Ordinance No. 19910 - Laserfiche WebLink

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FINDINGS AND RECUNIlV~NDATIONS SUBJECT: SOUND BARRIER WALL ALONG THE SOUTH SIDE OF BELTLINE ROAD, FROM NORWOOD STREET TO GILHAM ROAD (JOB #2433) BACKGRGUND A project to construct a sound barrier wall along the south side of Beltline Road from Norwood Street to Gilliam Road was initiated by a petition from property owners, representing 77% of the effected ownership. Based upon the interest of the property owners for the construction of such a sound barrier, an intergovernmental agreement was reached among the State of Oregon, Lane County and the City of Eugene. The agreement called for the State Highway Division to pay 50%, Lane County 25%, City of Eugene 12.5% and effected property owners 12.5% of the costs of the project. Following a public hearin g regarding the formative of a local improvement district (LID) for the construction of the project, the City Council authorized formation of the LID on December 10, 1990. The project has now been constructed and a public hearing regarding the assessment to property owners was held on January 5,1993. Minutes taken by the Hearings Officer at the public hearing are attached to these Findings and Recommendations as Exhibit "1". As indicated in the Minutes, considerable testimony from property owners was received at the Hearing to the effect that the construction of the sound barrier wall had done little or nothing to reduce the noise from Beltline .Road. At the request of the Hearings Officer, the City Engineer sought follow-up sound studies in order to determine the extent of sound reduction, rather than simply rely an antidotal evidence. The Oregon Department of Transportation conducted such a study which is attached as Exhibit " 2". From Exlu~bit 2's bndings, it appears that some sound reduction was achieved at all locations behind the wall varyuag from SdBA at the west end of the wall to lOdBA at the east end. The Hearings Official also notes that the number of automobiles using Beltline Rooad were noticeably higher in the follow up study, suggesting that the relative noise reduction might even be greater. In other words, it would seem that if traffic along Beltline Road has increased in the three years between the original and follow up studies to the extent indicated in Exlu~it 2, then the properties may have benehitted even more than would seem apparent. However, the Hearings Official was unfamiliar with decibel studies and whether reductions of 5 to 10 decibels were really si~cant. The City Engineer presented the Hearings 4fliclal with Exhl~it "3", attached hereto, which explains the logarithmic nature of the decibel scale. This further suggests that the sound reduction behind the sound barrier wall has been significant. _1_