CC Minutes - 04/13/09 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

residents. Sue Wolling , 825 Washington Street, #2, spoke in support of the “Idaho stop law.” She hoped that, in the future, the City would hear from citizens before taking a stand on such a law. She felt that a lot of bicyclists had “felt betrayed” by the City’s stand on the issue. She averred that she was not a “crook,” but she did roll through stop signs. She opined that a moving bicycle was easy to maneuver, but once it stopped it became much more difficult to initiate momentum and maneuver it. She could see whether a motorist was at the intersection and it did not make sense to her to stop if there was no oncoming traffic. She asserted that Idaho had not experienced an increase in collisions or injuries. She considered the notion that the law would antagonize motorists to be erroneous. She noted that Eugene was committed to building more “bike boulevards.” She thought this would not happen for a long time, given the current economy. She suggested that the lesser-traveled residential streets would be ideal for bicyclists, if the bicyclists did not have to stop for each and every stop sign. She asked the City to reconsider the position it had adopted on HB 2690. Shane Rhodes , 1920 Garfield Street, said he was a member of the Bicycle/Pedestrian Advisory Committee (BPAC) and was also the Safe Routes to School Program Manager for the School District 4J. He encouraged the City Council to support HB 2690. He believed the bill would help encourage bicycling in Eugene. He averred that people would prefer to avoid large streets with heavy auto traffic when biking, but most quiet residential streets had stop signs at every intersection to calm automobile traffic. He felt that bicyclists trying to avoid the busy streets were “practically forced” to disregard the current law or to be “completely inefficient” in their transportation from “point ‘a’ to point ‘b’.” He averred that a better system was needed and HB 2690 would encourage this and would result in an increase in the use of bicycles. He declared that the law had been working in Idaho since 1982. He believed the law would still outlaw bad behavior and would legalize “already safe and practical behavior.” He noted that he taught bicycle safety education to both adults and children. He opined that the law would increase safety. He asserted that the BPAC had been formed to give advice to the City on issues affecting bicyclists and lamented that it had not been consulted prior to the City adopting its oppositional stance to HB 2690. He concluded by offering his endorsement for the proposed Washington/Jefferson Skate Park. Paul Adkins , 180 North Polk Street, Ward 7, stated that he was the father of four children and the president of the Greater Eugene Area Riders (GEAR). He stated that GEAR supported HB 2690 because it believed the law would increase ridership and decrease animosity between car drivers and bicycle riders. He averred that bicycles were unique due to size, agility, slower speeds, and vulnerability and should not have the same rules as motorized vehicles. He opined that it was safe to roll through a stop sign when no motorized vehicles were coming. He related that he taught parents and children that rode bicycles in Eugene. He echoed the sentiment that the process should have included better public involvement. He asked the council to ask staff to reconsider its opposition to HB 2690. He declared that the laws should help people choose human-powered transportation. Lee White , 2260 Lincoln Street, stated that he was a businessman and a member of the Eugene Rotary. He said, as a member of the Rotary’s Subcommittee on Community Service, he wanted to convey the Rotary’s endorsement of Resolution 4968, which would direct staff to apply for grant funding to build a covered skate park. He said the Rotary looked upon the project as a fulfillment of its “third avenue of service” to the City of Eugene and wanted to make the project, a covered “destination skate park,” a success. th Howard Bonnett , 1835 East 28 Avenue, Ward 3, wanted to address the “Idaho stop” bill and carbon dioxide emissions. He remarked that he would likely make his trip to the Council Chamber and back “on a serving of mashed potatoes.” He said people who choose to drive would leave approximately five to ten pounds of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. He averred that transportation accounted for 50 percent of the carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere. He noted that the City had adopted a goal to reduce such MINUTES—Eugene City Council April 13, 2009 Page 3 Regular Meeting