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MINUTES OF JOINT PUBLIC HEARING WITH EUGENE CITY COUNCIL, Page 10 <br />METROPOLITAN POLICY COMMITTEE, AND LANE TRANSIT DISTRICT <br />BOARD OF DIRECTORS, FEBRUARY 8, 2011 <br />Carlis Nixon, Wilson Court, Eugene, stated that she lives in West Eugene and is a public transit <br />user who supports spending tax dollars on transit. She stated her support for rapid transit but not <br />EmX. She wants the City Council to ask LTD for an improved alternate version and add some stops. <br />She said she became an opponent of EmX after using the Springfield EmX. The huge buses are <br />wasteful, and the seating is uncomfortable. There is a need for express buses during rush hours and <br />full - service buses. She questioned the development of wetlands and farmlands. She asked how LTD <br />would pay for the operating costs of EmX. She does not want to lose the current level of LTD <br />service. <br />Gary Wildish, Quince Street, Eugene, stated his support for BRT. It is important for the entire <br />community. He has been impressed with what LTD has done. He has learned that solutions do not <br />get smaller, but they get larger with time. Everyone wishes this BRT was not the challenge it is, but it <br />is a challenge. If we do not take on the challenge now, it will not get easier and cheaper in the future. <br />He is concerned with the impact on businesses and properties, and it is important to take them into <br />consideration. LTD has done a good job to minimize impacts on businesses. Construction will be <br />tough but it is important to move ahead. <br />Kim Sawyer, Greenview Street, Eugene, has a business on West 11 Avenue and stated his <br />opposition to the West Eugene EmX. It will disrupt businesses in the area. His business can survive, <br />but others will not. He will have significant decreases in business. His business is down since <br />Hyundai closed. The Hyundai plant was paid for with tax breaks voted on by City Council. When the <br />tax breaks were gone Hyundai disappeared. There is a need for a master plan. Two - thirds of one <br />percent of the people of Eugene are represented in the Envision Eugene process. EmX will cause <br />loss of business, creating problems for deliveries and garbage removal. LTD does not think all <br />things through. He supports buses on West 11 Avenue and rapid transit. He questioned how LTD <br />can afford to run six times per hour on West 11 Avenue with EmX when it cannot afford to run four <br />times an hour now. <br />Bob Macherione, Brewer Avenue, Eugene, noted an earlier speaker who said, "You are against <br />sanitary sewers if you are against EmX." He clarified that he was 100 percent for sanitary sewers in <br />Eugene. It is obvious that LTD can put out a lot of numbers and efforts to influence people. He <br />questioned how LTD reaches its numbers and said the books have been cooked. LTD uses a fleet <br />average to show that the system will break even in 2021, which is not an accurate measurement. <br />Jozef Siekiel- Zdzicnicki, Taylor Street, Eugene, said that he would finish Ms. Hutson's comments. <br />She had said that Eugene needed the right transportation. LTD should do the right thing and let the <br />schools have the $30 million from the lottery. Speaking for himself, Mr. Siekiel - Zdzienicki said that <br />TransPlan is just a plan. A plan for the transit corridor needs more detail. In addition to the proposed <br />mitigation measures proposed by LTD, 15 -foot easements are proposed for West 11 Avenue for <br />dedicated lanes. LTD wants to build on Highway 99, River Road, West 18 Avenue, and West 30 <br />Avenue. There should be conversations about all of the easements now so that they do not have to <br />be discussed repeatedly in the future. <br />Kelley Blewster, 5 th Street, Springfield, said that she uses EmX daily and pays employer payroll <br />taxes that support LTD. She supports EmX, especially with the West Eugene extension. The end <br />result of the Franklin and Pioneer Parkway routes is a clean and quiet system. She lives near <br />downtown Springfield and owns businesses in downtown Eugene and in Crescent Village. She uses <br />the bus to shuttle her bicycle around town. She proposed a compromise for West 11 Avenue with <br />dedicated lanes for the buses. <br />Zachary Vishanoff, (address not given), is interested in planning issues. The West Eugene EmX <br />project is a done deal. During the 1990s there was poor leadership at the University of Oregon (UO), <br />demonstrated when they decided to redevelop Amazon housing. Later, Westmoreland housing was <br />