Item B: River Avenue Improvements

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River Avenue Stakeholders Minority Report Received 11/17/05 Yet, staff made it clear that certain options, such as a simple overlay, were "off the table". The majority opinion at well attended community meetings was to maintain the road with an overlay, create pedestrian/bicycle improvements up to the Post Office and a connector to the riverbank trail system. replant trees and wait for ODOT before making design decisions about the east end of the street. As the process moved from community meetings to the stakeholders group some had heard the engineering staffs presentation several times and were frustrated that so much stakeholder group time was spent listening to lengthy presentations from staff. In truth the six hours of scheduled stakeholders meeting time was simply inadequate to cover the material. A few of the property owners made comment that this process shouldn't require so much time, that they could get together and quickly make the necessary decisions. In the end a few stakeholders did just that, presenting their design recommendations as the final meeting was running short on time. Not surprisingly the process degraded quickly with no time left and no agreements. Ultimately with the final meeting in overtime some of the stakeholders genuinely supported the final recommendations, while others agreed reluctantly in order to show support for property owners. River Road representatives agreed to a compromise that was not reflected in the final wording. It is a sad statement that in hindsight the apparent unanimous agreement is a reflection of discouragement, resignation and confusion rather than true consensus. The unanimous agreement may be fiction, but it's not too late to choose a good compromise. During the second meeting of the stakeholders group we found general agreement on this simple observation. The land use and transportation needs at the west end of the project closest to the intersection of River Road and River Avenue are different than the east end closest to the Belt Une on ramp. Meantime, ODOT's proposed study of Beltline, and potential closure of the River Ave. ramps at the east end of the street, has been moved up and funding secured for scoping in 2006. With new expansion proposed by Delta Sand and Gravel and development of a major new hospital proposed by Triad that could affect Beltline and local traffic patterns in the area, it seems reasonable to wait to make permanent design decisions about the east end of the street until more is known about these developments. Building on these premises. the property owner's desire to contain costs, safe pedestrian and bicycle access, City engineering staffs concerns for safety and long term road durability, neighborhood concerns for environmental protection and aesthetic appeal we recommend: Plan A Build a fully improved, three lane road extending from an operationally improved intersection with River Road and River Avenue west to the Post Office complete with sidewalks and bike lanes on both sides, a pedestrian crossing River Avenue Stakeholders Minority Report Page 2 of 3