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of public process around the decision. He felt there could be a developer “waiting in the wings.” He did not believe that renters’ protections were working. He wondered if the media would tackle the issue. Mr. Vishanoff opined that the City Council workshop on the City Hall complex should have been televised. He thought the City should have a “long talk about whether there’s a need to replace City Hall.” He suggested money that was set aside for the project could be spent on road repairs. Carl E. Sundberg , 3318 Coraly Avenue, said he lived in a diverse neighborhood and loved living there. He stated that the park was five houses away. He wanted to be able to ride his electric scooter on the bicycle path. He explained that he was a heart patient and could not ride a bicycle. He enjoyed riding his scooter to get to places. He thought the ordinance preventing the use of vehicles of this sort had not been thoroughly investigated and suggested a committee be formed to review it and recommend a change. He wanted to involve a variety of stakeholders in order to come up with something that would work for everyone. Tom Slocum , 1950 Graham Drive, observed that a good number of elected officials expressed displeasure with Ballot Measure 37 because of impacts it could have on the State. He hoped that councilors would have the same position regarding the West Eugene Parkway (WEP). He said the City spent “hundreds of thousands of dollars” to make it happen and it was time to move forward. He urged the council to do so. th He noted that West 11 Avenue had been particularly congested over the summer because Fern Ridge Dam was being repaired and the road along the dam had been closed. He underscored that the people of Veneta and Florence wanted the WEP and all of the land use planning in the west side of Eugene had been predicated on the WEP. Larry Reed , 4765 Village Plaza Loop, with JRH Transportation Engineering, stated that since the 1960s, urban areas throughout the United States were required to have transportation plans to help ensure that federal and State funds were consistent with regional transportation plans and goals. He said according to the Urban Land Institute (ULI) studies, traffic congestion problems were not caused by a failure to plan, but by a failure of local government to deliver results and build the planned roadways. He thought the history of the WEP illustrated this. He outlined the history of the WEP over 45 years. He averred that “no-build advocates” wanted to convince the council and the news media that the WEP was a poor investment because it only generated an increase of traffic. He called this argument false. He suggested one way of looking at it would be think of it as a school. Mr. Reed asked if one would suggest that building a new school would only bring in more students. He asserted that new roadways, like schools and libraries, did get used. He called this a “good thing.” He declared that a roadway’s usage documented its success at providing shorter routes, dispersing traffic, and diverting traffic from other streets. He related that the ULI conclusion was based on a number of studies, studies that found the roadways construction such as the WEP and mass transit improvement like the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) would lessen the amount of traffic congestion. He asserted that the construction of the WEP would actually reduce congestion by reducing miles traveled and would improve air quality by lessening the time that cars would idle at stoplights. He averred that the Eugene City Council’s continued support of the WEP as a regional policy was expected by the citizens of Eugene. nd Jana Jackson , 1012 East 22 Avenue, spoke in opposition to the City Charter Amendment before the voters in November. She did not believe it appropriate for the City Council to be hiring an external auditor. She averred that the position would be hired whether the amendment passed or failed. She asked the City Manager and the Mayor and council to include all citizen complaints about all City departments in the review. She felt the citizens of Eugene wanted accountability and wanted a place to go to raise complaints MINUTES—Eugene City Council October 24, 2005 Page 2 Regular Session