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prioritize accesses for the most benefit. Mr. Henry suggested the West Eugene EmX route could provide <br />another tool to improve the corridor for both movement and the businesses along the route. <br />Mr. Zelenka emphasized the importance of providing businesses with access, but noted that in many cases <br />accesses were very proximate and he believed that the City could increase safety without hindering access. <br />Mr. Henry clarified the study itself would not lead to changes; he reiterated that any changes would occur <br />through redevelopment, or the City's direct actions. <br />Mayor Piercy requested information about the approach used in Salem. She wanted to examine the <br />benefits the City could offer to businesses through better access management. <br />Referring to the intersection at Bailey Hill Road and West I P Avenue, Mr. Pryor recalled that many of <br />the driveways were in place because businesses were not allowed to connect off - street. If one could get <br />from one place to another off - street, driveways could be eliminated and traffic flow preserved. <br />Mr. Pryor suggested the study provided the City with an opportunity to do something about the situation <br />in West Eugene before it worsened. He believed that there was an impending transportation infrastructure <br />problem in West Eugene that needed to be addressed. Mr. Henry agreed. He said staff was gathering data <br />to inform its projections. As the community grew, so would travel demand, and that could require a <br />combination of approaches that included enhancements to capacity, improvements to transit, and <br />reductions in driving. He acknowledged that how the needs of the growing community would be solved <br />had yet to be determined. <br />Mr. Pryor endorsed the approach taken in the study, characterizing the recommendations related to access <br />management and intersection improvements as "low- hanging fruit" that would produce results immediate- <br />ly. <br />Mr. Brown commended the report. He believed the City should proceed on some of the projects <br />envisioned in the study without tying them to the EmX route, pointing out that one of the options related <br />to EmX was the "no- build" option. Many of the report's recommendations, such as the recommendation <br />for signal timing changes, could be implemented immediately with significant result. <br />Mr. Brown said he frequently traveled along West I I th Avenue and most times of the day did not find it to <br />be so congested. He asked if staff had traffic counts for Franklin Boulevard and Coburg Road for <br />comparison. Mr. Henry indicated he would provide that information. <br />Mr. Clark thanked staff for the report. He said his chief concern in regard to access management was its <br />impact on local businesses. Many businesses near intersections had only one access. He wanted to know <br />if Salem's approach to access management had negatively affected that community's businesses. <br />Responding to a request for clarification from Mr. Clark about the condition of intersections on West I I 1 <br />Avenue as they related to the standard for volume to capacity ratio, Mr. Henry said that the condition was <br />not bad on the City system relative to City standards; capacity problems existed on the State -owned <br />facilities, including Beltline and the streets west of Beltline. <br />Mr. Clark noted that many recommendations represented short-term fixes dependent on the construction <br />of the West Eugene EmX route extension, and he questioned whether that extension was a short-term <br />project. He agreed with Mr. Brown that "no build" was an option for Em.X, and recommended the <br />creation of a "Plan B" in the case the project did not go forward. <br />MINUTES— Eugene City Council July 12, 2010 Page 4 <br />Work Session <br />