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Mr. Johnson reported on various operational enhancements to the City's leaf program being proposed to <br />improve public safety in the upcoming leaf collection season for cyclists including: 1) maintaining bike <br />lanes during night-shift sweeping operations; 2) the reassignment of a lead maintenance worker to the day <br />shift with a major focus on bike lane maintenance and right-of-way debris management; 3) enhanced <br />prioritization of leaf collection efforts based on input from local bicycle riders/groups; 4) the development <br />of a "leaf season priority bike lane map" designed to identify main corridors on which to concentrate leaf <br />collection efforts; 5) the purchase of an additional leaf vacuum to help concentrate collection efforts on <br />priority routes; 6) increased community outreach efforts designed to help educate the public about the <br />dangers of piling leaves into bike lanes; and 7) improved strategies for allowing members of the public to <br />report bike lanes obstructed by leaves; and 8) the creation of a website to inform citizens of leaf collection <br />along selected bike routes. <br />Mr. Johnson summarized that the leaf collection program satisfied a number of the City's goals and policies <br />including its Sustainability Initiative, the Eugene Pedestrian and Bicycle Strategic Plan, and the NPDES <br />permit commitment to conduct annual curbside leaf pickup on all City streets. <br />Ms. Piercy thanked Mr. Johnson for the staff presentation regarding the leaf collection program and felt <br />that the program satisfied the City's clearly stated community goal to pick up leaves and keep bicycle lanes <br />clear. She appreciated that the community goal was positively stated to indicate the City's strong <br />commitment to keeping the streets clear and safe for all users. <br />Mr. Johnson noted that City staff was looking forward to continuing community education and public <br />outreach efforts to keep people abreast of the City's strategies to make annual leaf collection as safe and <br />efficient as possible. <br />Ms. Piercy commented she liked the various strategies and enhancements being used by staff to update the <br />public on leaf collection efforts in real-time and believed those strategies would enable users to plan their <br />trips easily. Mr. Johnson responded that the website used to update the public on the specific leaf <br />collection routes would use the automatic vehicle location system used by other Public Works vehicles. <br />Ms. Piercy asked if the leaf program would include a component whereby members of the public could <br />provide feedback on the City's local leaf collection efforts. Mr. Johnson noted that the City would soon be <br />incorporating an online "leaf reporter" to allow citizens to provide comments and feedback. <br />Mr. Clark appreciated the information provided regarding the operational enhancements to the leaf <br />program. He noted that leaf collection was a very important issue in the community. <br />Mr. Clark expressed that while he had recently submitted an ordinance that would make it illegal for <br />citizens to obstruct bike lanes with leaves or similar detritus, the City's leaf program strategies ultimately <br />represented a safer, more reasonable and more efficient approach to the problem. <br />Mr. Pryor appreciated that the strategies of the City's leaf collection program represented a positive and <br />proactive approach to a potentially serious public safety issue. <br />Ms. Ortiz was glad to see the City prioritizing the bike lanes with respect to the leaf collection program and <br />was also glad that the strategies of the leaf program incorporated methods to be highly responsive to <br />requests and feedback from the community. <br /> <br /> <br />MINUTES—Eugene City Council September 16, 2009 Page 4 <br /> Work Session <br /> <br />