CC Minutes - 04/10/00 Work Session

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Regarding the five study areas, Mr. Meisner said they were identified as corridors but he was not sure that was accurate in all cases; for example, he said, Gateway was a problem because it was approached by corridors in every direction that had created traffic chaos. He emphasized the need to do something to address the problems at Gateway, adding that an expensive capital project was not the solution he had in mind. Mr. Meisner liked the Oregon Department of Transportation's programming for TDM and said that they were great ideas but just a beginning. He said that educational efforts should include educating the public about the costs of private driving. He also wanted to do more to provide information about alternative nodes to users of the Amtrak station, and advocated for broadening that effort to the airport. Mr. Rayor suggested that capacity-enhancing projects could be supplanted if sufficient infrastructure, such as in the form of park and rides lots, was created. He suggested one could be located at the end of West 18th Avenue. He asked if any of the LTD park and ride projects were in the STIP. Mr. Schwetz said yes. All the projects programmed locally became part of that document. Regarding the possibility of another park and ride location along West 18th Avenue, Mr. Schwetz said a park and ride system was part of the planned improvements. Mr. Rayor asked if the community could put a higher priority on such projects and displace a capacity enhancing project. Mr. Schwetz said that theoretically, some of the funding for capacity could be diverted to park and rides, but in many cases State funding was tied to the road right-of-way. Mr. Pap~ expressed surprise that LTD had not taken more of a lead in TDM as part of TransPlan. He suggested that better and more convenient service was key to getting people out of their automobiles. Ms. Childs said that LTD staff would be present during the upcoming discussion of transit to discuss LTD's TDM efforts. She said that there was considerable overlap between TDM and transit, and those transit-specific TDM approaches were focused in the transit issue area. Mr. Schwetz said that it was because LTD took the initiative it did that the community had the program and funding resources it had. Funding had doubled for TDM because of LTD's efforts. He concurred with Mr. Kelly that the community needed to do a better job in advertising the TDM programs that existed now. Mr. Pap~ asked which of the five study corridors were the most problematic in terms of future congestion. Mr. Schwetz explained staff used "corridor" to refer to a congested link in the system; hence, the examination of Beltline Bridge extended back to the intersection of Beltline and River Road. He added that both the River Road and Gateway areas seemed to be the links that would benefit most from TDM, and LTD was pursuing a TDM project in the Gateway area. Ms. Taylor said that people should be made aware they can take the bus to the train station and avoid long-term parking charges. Ms. Taylor suggested that additional park and ride facilities would be more valuable in small outlying communities than in Eugene. Ms. Taylor favored incentives over mandates. She said that if the community had safe bicycle parking and safe bicycle lanes, it would be an incentive for people to use their bicycles. Mayor Torrey said that Eugene did not have a rush hour, but rather a "congestion moment." In terms of education, he pointed out that the emphasis on recycling had happened from the grade school up, and proposed that the council should send a letter to all the people who scheduled MINUTES--Eugene City Council April 10, 2000 Page 5 Work Session