Item A: ODOT/Beltline Highway - River Road to Coburg Road

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ECC UGENE ITY OUNCIL AIS GENDA TEM UMMARY Work Session: Beltline Highway - River Road to Coburg Road - Oregon Department of Transportation Facility Plan Update Meeting Date: April 14, 2010 Agenda Item Number: A Department: Public Works Staff Contact: Chris Henry www.eugene-or.gov Contact Telephone Number: 541-682-8472 ISSUE STATEMENT The Eugene City Council will receive a progress update from the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) about the Beltline Facility Plan: River Road to Coburg Road. ODOT staff will discuss the overall facility plan process and present maps illustrating the range of improvement concepts under consideration for Beltline Highway. They will also share results of a concept evaluation process and summary of recent public comment. The council will have an opportunity to ask questions about the improvement concepts, provide feedback, and hear about the next steps in the facility planning process. BACKGROUND The purpose of the Beltline Facility Plan is to develop recommendations for long-range improvements to Beltline Highway functionality between Coburg Road and River Road. Early facility plan work involved community interviews, technical data-gathering and an open house on August 4 and 6, 2008, to identify concerns and develop a project problem statement. The problem statement identifies issues and concerns regarding safety, operation, and capacity of the Beltline Highway in both objective and subjective ways. Additional public open houses were held on July 29, 2009, and March 16, 2010, to both inform and engage the community throughout the facility planning process. Citizens have expressed a range of concerns from protecting the environment to fixing operational problems that would improve safety and traffic flow on the Beltline Highway. Alternative concepts for the Beltline Highway have been developed and presented for public review, comment and refinement. Those concepts have been further evaluated by staff and continue to be considered by the project stakeholder and steering committees. The stakeholder and steering committees will likely make recommendations that narrow the range of alternatives for further consideration based on their evaluation and citizen feedback. The Beltline Facility Plan will recommend project improvement alternatives, within this narrowed range, for further environmental analysis. At a later date, the council will be asked to endorse the Beltline Facility Plan. The Lane County Board of Commissioners and the Central Lane Metropolitan Planning Organization (through its Metropolitan Policy Committee) will also be asked to endorse the Beltline Facility Plan before final adoption by the Oregon Transportation Commission. Z:\CMO\2010 Council Agendas\M100414\S100414A.doc