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Home My WebLink About06/26/08 City Council Newsletter EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER June 26, 2008 City of Eugene 777 Pearl Street, Room 105 Eugene, Oregon 97401-2793 (541) 682-5010 (541) 682-5414 (FAX) www.eugene-or.gov IN THIS WEEK’S EDITION WELCOME TO TRACK TOWN, USA! PARKING AMBASSADORS TO ASSIST EVENT GOERS DOWNTOWN EUGENE MAP FREE PRESENTATIONS INFORM SENIORS WEST EUGENE EMX EXTENSION PROJECT UPDATE LIBRARY WORKSHOP: HOBBIES AND DO-IT-YOURSELF ONLINE AROUND THE CITY Welcome to Track Town, USA! After two years of planning and incalculable hours of work by City employees and thousands of community members, the 2008 US Olympic Track & Field Team Trials are about to begin. The Eugene 08 Festival opens at 11:00 a.m., Friday, June 27. Mayor Piercy and the entire City Council will open the festival at noon on the Track Town Plaza Stage with a public drawing for eight pairs of Olympic Trials tickets, one for each day of competition. (City employees are not eligible for the drawing.) The City of Eugene is sharing a booth in the festival with the Oregon Track Club (OTC) and the Convention and Visitors Association of Lane County Oregon (CVALCO) titled “Welcome to Track Town, th USA.” The booth is located just inside the main public entrance to the festival at 15 and Agate. Attractions in the booth include the OTC’s Team XO, who will be posting videos of festival attendees on the http://runnerspace.com/ website and playing them in the booth. The Eugene 08 Festival is free and open to all community members. Parking Ambassadors to Assist Event Goers The City of Eugene's parking team has changed its uniform for the Olympic Trials to promote our community event and assist our event guests. The parking officers will serve as ambassadors in answering questions, giving directions, and encouraging alternative modes of transportation. They will also play a critical role in maintaining safe roadways and neighborhood accessibility by ensuring that fire hydrants, intersections, and driveways are not blocked. The City of Eugene's Parking Program has worked closely with Eugene'08 to successfully use shuttles, bicycling, and walking for the events. Please check out your transportation options to the 2008 Olympic Trials. For more information please contact Jeff Petry at 682-5729. EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 1 June 26, 2008 Downtown Eugene Map Visitors can now explore downtown Eugene through an interactive web map that provides information about downtown Eugene’s public places of interest, recent public investments, City parking and connections to the University of Oregon. Also featured on the map are the 2004 Downtown Plan concepts with reference links to the urban renewal districts, great streets, and business incentives. A drop down list includes a variety of downtown sites which, once selected, provides specific information about the location. A help tab provides an easy resource for information on how the map works and the planning concepts behind its development. The map can be accessed at: www.eugene- or.gov/dtmap. It can also be found on the main Downtown Eugene webpage at www.eugene- or.gov/downtown. Other links on the Downtown Eugene webpage include: the LCOG Walking Map, DIVA Art in the City Map, CVALCO Walking Tour Map, and the DEI Map and Destination Guide. This interactive map was created by staff in both the Planning and Development Department (PDD), and Information Services Division. For more information, please contact Sarah . Zaleski of PDD at 682-5109 or sarah.c.zaleski@ci.eugene.or.us Free Presentations Inform Seniors Recreation Service’s Senior Program regularly presents free talks and presentations that are of interest to older adults. Speakers are provided by partner organizations or are local experts. Here is a sampling of presentations scheduled at Campbell Community Center over the next few weeks: ? An American Red Cross representative will explain how to be prepared for the unexpected, and how to care for yourself and others in an emergency from 2:00 - 3:00 p.m. on June 30. ? Representatives of the Housing and Community Service Agency of Lane County will provide information about programs for seniors, including how to apply for assistance, eligibility criteria and the benefits of living in low-income or subsidized housing from 2:00 - 3:30 p.m. on July 2. ? Experience Works specialists will offer great advice and tips on how older job seekers can succeed in today's work environment, 3:00 – 4:00 p.m. on July 17. Topics will include myths of the older worker, Title V training and eligibility, and issues related to career exploration, skill assessment, training, community resources and job search strategies. ? Local attorney Bill Atwood will help seniors complete an “Advance Directive to Physicians” and an “Appointment of Health Care Representative” form from 2:30- 4:00 p.m. on July 21. For more information about the Senior Programs, contact Rayna Luvert at 682-6394. West Eugene EmX Extension Project Update Lane Transit District successfully launched Phase One of EmX between downtown Eugene and downtown Springfield in January 2007. Just a couple of months earlier, the Eugene City Council and the LTD Board of Directors selected the West Eugene Corridor as the next Bus Rapid Transit priority corridor to pursue in Eugene. The project proposes to implement BRT improvements in this corridor, generally focusing on east-west transit travel. LTD and the Federal Transit Administration began the project in September 2007. LTD established the West Eugene EmX Corridor Committee made up of representatives from area neighborhoods, elected officials, and special interest groups along the corridor to advise staff throughout the project. LTD conducted a robust public involvement process to create the project’s evaluation framework. The process EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 2 June 26, 2008 also identified several possible alignment alternatives, and LTD went through an evaluation process assessing each alignment, eventually resulting in six alignment alternatives. This summer, LTD will hold a series of conversations with the community about options for designing the alternatives to be studied in the West Eugene EmX Extension (WEEE) Alternatives Analysis and Draft Environmental Impacts Statement. LTD will host a total of five workshops during the summer: thth ? The July 7 workshop will focus on possible designs for the West 6/7 Avenue alternative, between the Eugene Station and Garfield. This workshop will be held at the Eugene Library from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. th ? The July 8 workshop will focus on possible designs for the West 13 Avenue alternative between the Eugene Station and Garfield. This workshop will be held at the Eugene Faith Center from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. ? The July 28 workshop will focus on the thth West 11 Avenue alternative and West 7 Place/Stewart Road Alternative, both between Garfield and Beltline. This workshop will be held at the Eugene Elks Lodge from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. ? The August 18 workshop will focus on the Amazon Channel alternative between Garfield west to the intersection of the th Amazon Channel and West 11 Avenue. This workshop will be held at the Eugene Elks Lodge from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. ? The August 20 workshop will focus on all alternatives. This is an opportunity for anyone who was not able to make it to a previous workshop to have input. It will be held at the Eugene Elks Lodge from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. In the fall, LTD will hold a workshop to report back to the community, and explain how the conceptual designs for the alternatives were refined. For project information and workshop dates, times, and locations, visit the project website at weemx.ltd.org. For more information on the WEEE Project, contact Project Manager Tom Schwetz at 682-6100. Library Workshop: Hobbies and Do-It-Yourself Online Hobbies and Do-It- Eugene Public Library offers a free, hands-on computer class for people who love Yourself projects, Saturday, June 28, 10:00 a.m. - noon at the Downtown Library. Discover high-quality ideas and information with user-friendly premium online tools available free through the Library. These new resources provide practical guidance, professional diagrams, and step-by-step instructions for everything from evaluating antiques to fixing cars, repairing boat engines to building bookcases. Basic Internet skills are required. Pre-register for limited spaces by calling the Library at 682-5450 (press 2 for adult reference). The program is sponsored by the Eugene Public Library, Friends of Eugene Public Library, and the Eugene Public Library Foundation. For more information, contact the Eugene Public Library at 682-5450. EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 3 June 26, 2008