Ordinance No. 20460 - Laserfiche WebLink

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visitors experience a unique and welcoming entrance to the city and the University of Oregon, arriving by bike, bus, car and foot. The multiway boulevard encourages use by pedestrians and shoppers by separating through traffic from local access traffic, increasing safety throughout the corridor and providing a quieter edge as well as parking options on the local access lane. Vibrant, green foliage in well - designed landscaping, pedestrian scale lighting and attractive, human -- scaled architecture all blend to create a sense of vitality fused with elements of nature. The buzz of shop- pers enlivens retail stores on the ground floor of adjacent buildings, with cafes and restaurants providing a lively neighborhood experience. Residents, students, and visitors sip coffee in street - side cafes shaded by large street trees, enhancing the sense that this is a gathering place for the area and a true asset to the community. Residents living in new housing have transformed the area from a utilitarian commercial strip to a vibrant neighborhood. New innovative building regulations have ensured that development has contributed to an attractive mix of building types, heights and facades that create enjoyable public spaces and connect to the history and character of the area. A diversity of housing types provide for a rich community both aesthetically and functionally, while residents enjoy working proximate to their homes. A vibrant mixture of retail stores provides for the daily needs of resi- dents, as important products and services are only short walk away from their homes and work- places. People of all ages enjoy strolling through the neighborhood among buildings that look attractive and feel inviting and friendly. Few even notice the subtle transition between more and less intensive developments due to conscious choices regarding setbacks and design elements that a form -based code has facilitated. Growing numbers of bus riders enjoy the ease and convenience of transit stations and dedicated bus lanes when traveling to work, buying groceries or eating out. Residents of the area travel between a series of transit stations that are conveniently located within short walking distance of their residence or final destination. commuters and other travelers between Eugene and Spring- field not only move through the corridor by rapid transit bus, but occasionally make a quick stop to buy essential household items or to have dinner or a drink with friends before continuing home. Bicyclists and pedestrians move safely throughout the area in a way that has all but removed the need for automobile ownership except for longer regional trips. Commuters and recreational bikers pass by the area on the fully completed South Bank Bike Path. Bike routes throughout the development provide easy and safe connections to the path. A mid -block connector between Franklin and 15th Avenue provides a quieter east /west route for pedestrians on the south side of the development. The Millrace is a major urban amenity, an important natural resource and a destination for resi -- dentsand tourists alike. Families walk along the public way on the south side of the Millrace enjoying views of the water while deciding if they should rent a bike or perhaps share an ice cream cone from a nearby eatery. People in adjacent residences look out over the Millrace from small patios while considering if they want to barbeque tonight or walk down to the Millrace to their favorite cafe. Bikes are streaming by on the north bank of the Millrace as part of a long ride along the south bank of the Willamette River. Riders catch glimpses of the waterway cloaked in native riparian vegetation that forms an important buffer and supports a diversity of plants and wildlife. Residents enjoy a variety of outdoor spaces that blend a vibrant urban character with opportuni- ties for solitude offered by the natural environment. Families with small children enjoy a late af- ternoon visit to the playground at the neighborhood park along the Millrace while a spirited game of Ultimate Frisbee finishes up on adjacent athletic fields. Those seeking a taste of nature can venture by path to the banks of the Willamette River or to Franklin Park, where one can seek the cool and quiet of a heavily wooded area. Parks and open spaces are visually linked by streets lined with broad trees and extensive vegetation that also collect and filter stormwater from surrounding development. These areas are also linked to the larger system of parks in the City by the many bike and pedestrian path connections available. RIP)