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that it could make West 11 th Avenue work as an EmX route. <br />Mr. Schwetz reviewed LTD's recommendations for options to retain, which included: <br />West 13' Avenue between the Downtown Eugene Station to West l l Avenue via Chambers <br />Street (this alternative includes two design options, atwo -lane transitway or a frontage alley <br />design option on West 13 Avenue between Polk and Taylor streets); <br />West 0 1 77 th avenues between the Downtown Eugene Station to West 11`'' Avenue via Garfield <br />(this alternative includes four design options: a Lincoln/Charnelton couplet or a two -way bus lane <br />on Charnelton, and either adding or reassigning an existing lane on West 6 and West 7"' avenues <br />between Blair and Fillmore streets); <br />West l l t '' Avenue (between Garfield Street and Commerce Street terminus) <br />Mr. Schwetz reported that LTD had received information from GDGT that indicated reassigning.. lane on <br />f t '17' avenues was problematic. He reminded the council that 6 h /7 h avenues were GDOT facilities, and <br />ODGT would be looking closely at LTD's impacts on those roads. <br />Mr. Schwetz reviewed the next steps in the process, which included board approval to narrow the options, <br />the preparation of an Alternatives Analysis Report, followed by release of the report and the start of the <br />locally- preferred alternative decision - making process. <br />Mayor Piercy believed it was wise to narrow the options at this point given the cost, time, and expense <br />involved in analyzing 58 options. She wanted to learn more about 7 Place as an option. Mayor Piercy <br />suggested that members of the West Eugene Collaborative could host a meeting of business owners in the <br />West 11 to Avenue area to facilitate further discussion, and offered her assistance in making that happen. <br />Mr. Eyster endorsed the suggestion. <br />Mayor Piercy solicited questions and comments from the council. <br />Mr. Clark also wanted to hear more about the 7 Place alternative. He determined from Mr. Schwetz that <br />the most compelling reason for eliminating its option was its longer travel time; Mr. Schwetz pointed out <br />that the travel time was longer than the no -build option. Mr. Clark expressed concern about the impact of <br />an EmX route on businesses along West 11 th Avenue, west of Garfield Street. He appreciated that LTD <br />proposed to mitigate that impact on a case -by -case basis, but he questioned if all impacts could be <br />mitigated. For example, removal of parking could have a detrimental effect on a business. In addition, he <br />perceived issues with the further constriction of West 11 th Avenue, pointing out that many buildings had <br />been constructed near the street, and there was no way to widen the street, and adding an EmX route could <br />create a bottleneck. He hoped LTD could study a route that traveled relatively near by and avoided <br />harmful effects. He urged LTD to retain the West 7 th Place option, until it could engage more people in <br />discussion. <br />Ms. Taylor agreed with Mr. Clark's points about West 7 h Place, and the need to engage more people. She <br />determined from Mr. Schwetz that the City had jurisdiction over 5 and 7 avenues, east of Jefferson <br />Street. She continued to support a Highway 99 option but acknowledged that option had been eliminated. <br />Ms. Taylor observed that the locally preferred alternative for residents and businesses adjacent to the <br />proposed EmX route seemed to be the no -build alternative. <br />Mr. Zelenka shared the concern expressed by Mayor Piercy and Mr. Clark, about removing the West 7 <br />Place option. However, he agreed with the Mayor it was wise to narrow the options, and there appeared to <br />MINUTES—City Council April 14, 2010 Page 2 <br />