07/19/12 - City Council Newsletter

Home Browse Search

The West Eugene EmX Extension benefitted from several years of public input, which resulted in many adverse impacts being avoided or mitigated through changes in project design. This environmental assessment provides the most definitive discussion of the project design and its effects on traffic, properties, parking, the natural environment, land use, socioeconomics, and other categories, and it also provides a detailed financial analysis. The City Council will not take action on this environmental assessment; however, at an as-of-yet undecided date after the public review period, the City Council and Lane Transit District Board of Directors will have an opportunity to reaffirm their support for the project before federal money is spent on project construction. For more information, visit www.weemx.ltd.org, or contact LTD Senior Project Manager John Evans at 541-682-6146, or email John.Evans@ltd.org, or City of Eugene Senior Transportation Planner Kurt Yeiter at 541-682-8379 or Kurt.M.Yeiter@ci.eugene.or.us. Community Meetings Look at Proposal for Traffic Calming on Jeppesen Acres Road Public Works held a community meeting on July 17 to review a proposal for traffic calming on Jeppesen Acres Road (between Providence Street and Coburg Road) to address neighborhood speeding concerns. Neighbors shared concerns about speeding in the neighborhood and voiced support for proposed “speed cushions,” which are speed humps with cut-outs that allow safe and efficient passage of emergency vehicles, but also slow passenger vehicles. Another follow-up community meeting is scheduled to hear from neighbors who were not able to attend the previous meeting and make a decision on whether to proceed with implementation. The meeting will be held on Wednesday, July 25, at 7 p.m., at the Oregon Community Credit Union corporate offices, 2880 Chad Drive. Parking is available to the east of Costco (participants are asked to not park in the Costco parking lot). More project information is available at www.eugene-or.gov/JeppesenAcresRoad or by contacting Transportation Planning Engineer Chris Henry at 541-682-8472 or chris.c.henry@ci.eugene.or.us. Repair Work Set to Begin on MLK Boulevard Work is tentatively scheduled to begin next week on a $2.2 million project to repair Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in north Eugene. Knife River Corporation, with offices in Eugene, was the low bidder on the project, which includes upgrading pedestrian facilities, removing the existing deteriorated pavement, and constructing a new asphaltic concrete roadway surface. The first phase of the work, expected to take several weeks to complete, is to install new sidewalk access ramps at a number of locations along Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard between I-5 and Centennial Loop. The contractor also will make localized subsurface repairs in areas where the underlying roadbed shows signs of failure. Delays should be minimal. By mid-August, the work will shift to pavement removal and repaving operations. Plans call for at least one lane of traffic to remain open during paving construction; however, motorists may experience some delays, and alternate routes are recommended. Access will be maintained at all times to businesses along Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and to the residential areas in that area. All paving and concrete work, except the raised median islands, and backfill and grading around ramps, curbs and walks is scheduled to be completed by August 31, prior to the first University of Oregon home football game on September 1. One of the final steps will be installing two solar-powered, pedestrian- activated, flashing-beacon crossing lights near the stadium. The primary source of funding for the project is coming from the City’s five-cent-per-gallon local gas tax, along with $655,000 federal highway funds. For more information about the project, contactBrian Davies, project manager, at 541-682-5676. EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 3 July 19, 2012