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1, 2004, between 4:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. at the Eugene Chamber of Commerce to address citizen concerns and interest about the overlay project and two-way conversion. He recommended that the 13th Avenue to 20th Avenue conversion be retained in the CATS implementation strategies, with the 18th Avenue to 20th Avenue conversion deferred to a future study that comprehensively considered north/south arterial circulation through town. He said that such a study would require additional funding. Mr. Henry said that significant testimony was also received about the 6th Avenue realignment related to the federal courthouse and assertions were made that the realignment was within the Willamette River greenway, which was not the case. He said the realignment was south of the railroad tracks and the CATS document was consistent with other policy direction received through the Courthouse District Concept Plan, the Eugene Capital Improvement Program, the Metropolitan Transportation Improvement Program, and the Statewide Transportation Improvement Program. He said that concern was also expressed about how access management might affect the character of downtown and stated that as the City went through the administrative rule process, the application of access management strategies would be different in the downtown core area than on other arterial streets. Mr. Meisner observed that the council had recently met with the Lane Transit District Board of Directors, and he was subsequently informed that the new Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) vehicles would not operate with a guideway system as had always been planned for BRT. He said this would require wider lanes for BRT and asked for a written response and analysis on what the impact of wider BRT lanes would be in CATS. Mr. Henry replied that the wider lane widths in an unguided system were within the standard lane widths the City used on its streets. Mr. Kelly said he shared Mr. Meisner's concern about wider BRT lanes and it could raise questions about the council's support for BRT. He said it did not appear that the Planning Commission's recommended changes were included in the document. Mr. Henry said that the commission's changes were provided as attachments. Mr. Kelly asked that they be incorporated in the final document for adoption. Mr. Kelly stated that the CATS document should contain an explicit statement that further study was required before two-way conversion of Willamette Street between 18th Avenue and 20th Avenue was considered. Mr. Henry said that such a statement could be included. Continuing, Mr. Kelly asked that staff propose amendment language that would acknowledge the fact that a trolley study was an important aspect of moving forward, consistent with language in the Downtown Plan. Mr. Henry said the Planning Commission did not recommend inclusion of such language and if it was added to the document, such a study would need to be funded. Mr. Pap~ said it was his understanding that a factor in the conversion of Willamette Street to two-way operation was the new Fire Station No. 1 at 13th Avenue and Willamette Street. He asked if there were other reasons for the conversion and what would happen to Oak Street. Mr. Henry replied that Oak Street was northbound, as would be the additional capacity on Willamette Street, and staff expected that some Oak Street traffic would divert to Willamette Street. He said there was no plan to change the one-way operations of either Oak Street or Pearl Street. Mr. Pap6 commented that there should be other ways to achieve northbound access for fire vehicles and he did not see the need for the conversion to two-way of any part of Willamette Street. He suggested that alternatives to disturbing the neighborhood, such as Oak Street, should be explored. Mr. Henry said realignment between ! 8th Avenue and 20th Avenue could be part of a broader transportation study of MINUTES--Eugene City Council March 8, 2004 Page 8 Work Session