CC Minutes - 10/20/99 JEO - Laserfiche WebLink

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John Saemann, 1775 Atkins Road, Eugene, stated improving transportation choices is something that everyone wants, but there is disagreement on how to get there. He commented that more cars and gridlock hurts economic life. He said suburbanizing farm land has not prevented increasing traffic tie- ups, accidents and frustration, and will not do so in the future. He suggested to make things less convenient and provide the best alternatives, including frequent electric buses or modern trolley cars. He added he endorses the Friends of Eugene program. Steve Miller, 1034 Lawrence Street, Eugene, noted that soon everyone will have cheap fiber optic cable service available and high speed Internet access. He said the use of the Internet for work, shopping, and entertainment will skyrocket. He said there will be increasing gridlock on the highways without expensive road building. He added there will be faster and cheaper electronic access for goods and services and it does not make sense to continue to expand the economy of the automobile in the information age. He added TransPlan is trying to solve the wrong problem, the real problem is the faith that by building more roads there will be more mobility and a better future. He urged the officials to put together a sensible TransPlan that makes life better for people, not cars and trucks. Becky Riley, 202 Hawthorne Road, Eugene, stated she was testifying on behalf of the nine members of the Friends of Rasor Park Steering Committee. She said they have concerns about the TransPlan, but are asking to take the Valley River Bridge off the project list and to send the whole document back to planners, with the request that they work closer with community groups, including Friends of Eugene. to redraft and strengthen it. She noted that Rasor Park is the only remaining piece of publicly owned open space of its size in the River Road area and is critical to the livability of the neighborhood. Charles Biggs, 2405 Willakenzie Road, #1, Eugene, said there is an erosion of the livability from the major wide collector streets into the area he lives in, and all the traffic volume and noise associated with it. He said the nodal concept as of yet has little appeal and will not alleviate the TransPlan obstacles. He said nodal living should be encouraged and rewarded by financial funding, priority for capital improvement projects, and totally subsidized LTD passes. He said there should be bicycle, pedestrian, and road improvements. Misha Dunlop, 358 West 4th Avenue, Eugene, said she is a member of the Eugene business community and has a downtown business that employs 20 people. She said she is in favor of revising TransPlan to place more money and emphasis on alternative transportation. She noted her business has been delivering its wholesale products by bicycle on a daily basis since 1997. She added that driving is an addiction and TransPlan and its proponents are like pushers. She asked the officials not to subsidize the addiction and to revise the TransPlan. Todd Blevins, 2476 Portland Street, Eugene, stated he supported the Friends of Eugene plan to revise the TransPlan. He suggested to look to Europe for how to run trains. He added Eugene can do better than TransPlan. Page 4 -- Continued Joint Elected Officials' Meeting -- October 20, 1999 WP bc/m/99136/T