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<br />Exhibit A <br />Findings for <br />Administrative Order No. 58-99-05 <br />of the <br />Traffic Engineer of the City of Eugene, Oregon <br /> <br />Stewart Road Closure west of Bailey Hill Road <br /> <br />Background <br /> <br />Residents living along the eastern portion of Stewart Road have made numerous requests to the City, <br />dating back to 1973, regarding traffic and the road's condition. Their concerns are that the volume, <br />type, and speed of traffic, along with the extremely poor condition of the roadway, pose a safety <br />hazard and detract from the quality of life they feel their residential area should enjoy. <br /> <br />Part of the problem is that the residential area is adjacent to an industrial area. This issue has arisen <br />in other parts of Eugene, most notably in the Whiteaker Neighborhood, in the vicinity of ~ Avenue <br />and Almaden Street. The City's solution in that instance was to separate the industrial and <br />residential areas by installing a diagonal diverter across the intersection. Although controversial, <br />this was a success, in part due to the existence of other streets which provided convenient access to <br />the industrial area. A similar solution is not possible on Stewart Road, due to the lack of intersecting <br />streets. A full street closure is the only way to separate the land uses. <br /> <br />Recent efforts to control traffic on Stewart Road include lowering the Speed 40 zone in the <br />residential area to a Speed 25 zone (February 1994) and prohibiting through truck movements and <br />establishing weight limit restrictions on the eastern section of Stewart Road (May 1996). These <br />efforts did not alleviate the problem. This lack of success led the Transportation Division to <br />consider a street closure. An Origin and Destination study was conducted in April 1996 to identify <br />the amount of through traffic using Stewart Road and where that traffic comes from and goes to. <br />Based on the study's results, traffic volume counts, and citizen support, the Transportation Division <br />initiated a street closure. After consideration of the criteria at section 5.055 of the Eugene Code <br />("EC"), the closure was installed by Administrative Order 58-98-17 on October 28, 1998. Order 58- <br />98-17 was appealed by owners of two businesses on the western portion of Stewart Road. The <br />Order was repealed by the Hearings Official on January 26, 1999. <br /> <br />In his review of Administrative Order No. 58-98-17 (the Traffic Engineer's initial Order <br />closing Stewart Road), the Eugene Hearings Official rejected the City's approach which asked the <br />question, "Do the criteria listed in section 5.055 tell us that Stewart Road should be closed?" The <br />Hearings Official held that the question for consideration should have been "What do each of the <br />criteria listed in section 5.055 tell us should be done with regard to the problems existing on Stewart <br />Road?" The City Attorney's office issued a legal opinion dated February 23, 1999 which found that <br />the question posed by the City was, in fact, the proper question. The City Attorney did not agree <br />with the Hearings Official. Based on staffs understanding of the language at EC section 5.055 and <br />on the City Attorney's opinion (attached), the analysis of the criteria at EC section 5.055 for <br />Administrative Order No. 58-99-05 is based on the question of "whether the criteria indicate that <br />Stewart Road should be closed." <br />