CC Minutes - 04/10/00 Work Session

Home Browse Search

firm's review indicated that at this point there were not a sufficient number of sufficiently congested corridors in the community to warrant the implementation of congestion pricing. Mr. Lee wondered at what point the community "drew the line," and implemented congestion pricing to prevent congestion. Mr. Schwetz said that the consultant or staff were not suggesting that the City should wait until congestion was bad to implement congestion pricing, but that congestion was an indicator of demand. The community could begin looking at the strategy in its planning cycles and determine where congestion pricing might have an effect in the future. The council moved on to discussion of TDM Policy 3, Implement TDM strategies to manage demand at congested locations. Mr. Schwetz noted the receipt of comments calling for the promotion of alternative modes to reduce demand on the system and reduced use of the automobile. Staff had analyzed the suitability of TDM strategies in selected congested areas, and determined that the more mandatory a strategy, the more effective. Voluntary TDM can also have an effect on congestion, with the benefit of postponing the need for expensive capital projects, and creating situations where other TDM strategies can be more effective. Mr. Kelly said that the policy was not objectionable but it had no teeth. He suggested that it could be given teeth by benchmarks that might trigger the implementation of mandatory TDM and by funding. He had been surprised by the number of programs already operated by Lane Transit District (LTD) of which he and most residents were unaware. Mr. Kelly said those programs should be marketed to employers and to residents. Noting that most TDM efforts were financed through the State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) process, Mr. Kelly called for a policy that stated the adopting jurisdictions would work through the Metropolitan Policy Committee (MPC) to increase TDM funding at the State level. He acknowledged that the MPC would be required to move TDM ahead of some of the traditional road construction projects now included in the STIP. Ms. Nathanson noted that the list of congested areas studied by staff in connection with the application of TDM strategies were specific locations, with the exception of West 18th Avenue. She questioned whether a specific segment of the road was studied. Ms. Nathanson said that the area was less served by public transit than other areas, and next year the situation would worsen because routes were being deleted. It was difficult for those who live in the hills south of 18th Avenue to commute using alternate modes. She was unsure what TDM could do to address the fact that in some places, people had fewer choices than in other areas. Ms. Childs responded that the problems residents faced in terms of mode choice were not necessarily the same communitywide, and the solutions to address them were not the same. She noted that LTD planned to institute shuttle service into the neighborhoods in conjunction with Bus Rapid Transit, which she termed a different kind of service. While service along West 18th Avenue itself may not improve, service through the neighborhoods getting residents to the locations where transit was provided may improve. Mr. Schwetz added that analysis of West 18th Avenue involved the segment between Pearl and Polk streets, and the analysis indicated that much of the rider ship demand was created by residents coming from the hills south of the road. Mr. Meisner concurred with Mr. Kelly's remarks regarding the prioritization of TDM through the STIP. He said the staff response to testimony regarding Policy 3 needed to be read in the context of the related responses to Policy 1. He emphasized that the council did not elect to preclude mandatory TDM, and he read Policy 3 in the context of that decision. Mr. Meisner hoped staff would provide progress reports on how the other adopting jurisdictions were treating the issue. MINUTES--Eugene City Council April 10, 2000 Page 4 Work Session