CC Minutes - 05/19/10 Work Session

Home Browse Search

MINUTES Eugene City Council McNutt Room — Eugene City Hall 777 Pearl Street — Eugene, Oregon May 19, 2010 Noon PRESENT: Alan Zelenka, Mike Clark, Betty Taylor, Andrea Ortiz, Jennifer Solomon, Chris Pryor, George Brown, members. George Poling initially participated by telephone and then arrived later in the meeting. Her Honor Mayor Kitty Piercy called the Eugene City Council work session to order. She congratulated councilors Zelenka, Clark, and Poling on their re- election and Councilor -elect Pat Farr on his successful election. She commented that she had not been pleased to observe the mess left over by bar patrons from the night before when walking in the downtown area. She underscored the importance of finding a way to address the mess. She declared that one should not have to walk through "last night's bar activities" at noon on the following day. She believed that the businesses adjoining the sidewalks had a responsibility to step up and do their part. A. WORK SESSION: I -5 Willamette River Bridge -- Oregon Department of Transportation Project Update Assistant City Manager Sarah Medary invited Dick Upton and Chris Henry to the table for their presentation. Mr. Upton provided a power point presentation entitled Willamette River Bridge Improvements for Generations. He underscored the importance of the input they had garnered from the Citizens Advisory Group. Mr. Upton discussed some of the opportunities the project had presented. He explained that the agreement for the bicycle - pedestrian viaduct on the south bank included that they would put back anything that was damaged or removed. He said the bicycle path on the south bank of the Willamette River looped under Franklin Boulevard and then "petered out" into the street. He related that in early conversations they had found that there were plans to put a bicycle path on the north side of Franklin Blvd. connected into a future bicycle system in Springfield. He stated that they had estimated the cost of the viaduct to be $2.4 million, not something that could just be added into the project. He had taken the cost they had estimated it would take to restore the path on the south side, approximately $1.6 million, and had gone to the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) and submitted a joint grant application with Springfield for $4 million for the rest of the funding. He said the project had scored high and they had been awarded the grant. Mr. Upton said another opportunity had arisen from recognition that they would need to widen Interstate 5 to the west and this would have taken a grove of trees out. He explained that the trees served as a great barrier between the interstate and the park. He related that a member of the citizen group had asked how they could save the trees. They had been required to put in a retaining wall on the east side in the Willamalane Park to keep the fill out. He said Willamalane was concerned that a retaining wall would MINUTES— Eugene City Council May 19, 2010 Page 1 Work Session