicycle lanes at high speeds. Ms. Bettman thought the concerns raised by Mr. Farr <br />were legitimate. She asked if all efforts to build an off-street bicycle path had been exhausted, and suggested <br />that the City could acquire additional right-of-way in the areas identified as the most dangerous, and perhaps <br />the businesses not being assessed would be willing to donate money for the path. She asked staff to explore <br />that possibility. <br /> <br />Responding to a question from Ms. Bettman, Mr. Lyle confirmed that the stormwater on the County side of <br />the road would run off onto the County side of the road. <br /> <br />Mr. Kelly said an off-street bicycle path, if only in the area of the chicane, might be preferable. However, he <br />believed there was a tradeoff. As a motorist, he saw motorists "straightening the roadway," but only if the <br />bicycle path was unoccupied. If the chicane was not installed, there would definitely be higher speeds, <br />contributing to overall safety problems. He said there was no ideal solution, but thought an attempt to reduce <br />the overall speed the best approach. <br /> <br />Mr. Kelly referred to the traditional order of the planting strip, bicycle path, sidewalk, and traffic lane, and <br />suggested that the curb could be located on the street side of the bicycle lane, and the bicycle lane raised to the <br />same elevation as the sidewalk and planting strip. David Reinhard of the Public Works Department said that <br />such paths could be accommodated on a street with few driveways or curb cuts. However, such paths on <br />streets with many curbcuts and driveways created problems in terms of motorists' expectation of how <br />bicyclists using the path would behave. He said that staff could explore that possibility for the improvement in <br />question. <br /> <br />Ms. Nathanson questioned the purpose of a public hearing, asking if the City was committed to the design or <br />would use the hearing to make adjustments to the design. Mr. Lyle anticipated that the hearing would be on <br /> <br /> MINUTES--Eugene City Council March 5, 2001 Page 6 <br /> Work Session <br /> <br /> <br />