Item B: River Avenue Improvements

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Ms. Damron observed that the River Avenue improvements had been in the planning phase for 20 years. She opined that ODOT plans would be better known in a year and the project could wait one more year. She also pointed out that the River Road and Santa Clara communities were in the process of a transition group, the outcome of which was not yet known. She preferred to stop micro-managing the engineering department and suggested the group discuss the four options and see if it had a general position to take. In all options, Ms. Damron wanted the trees that had been removed to be replaced with native trees. Ms. Damron elaborated on the third option, explaining that the RRCO felt natural swales were part of the character of the neighborhood. She averred that the water quality going into the river was of concern and that natural swales were the best filters for stormwater. Mr. Meeker asked if it was possible to collect drainage at the curbs and pipe it to swales. Ms. Cahill replied that it was possible. She noted that the water quality option in the original design was structural. Mr. Hill thought natural swales would ultimately be mandated by the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) because it made sense to purify water before dumping it into the waterway. Mr. Hoobyar surn1ised that there seemed to be agreement on the stOrnlwater quality to the river. Ms. Rojas asked if the group could get a sense of whether people would choose to wait until more information on ODOT plans was available to make the road improvements. Mr. Samer suggested that another question would be how many people thought that option was available at all. Mr. Spain remarked that if the group waited for ODOT, it would have to have a cut-off date. He pointed out that whatever was decided on the road design would require lead time to put into motion. Ms. Cahill added that it would take at least six months lead time. Mr. Spain felt that choosing to do nothing while waiting for ODOT to provide more information regarding its plans for Beltline Highway might mean waiting forever. Ms. Damron said Mr. Boyatt had thought more would be known by December, 2006. She agreed that including a sunset date was important. She expressed concern about the expense of engineering work. She averred that having a more precise idea of what the needs ofthe road would be was prudent. Mr. Samer likened this to Waitingfor Godor by Samuel Beckett. He stressed that the group could not afford to maintain the present unsafe conditions. He supported the property owners' proposal and opposed \vaiting. Mr. Meeker asserted that that the property owners proposal covered every basic point and addressed the needs of all involved, He noted that there had been a three-car accident at the intersection of River Road and River Avenue on the previous day. He felt building the road at three lanes for the whole length of the road would help mitigate traffic hazards. MINUTES-River A venue Stakeholder Group - Public \Vorks Department October 5, ZOOS Page 5