Admin Order 58-99-05 - Laserfiche WebLink

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(j) Emergencies. . Emergency vehicle service could be affected by the closure, but Police and Fire department personnel have reviewed and approved the closure design, which provides for emergency vehicle access. (k) The public health, safety, and welfare. . The public health won't be affected by this project. . Safety is a relevant criterion for considering the closure of Stewart Road. The extremely deteriorated condition of the road as discussed earlier creates a situation where individual drivers have an increased likelihood of swerving to try to avoid the worst potholes, or losing partial control of the vehicle due to the impact on steering and suspension systems when potholes are hit. This situation is more likely to lead to collisions with other vehicles if the roadway is kept open to all traffic, due to the higher traffic volumes and speeds. Also, the higher volumes that are present with the street open to through traffic mean that a single vehicle is more likely to be involved in a damaging incident to the vehicle and potentially to the driver. . Public welfare is affected by the decision of whether to close the street to through traffic. In addition to the safety concerns discussed above, motorists should be able to have reasonable expectations as to their ability to traverse a city street in a prudent and normal fashion, adjusting their speed and expectations for particular conditions but not having to slow to 10 miles per hour, for example, to negotiate the extremely rough conditions posed by Stewart Road. The surface conditions on the eastern portion of Stewart Road are highly unusual if not unique among city streets in Eugene, given the mix of land use and types of traffic using the road, the pre-closure traffic volumes which are substantially higher than volume on a typical local street used for local access only, and the very poor condition of the surface and practical inability of the City to reasonable maintain the surface in decent condition. Closing the road to all but local traffic means that the only people using Stewart Road are those who need to travel to or from their particular destination of a home or business, and are therefore used to the specific roadway surface conditions and can adjust their expectations and driving behavior accordingly. Another aspect of public welfare is the livability perceived by the residents along the eastern portion of the street. The dust, noise and other negative aspects of the pre-closure situation constitute a condition that the residents have reasonably asked the City to ameliorate if at all possible. The temporary closure during the past four months has proven to be a reasonable response, given the lack of serious negative impacts and the positive feedback from the residents. Administrative Order 58-99-05, Findings