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AIS GENDA TEM UMMARY Joint Public Hearing: West Eugene EmX February 8, 2011 ISSUE STATEMENT This is a joint public hearing before the Eugene City Council, Lane Transit District Board of Directors, and the Metropolitan Policy Committee (MPC) acting as the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) Policy Board. These three bodies will ultimately choose a locally preferred alternative (LPA) for the extension of the EmX bus rapid transit system into west Eugene. This is the only scheduled opportunity for oral testimony before all three decision- making bodies together. No decision is requested at this meeting. This meeting is established for public testimony and, time permitting, to allow the decision-makers an opportunity to identify information that will be needed before a decision is rendered. Separate work sessions and meetings for decisions are scheduled for each decision-making body at a later date (see schedule below). BACKGROUND th The Eugene City Council voted on October 9, 2006, to identify West 11 Avenue as the City’s priority for the next EmX corridor study. The LTD Board of Directors endorsed the Eugene City Council action. Based on this direction, a plan for the West Eugene EmX Extension was developed. The initial plan identified 58 alternative routes and design options. Preliminary environmental analysis and further public review led to elimination of all but 12 routing options. During the public review period, LTD developed plans that incorporated measures to mitigate many of the impacts to adjacent properties, primarily by finding segments where the EmX vehicles could travel in mixed traffic, thereby eliminating the need for widening the street in those segments. A Joint Locally Preferred Alternative Committee was established to make a recommendation to the three deciding bodies. The members of the Joint LPA Committee are Mayor Kitty Piercy and Councilors Andrea Ortiz and Chris Pryor from the Eugene City Council; Mike Eyster, Greg Evans, and Gary Gillespie from the LTD Board of Directors; and Lane County Commissioner Sid Leiken and Sonny Chickering, Oregon Department of Transportation, both representing the MPO. The Joint Locally Preferred Alternative Committee has been further reducing the number of acceptable alternatives. Joint LPA Committee Preliminary Recommendation The Joint LPA Committee’s preliminary recommendation as of January 31 is the subject of two public open houses. The open houses will be held on February 1 and 8, the latter being immediately before this public hearing. The Joint LPA Committee’s preliminary thth recommendation is to forward the 13/11 Alternative with Mitigation (3-MC) into the public review process along with the No-Build option.