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Matt Denberg, 2032 Kimberly Drive, Ward 2, said he lived one - quarter mile south of the Ribbon Trail. He said the Parks and Open Space staff had indicated safety and maintenance were reasons for closing the trail to cyclists. He averred that they had no data and had merely said anecdotally that there had been a couple of complaints over the years; there had been no collisions of which they were aware. He said a study conducted in 2002, in a New Zealand national park, had found that perceptions improved between hikers and bikers with exposure. He believed that if everyone would be respectful and polite there would be no problems. Regarding trail impacts, he had seen studies that showed that there was no difference between hikers and bikers. He asked the council to reopen the Ribbon Trail to mountain bikers. Carol Berg - Caldwell, 2510 Augusta Street, read a poem protesting the recent addition of signs painted on the sidewalk that prohibited loitering in certain areas around the downtown transit station. She felt that young people were being targeted. Santiago Gause, 2520 Van Buren Street, said he was the "happy owner" of five hens and twelve pullets. He believed that the Eugene code restricting the number of chickens was unfair. He thought everyone should be allowed to add a number of chickens to their backyard. He cited the benefits of having chickens, such as the manure which contained good minerals such as nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorous and was more nutritious for gardens than horse or steer manure. He said it also increased the moisture - retaining qualities of soil. He considered raising chickens to be a good life lesson for children. He felt that chickens provided a good food source, but were also "loving and sweet companions." He said because of his brother's allergies they could not have cats or dogs. He enjoyed raising chickens with his family. He stated that raising their own meat meant they did not have to drive to the supermarket to buy it. He noted that Tyson brand chickens were raised on factory farms. He declared that eating his chickens' eggs and meat kept him and his family "strong and healthy" and "strong and healthy citizens equals one big happy healthy family." In closing, he wished the mountain bikers good luck. David Burham, 1310 Arthur Street, echoed opposition to the Amazon Canal route option for the EmX. He reiterated that their neighborhood was bucolic. He noted that he was a violin teacher and a member of the Eugene Symphony and had been for 27 years, as well as playing for the Sugar Beets and making electric instruments for customers all over the world. He said his work happened in his house. A bus route by his house would be the last thing he would want in the neighborhood. He pointed out that there were seven bus stops within a half -mile of the area. He noted that routes were currently being cut because of revenue shortfalls. He declared that to spend between $120 to $135 million, with 20 percent local money, for an entirely new bus route which would "destroy the bike path, destroy the creek, and at the end of that time change what [they] had now," would go against the open space plan. Ilona Koleszar, 871 West 11"' Avenue, Ward 1, testified on behalf of Residents for Responsible Rapid Transit (3RT). She also sat on the West Eugene EmX Corridor Committee for LTD. She considered the 13th Avenue and Garfield Street neighborhood an "intimate enclave" of modest homes with a healthy mix of renters and owners. It was unfathomable to her that any bus would go through there. She urged the council to "push away" from the Amazon and West 11th Avenue route options. She urged the council to support the option that would use 6th and 7th Avenues, accompanied by a transportation system management option. She had handed out a list of Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) attributes to council staff for the councilors. She felt that of the eight attributes, seven could be done without a BRT system and had marked them as such. She listed them. She opined that the more she learned about this, the more she thought the EmX was just "smoke and mirrors." She said the first leg was $24 million, the second was $43 million, and the next one might be $150 million. Jan Spencer, 212 Benjamin Street, said he raised chickens and he voted. He related that he kept a folder in his computer of New York Times articles he felt represented a declining civilization. He had found several in the most MINUTES— Eugene City Council May 24, 2010 Page 6 Regular Meeting