CC Minutes - 09/12/01 Work Session

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Drive. The commission had emphasized the importance of BRT to west Eugene transit, whether the West Eugene Parkway was built or not. Mr. Gaydos thanked the council for its support of BRT. He looked forward to the process narrowing the routes and giving LTD more direction. He hoped the process could proceed more quickly in the future. Mayor Torrey called for council comments and questions. Mr. Kelly said that priority routes were those that would show success, address fundamental design issues such as dedicated busways, and minimize public opposition. He hoped the council would take action that day to demonstrate its commitment to BRT. Mr. Kelly wanted to eliminate the West 11th/13th route at this point and retain the other routes. He preferred the West 6th/7th/Highway 99 as the first priority, saying it was under served by transit, was a high-growth area, would allow the community to work with the Oregon Department of Transportation on guideways on those streets, and put the system in place to link to River Road. Coburg Road would serve the business area and residential areas to the north. He acknowledged the design challenge created by the current road but thought it could be overcome. Mr. Kelly noted what he termed intense neighborhood opposition to the West 11th/13th route. He said that service to the fairgrounds was over-emphasized in that route as he did not think the location was used heavily on a daily basis, and he believed that the system was supposed to serve heavy daily users. Mr. Meisner, a member of the Bus Rapid Transit Steering Committee, noted his concurrence with Mr. Kelly about the political difficulties of West 11th/13th. He did not believe that the neighbors th th supported West 6 /7 /Highway 99 as an alternative to West 11th/13th; he thought the neighbors had spoken to the concept of using West 6th/7th/Highway 99 as an alternative way to get to the west side. The route would provide opportunities to serve River Road/Santa Clara, Highway 99, and the west side. Mr. Meisner pointed out that the Coburg Road route could link from Harlow Road to Gateway and Pioneer Parkway, a high Springfield priority, providing a loop connection that could be very important. He agreed that the process was one of sequencing routes rather than eliminating them. He agreed with Mr. Kelly's top priorities, saying he would make West 11th/13th a distant third priority. Ms. Bettman agreed with the priorities voiced by Mr. Kelly. She perceived that BRT along the West 11th/13th would be a commuter route that did not serve the immediate neighborhood, and that service would occur through neighborhood feeder routes. She disagreed with LTD's high corridor rating of areas with high residential numbers, saying that it should actually be looking at areas with high employment numbers, and focusing feeder routes on the residential areas. She thought selection of the 6th/7th/Highway 99 route would foster needed public investment in the corridor and spur redevelopment. She suggested the list of criteria include potential for redevelopment, wanted to see information on the City's projection's for future employment in the 6th/7th/Highway 99 area. Ms. Bettman agreed that LTD had overstated the significance of serving the fairgrounds. She felt it was a mistake to go as far south as 13th Avenue, given that TransPlan anticipated intense redevelopment within one-quarter of a mile. MINUTES--Eugene City Council September 12, 2001 Page 8 Work Session