Item A: South Willamette Street Improvement Plan

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Hello. I am an avid bicyclist, pedestrian, driver and resident of SE Eugene. While I am very supportive of improving bike access to Willamette Street, I am also concerned about turning it into a one lane road for cars. I have seen this happen all over Eugene, which causes a serpentine of cars that is blocks long--which effectively hampers bicyclists and pedestrians. This is not good management. I know that I do not like to ride my bike on any of the bike paths that are on busy streets--I choose parallel less busy routes to get where I am going. I avoid riding my bike on Willamette, because with many cars pulling out of businesses all along it, cars, and pedestrians, it is dangerous to ride there. Willamette really needs 2 lanes of traffic and bike lanes--it is the major access to all of South Eugene. I wish I could think of an elegant solution to this dilemma, but wanted to share my opinion at least. Hi Chris, Excellent presentation on Tuesday evening. Didn't realize you were doing an encore until I read it in the RG. I hope that went well too. In putting together a plan to include a bike facility, you may want to keep in mind, that if the community decides on bike lanes, that the majority of riders may still choose to stay on the sidewalk. Having a protected bike lane should draw most bicyclists to that safe area. As a pedestrian I would like to keep cyclists off the sidewalk. Looking forward to your next presentation. Thanks for holding a great meeting last Tuesday! Way to process a lot of people and a lot of information smoothly.I wanted to send you the link to the petition seeking "On street bicycle access along south Willamette street." The list of reasons for signing located at the bottom of the page provides really great information about what some people want from Willamette Street.http://www.change.org/petitions/city-of-eugene-create-on-street-bicycle-access-along-south- willamette-streetAlso, as I mentioned at the meeting, I'm interested in hearing a bit more about the outreach process for letting the public know about the study and ways they can be involved.I also wanted to respectfully suggest in future meetings that the terms "traffic," and then more specifically "motor vehicle traffic," "bike traffic," and "pedestrian traffic," be used. "Traffic" can refer to all modes of transportation, so when traffic is referring to a specific mode it should be made clear to the meeting participants to avoid confusion. Please let me know all the contacts for the S. Willamette project; i.e. LCOG, ODOT, the County, and the City. Basically, all the decision makers for this project. I'm not sure whom to contact re: this issue, so please forward my comments if appropriate.I have lived in south Eugene for 30+ years. I use Willamette Street regularly (Eugene Hardware, Capellas, Down to Earth, Market of Choice, OCCU, etc.). This is a wonderful corridor to many local businesses! However, adding bike lanes and limiting auto lanes will discourage many, including me, from driving this particular road, especially on dark afternoons/evenings. Consequently, it will be detrimental to the many locally owned small businesses. That is not an outcome any of us want.Please understand that I am NOT opposed to bicyclists, but instead, welcome them! However, not every street in Eugene is appropriate for bike lanes. I think of those dark winter afternoons/evenings, with rain pouring down, and the increased traffic that will continue to be a reality in the coming years. Lane crossings, intersections, cars turning into the numerous business parking lots ~~ and they bicyclists.....good grief! Please consider in your planning my comments and concerns. And please accept my gratitude for all you, and your co-workers are doing for our city!