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complete the entire conversion at one time; to do less was not managing the City's traffic problems. Referring to what CATS said about the transit system, Ms. Nathanson said she joined other members of the council in their remarks about BRT and how it might be changing in relation to what the council originally expected to be implemented. She expressed concern about moving from a fixed route with guided paths, the need to acquire right-of-way, and potential disruption to current land uses. She said if the new direction meant that BRT was less affordable because of the need for more right-of-way and a greater loss of parking, or if it meant design changes in the width of sidewalks or street trees, she wanted more information about the impacts. Mr. Kelly stated that because of the concerns raised about BRT from council members, information should come back to the council soon on the material impact on the pilot corridor of the new direction, which could be outside the bounds of the original council resolution approving the pilot corridor. He observed that there was support for the Willamette Street conversion between 13th Avenue and 18th Avenue. He asked if Public Works intended to complete that conversion during the summer because it would be more efficient to do it in conjunction with the overlay project planned for the summer of 2004. Mr. Henry said that was the case. Ms. Bettman echoed concerns about BRT. She said she had talked to some businesses along Willamette Street and they were not opposed to the conversion between 13th Avenue and 18th Avenue, but a major concern continued to be parking. She said she supported the conversion, but a significant impact on parking would erode that support. She asked that language in CATS reflect that the 18th Avenue to 20th Avenue conversion was off the table. Ms. Bettman raised the question of the possibility of redevelopment at the Eugene Water and Electric Board (EWEB) site and how that might impact some of the projects being planned in the courthouse district since redevelopment at the EWEB site was not anticipated when the courthouse district plans were put forth. Addressing the issue of north/south traffic corridors and movement of traffic and fire trucks, she noted that Civic Stadium was owned by Eugene School District 4J and on the property disposal list. She said that could present an opportunity to the City to look at that area and create the type of north/south access that was required without a negative impact on businesses or the surrounding neighborhood. Mr. Meisner joined Mr. Kelly's request to the City Manager to engage in a discussion with LTD and obtain additional information regarding the impact of the direction of BRT. He also concurred with other councilors about taking the 18th Avenue to 20th Avenue conversion of Willamette Street off the table and agreed with Ms. Solomon's comment that a study of the issue should be funded. He cited examples in other cities where shopping centers or residential areas had opposed a connection to a light rail or BRT system, but pleaded to be connected once the system was in operation. Mr. Pap~ supported Ms. Bettman's suggestion to consider the Civic Stadium site as part of a study of a north/south corridor. He said he was not certain there was strong support for the 13th Avenue to 18th Avenue conversion of Willamette Street to two-way operation. He suggested removing the 13th Avenue to 20th Avenue conversion from CATS, except for the issue of how traffic from Fire Station No. 1 would be handled. He also was in favor of exploring the possibility of redevelopment on the EWEB site within the context of the plan for the courthouse district. Mr. Henry said the EWEB site transportation issues were under discussion with the City's consultant team, but not something that should be included in CATS. He said a feasibility study of how the transportation MINUTES--Eugene City Council March 8, 2004 Page 10 Work Session