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Drew Serres, 1673 Olive Alley, a University of Oregon student, expressed his support for the proposed West Eugene EmX system. He said many people did not have access to cars or the ability to drive one. Mr. Serres asserted that if LTD did not respond to pressing transportation concerns on West 11 Avenue, the City would be putting West Eugene at risk. Costs for building would rise if decisions were put off to the future. He maintained the community had the chance to save millions if it built now instead of waiting. Tom Schwetz, LTD Planning and Development Director, 3500 East 17'' Avenue, said the Public Forum was becoming an important part of the community conversation about the West Eugene EmX extension. He said council work sessions allowed for more detail and interaction with the council but they were infrequent and not part of the community conversation as it happened. For that reason, LTD staff was present to answer questions and to provide information on issues it heard mentioned with the hope that its efforts will deepen the community's understanding of the topic. He announced the alternatives analysis report for the route had been released by the Federal Transit Administration and would be available by October 28. LTD was scheduling a series of public workshops to help familiarize the community with the report and had prepared a shorter executive summary of the analysis. He suggested the council should support the project because the community needed to be proactive in planning for the future; because it needed to continue to be innovative in addressing climate change, congestion, and air quality, and because the community deserved high - quality transit for those who chose transit and for those who relied on it. Larry Reed, 4251 Scenic Drive, thanked the council and City Manager Jon Ruiz for the Envision Eugene process. He spoke of past planning efforts that initially met resistance but went on to success. He said the City must plan to accommodate future growth. He believed proper planning would allow Eugene to accommodate the population growth that would happen. He encouraged residents to take part in the process and help the City plan for future infrastructure and land use needs. Mayor Piercy closed the Public Forum and called on the council for questions and comments. Councilor Brown thanked those who spoke during the forum. He thought the business people on West 11 ` ", 6"', and 7 t ' avenues had made some good arguments and offered thoughtful criticisms. He was not convinced yet of the need for the West Eugene EmX Extension project and suggested that other transit improvements might be sufficient. However, Councilor Brown was trying to keep an open mind. He looked forward to the release of the analysis. He suggested that Mr. Schwetz and Mr. Vobora provide the council with the complete document, and advised them to distribute the summaries as widely as possible. Councilor Brown said he had been doing some research on transit - oriented development and found that transit - oriented development and bus rapid transit were not the same thing; one could have transit - oriented development without bus rapid transit. He thought there was a way to make transit improvements without bus rapid transit. Mayor Piercy also thanked those who spoke. She recalled that the community had started down the road of a bus rapid transit system ten years earlier. Mayor Piercy said that many of those who attended the "Railvolution" Conference in Portland had visited Eugene to view EmX. She termed it an innovative, long -term, forward thinking project that the community had already said it supported. Mayor Piercy said it was part of a full transportation system that included cars, bicycles, good pedestrian movement, transit, and rail. She wanted the transit system and cared deeply about the businesses that would be affected. Councilor Ortiz thanked those who spoke. She suggested that a bus rapid transit system such as the proposed EmX system was cheaper than light rail or trolleys. She emphasized the need for investment in MINUTES— Eugene City Council October 25, 2010 Page 6 Regular Meeting