Item 2A: Approval of City Council Minutes

Home Browse Search

Mr. Clark noted that many recommendations represented short-term fixes dependent on the construction of the West Eugene EmX route extension, and he questioned whether that extension was a short-term project. He agreed with Mr. Brown that “no build” was an option for EmX, and recommended the creation of a “Plan B” in the case the project did not go forward. Mr. Poling recommended that staff talk to Steve Korth of the Oakway Mall for his thoughts on access management as it had been instituted on Coburg Road. He expressed interest in seeing comparative information on traffic and accident counts on that stretch of Coburg Road before and after the institution of access management. Mr. Henry agreed to provide that information. Ms. Taylor questioned if the City could compel property owners to share parking areas and provide for access between adjacent parking lots. Mr. Henry said that the City Code allowed the City to require such access between lots when redevelopment occurred, so it occurred incrementally. Ms. Taylor asked if the code allowed the City to compel the construction of missing sidewalk segments. Mr. Henry said the City lacked a program compelling such improvements, which were generally assessed to the abutting property owner. Ms. Ortiz determined from Mr. Mansur that the City of Salem worked with private property owners on Lancaster and Market streets to voluntarily reduce access points along those roads. There was considerable give and take in such situations, and Salem had installed new signals and rebuilt intersections to provide better and safer access to businesses. th Ms. Ortiz was also concerned about the businesses on West 11 Avenue. She did not support any changes in policy at this time other than those that could occur through redevelopment. Many of the business on th West 11 Avenue were small businesses with single access points owned by people operating in a difficult economy and she did not want to negatively impact them. She supported voluntary efforts to reduce access points. Mr. Zelenka was also concerned about businesses having access but pointed out that many such businesses would benefit from an increase in safety and the land made available for additional parking when driveways were eliminated. He asked how the City could spur improvements on the part of ODOT. Mr. Henry said that such improvements needed to be identified in the State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP). At this point, the Greenhill Road project was in the STIP, but the Beltline project was not. Transportation Planning Manager Rob Inerfeld noted the limited funding for State transportation projects and suggested additional funding would require a legislative strategy. Mr. Zelenka was also interested in the subject of completing the sidewalk system. He also noted the other benefits from signal timing improvements, such as a reduction in greenhouse gases and savings in fuel use. Ms. Ortiz emphasized her priority for improving Highway 99 and said if the City was going to seek more transportation funding, she wanted to ensure it sought funding for improvements along that road. Mayor Piercy suggested the council needed to determine what it wanted to achieve in that area to be prepared when funding opportunities arose. B. WORK SESSION: Endorsement of Willamette River Open Space Vision and Action Plan (A Refinement of the Rivers to Ridges Vision) MINUTES—Eugene City Council July 12, 2010 Page 5 Work Session