Item B: River Avenue Improvements

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. Operational improvements to the River Road/River Avenue intersection as suggested by City engineering stqff; · A separated bikelped path on the south side of River Avenue, connecting to the Santa Clara neighborhood beneath Be/tUne Highway on the east end of the (River Avenue) improvement project. NOTE: A number of representatives thought coordinating these projects along with improvements to River A venue would expedite addressing safety and traffic flow concerns in the River Road/River Avenue area in a more systemic fashion. The two recommendations from the River Road Community Organization for coordinating work on the west and east ends of River Avenue were agreed to with the understanding that coordinating the timing of these projects with the River A venue road improvements would have no financial impact on the costs of the stakeholder-approved River A venue improvement proposal. Finally, tree plantings are assumed to adhere to current City policy with respect to use of native species. After the group reached its decision on the above motion, some members of the stakeholder group voiced concern that the re-design costs associated \vith the approved road improvement design could add to the overall cost of the River Avenue project. In conversations with staff, redesign costs between April, 2005 and the point at which a future Local Improvement District is formed will not be added to the assessments of the property owners. Finally, the RASG supported having one or two representatives from the stakeholder group attend City Council's work session on November 28th when staff reports to Council about the River Avenue improvement stakeholder process and outcomes. RASG representatives want an opportunity to present their perspective(s) with staff during the presentation of the process and the design alternative from the RASG to Council. Conclusion While the stakeholder representatives held widely differing views regarding what should (or should not) be done to improve River Avenue, in the end, the decision reached by the RASG at the October 5th meeting indicates a strong level of agreement to address the safety concerns, aesthetics, storm water management and bike and pedestrian traffic needs of River Avenue and the community. As one stakeholder noted late in the third meeting, ".. ,no one is getting everything they wanted in this plan," yet the fact that the group of representatives did agree on the above design approach is significant. The group is now hopeful that City Council will take their agreed-upon road improvement proposal under strong advisement and use it to inform its final decisions for improvements to River Avenue. Final Note: The River Road Community Organization sent an email on October 31st stating that their concerns have not been adequately addressed, and that they intend to rescind their two "yes" votes and file a minority report. While this turn of events is unusual, at a minimum, the agreed-upon decision-making process of the stakeholder group, with a two-thirds super-majority vote, still stands.