Item 3: I-5/Willamette Bridge Naming Recommendation

Home Browse Search

ECC UGENE ITY OUNCIL AIS GENDA TEM UMMARY Public Hearing: Proposal to Name New Willamette/I-5 Bridge the “Whilamut Passage Bridge” Meeting Date: July 26, 2010 Agenda Item Number: 3 Department: City Manager’s Office Staff Contact: Beth Forrest www.eugene-or.gov Contact Telephone Number: 541-682-5882 AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY This is an opportunity for the public to provide testimony on a proposal to name the new Willamette/I-5 bridge the “Whilamut Passage Bridge.” This bridge is a state-owned facility and the council has been asked to make a recommendation to the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT). A presentation by members of the Citizen Planning Committee for the Whilamut Natural Area of Alton Baker Park (CPC) will precede the public hearing. BACKGROUND At a work session on May 19, 2010, the council expressed general support for a proposed naming policy that delineates processes and procedures for handling naming and renaming requests. Although the policy has not yet been formally adopted, councilors supported the core elements of the plan. One element of the proposed policy states that the process for vetting any naming request will include a well- publicized public comment period that provides at least one opportunity for testimony in front of the council, typically in the context of a Public Forum. The Citizen Planning Committee for the Whilamut Natural Area of Alton Baker Park has requested that this particular naming proposal be the subject of a dedicated public hearing. Action on the naming recommendation is scheduled for August 9, 2010. A request for the council to endorse a proposal to name the new I-5/Willamette River Bridge the “Whilamut Passage Bridge” was submitted in May 2010 by the CPC. The City of Eugene has no jurisdictional authority over the decision; therefore, the council is being asked only to consider the proposal and send its recommendation to ODOT. Financial Implications According to ODOT officials associated with this project, the financial implications of the naming proposal would be minimal. The naming of the bridge would cost virtually nothing, said Dick Upton, ODOT’s project manager for the bridge replacement. Small signs at each end of the bridge would include the names “Willamette River” and “Whilamut Passage Bridge” and cost between $1,000 and $1,500 for both. That cost would be part of the total $187 million bridge price tag, ODOT spokesman Rick Little said. - May 10, 2010, Register-Guard Public Comment The opportunity to submit comments on the proposed name was publicized through a press release and an announcement on the City’s website. Twenty-three comments expressing a variety of opinions were received via email during the public comment period (as of 7/21/10). Z:\CMO\2010 Council Agendas\M100726\S1007263.doc