Item 6: PH - Ordinance Renaming 3rd/4th Connector

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NEWS RELEASE December 7,2005 CONTACT: Steve Gallup, Project Manager,682-8460 From Public Information Section, 682-5523 or 954-2938 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Eugene's Newest Street Has Deep Roots in Local History A street rich in local history, connecting Lincoln and Pearlstreetson the north side ofthe railroad tracks in downtown Eugene, is scheduled to reopen on Monday, Dec. 12, as a fully improved roadway. The badly deteriorated east-west route, which runs from Third Avenue and Pearl Street on the east to Fourth Avenue and Lincoln Street on the west, has been closed to through traffic for almost four months to allow the City and its project contractor, Delta Construction Co., to upgrade the street to create safer traveling conditions for bicyclists, pedestrians and motorists. The $1.8 million Public Works project also realigned the intersections at each end of the connector to further improve traveling safety. The finished project includes a 32-foot wide concrete roadway with two travel lanes, landscaped medians, bicycle lanes, curb and gutter, sidewalks, street lights, street trees, traffic calming, and wastewater and stormwater drainage systems. The Whiteaker Area Refinement Plan provided guidelines for the street project, including a recommendation that the street name recognize the historical significance of the area. Members of the Shelton-McMurphey-Johnson House, which was bLiilt in 1888 adjacent to the connector street, recently urged the Eugene City Council to name the road after Dr. T.W. Shelton, a community doctor during Eugene's early years. Eugene's newest street is also one of the city's oldest routes. Photos from 1890 show an access path serving the granaries and lumber yards next to the railroad tracks. The growth of the railroad, the opening of a "ew train depot in 1908 and the construction of the Oregon Electric Passenger Station and Freight Depot in 1925 added vigor to the north downtown area and the street that served the properties on the north side of the tr~c~~r. As businesses flourished on the north side of the tracks, the dirt lane evolved into a narrow paved roadviay. However, over the years, the street and the surrounding area fell into disrepair. Now the area is being renovated, a~d the improved street leads to the future as much as the past. .. ~'Joday, the revitalized street provides a safer route for all those who use it," said City Engineer Mark . Schoening. "In the years to come, it will also play an important role in connecting the newly renovated depot, the restored Shelton-McMurphey-Johnson House, Skinner Butte, and other neighborhood landmarks." ### Thanks, Eric Jones Public Affairs Manager . Eugene Public Works eric. r.jones@ci.eugene.or.us (541) 682-5523 (541) 682-6826 (fax) (541) 954-2938 (cell) www.ci.euqene.or.us/Dw 12