Item 5: Public Hearing on Ordinance Establishing Chambers Special Area Zone

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STREET ORGANIZATION AND CHARACTER The ETN streets are organized in a grid. Traffic is distributed through the neighborhood more evenly than in a typical suburban development. Though traffic is more dispersed, there is still a variety of street types and traffic levels in the neighborhood. This is pardy due to local discontinuities such as T-intersections, and to variations in street widths, parking arrangements, and destinations. Street closures and traffic calming measures can alter the traffic How in a neighborhood, decreasing it in one area, but possibly increasing it in another. There are always neighborhood issues about preserving the pattern of connected streets versus protecting certain streets from traffic. One consequence of the existing street organization, common to older neighborhoods, is seen in the development history of 11 th east of Chambers. 11 th has evolved over time to become a fast moving, high volume avenue, but the pattern of development retains characteristics of the quieter "interior" streets found between 7th and 11 tho Houses are similar in size and type (though on average slightly larger), they front the street in similar ways, and the public realm of sidewalk, plantings, and front yard is organized in the same way as low volume streets. A primary characteristic of the grid street system is the number of travel options through the neighborhood. This is a basic distinction between traditional neighborhoods and "cul-de-sac" suburban development. This aerial photo fragment from the ETN illustrates the overall "grain" of the neighborhood. This "grain" is a combined function of block size, lot size, street layout, and building size and placement. Filmore Street is a unique street type in the City of Eugene; its character is somewhere between a small street and a wide alley. II