Admin Order 58-21-15 -- Modifying Traffic Diverter (Fairway Loop)

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Attachment to Exhibit A - Administrative Order No. 58-21-15 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Exhibit A Findings for Administrative Order No. 58‐00‐06 of the Traffic Engineer of the City of Eugene, Oregon Closure of Fairway Loop south of Eastwood Lane Background As late as the 1950's and 1960's, Coburg Road and the Ferry Street bridge served as a link from downtown Eugene to the town of Coburg to the north. Coburg Road has passed through a sparsely populated area of Lane County located between the Willamette and McKenzie Rivers that has since become known as the 'Willakenzie' or 'Ferry Street Bridge' area. In the mid 1960's the Willakenzie area began to experience a period of development and growth which coincided with the construction of Interstate 105 which occurred in 1966-68. Initially constructed as the intersection of an interstate highway and relatively rural roadways, the intersections of 1-105 and Coburg and Country Club Roads were designed to function under an entirely different set of circumstances than what exists today. The eastbound to northbound movement from 1-105 to Coburg Road was intended to leave 1-105, pass under the north end of the Ferry Street bridge structure and access Coburg Road at what is now the intersection of Coburg and Centennial. Many motorists have found this movement to be difficult and inconvenient and have chosen to access the Willakenzie area via Southwood and Fairway Loop to Eastwood, Westwood, or Fairoaks Drive. This cut-through pattern by as many as 3,000 vehicles per day has led to numerous complaints from residents of the area and repeated requests for the city Transportation Division to solve the problem. The city made an attempt to address the situation in 1977 with the unsuccessful installation of a test full traffic diverter. A compromise solution, one-way half-diverter, was eventually reached that failed to address the crux of the problem, but reduced the cut-through to northbound only. The city's response has consistently been that the short-term options have been limited and a long-term solution must be incorporated into the Ferry Street bridge project. The development of the final design for the Ferry Street bridge and associated revisions to the street network of the area produced a new roadway (Cedarwood) between 1-105 and the Honda/Acura auto dealership which provides direct access to northbound Coburg Road for eastbound motorists exiting 1-105 or traveling southbound on Country Club Road. This new route provides a positive alternative for the traffic that has been cutting through the neighborhood and enables the City to pursue the planned closure of Fairway Loop.