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Wednesday, Apr. 18, at 10:15 and 11:00 a.m. at the Downtown Library. Violinist Midori will read and play for young <br />children and their adults on Wednesday, Apr. 25, at 11 a.m., at the Downtown Library as part of her residency with the <br />Eugene Symphony. For more information, contact the Eugene Public Library at 541-682-8316 or www.eugene- <br />. <br />or.gov/library <br /> <br />Eugene Named Gold-Level, Walk Friendly Community <br />The city of Eugene has been designated as a gold-level “Walk Friendly Community <br />(WFC)” for its walkability initiatives and programs. <br /> <br />The national Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center announced the prestigious <br />recognition from its headquarters at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. <br /> <br />“We are excited to designate Eugene as a Walk Friendly Community,” said WFC <br />Program Manager Carl Sundstrom. ”The clear support from elected officials for <br />creating 20-minute neighborhoods, the level of sophistication in the planning <br />documents and code requirements of the city, the public transportation options and <br />the extensive trail network were quite impressive achievements. Eugene is a model <br />for communities across the United States.” <br /> <br />Eugene is among four communities recognized in the latest round of WFC to be announced. To-date, 24 communities <br />in the U.S. have been designated, eight of them at the gold level. In Oregon, Corvallis has earned gold-level and <br />Wilsonville has earned bronze-level recognition. <br /> <br />Other reasons cited for Eugene’s recognition: the 2011 Pedestrian Safety Summit; the number of accessibility features <br />such as crossings, ramps and signals; 42 miles of paths and five footbridges in Eugene’s trail system; and successful <br />events such as the Business Commute Challenge, SmartTrips program, and Sunday Streets, which all promote health <br />benefits and the fact that walking is good for business. <br /> <br />“Not only did we receive this great honor, but we also got some excellent suggestions on things we could do better,” <br />said Lee Shoemaker, the City’s bicycle and pedestrian coordinator. Among those ideas: create a special focus group <br />to bring engineering, planning, transit and enforcement staff together; increase the number of sidewalks in the city; <br />emphasize pedestrian connectivity between destinations; reduce the number of accidents involving pedestrians, and <br />strive to increase the number of people who choose to walk for business and pleasure. <br /> <br />For more information, contact Lee Shoemaker at 541-682-5471. <br /> <br />Another Busy Road Repair Season Under Way in Eugene <br />Another busy road repair season is under way in Eugene, with nearly 100 streets scheduled for major paving or <br />sealing work. In total, approximately $15 million will be spent to fix more than 42 lane-miles of city streets. Repair work <br />will range from full road reconstruction, to four-inch curb-to-curb overlays, to a surface treatment called slurry sealing. <br /> <br />Primary sources of repair funding include an estimated $7.8 <br />million from the voter-approved street repair bond measure, <br />$6.3 million in local gas tax revenues, and funding from local <br />transportation system development charges and federal and <br />state grants. <br /> <br />The list of major repair projects in 2012 includes Coburg Road <br />(Beltline to Willakenzie), Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard (I-5 <br />to Centennial Loop), Green Acres Road (Norkenzie to Delta <br />Highway), Goodpasture Island Road (Kingsley to new bike <br />bridge), downtown intersections on Washington and Jefferson <br />streets, and Royal Avenue (Highway 99 to Waite Street). This <br />summer’s repair work also includes several area shared-use <br />paths, including portions of the North Bank and West Bank <br />paths and a section of Fern Ridge Path from Chambers to <br />Arthur streets. Work already has begun on Jefferson Street <br />thth <br />Repairs have already begun on Jefferson between 19 and 28 <br />ththth <br />(19 to 28 avenues) and 24 Avenue (Jefferson to Chambers <br />streets). Meanwhile, crews from Eugene Water & Electric Board, NW Natural and other utilities are working at <br />numerous locations to take care of underground lines before paving work starts. City staff has also been coordinating <br />the busy construction schedule with schools, businesses and neighborhood groups. <br /> <br />EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 3 <br />April 12, 2012 <br />