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HomeMy WebLinkAbout12/04/1985 Meeting (3) M I NUT E S _. Springfield City Council, Eugene City Council, Lane County Board of Commissioners, and Lane Transit District Board of Directors Joint Public Hearing Eugene Council Chambers--777 Pearl Street December 4, 1985 7 p.m. PRESENT: Mayor Brian Obie, Ruth Bascom, Debra Ehrman, Richard Hansen, Freeman Holmer, Jeff Miller, Roger Rutan, Emily Schue, Eugene City Councilors. President Christine Larson, Linda Christenson, Richard Gorman, John Kelley, Fred Simmons, Springfield City Councilors. Chair Peter DeFazio, John Ball, Chuck Ivey, Bill Rogers, Jerry Rust, Lane County Board of Commissioners. President Janet Calvert, Larry Parducci, Lane Transit District Board of Directors. e 1. I NTRODUCTI ONS A meeting of the City Council of the City of Eugene, Oregon was called to order by His Honor Mayor Brian B. Obie. Springfield City Council President Christine Larson said Springfield councilors were outside of their jurisdiction and were in attendance only to receive information. Lane County Board of Commissioners Chair Peter DeFazio declared the board in session and said another hearing on the TransPlan was tentatively scheduled for 1 :30 p.m. on the last Wednesday in January. Lane Transit District Board of Directors President Janet Calvert said the board was not required to hold a public hearing, but members were present to hear citizens' concerns. Mayor Obie reviewed the order of the agenda, noting that public testimony would be limited to items included in the TransPlan. He asked those testi- fying to complete sign-up sheets and to try to keep testimony within four minutes because of the number of speakers expected. He also said written public testimony for the record would be accepted until Friday. e MINUTES--Joint Elected Officials Hearing--TransPlan December 4, 1985 Page 1 II. JOINT PUBLIC HEARING ON TRANSPLAN . A. Staff Presentation John Replinger of L-COG presented the staff report. He said TransP1an was designed to replace the T-2000 Plan adopted in 1978. Work began on the TransPlan shortly after acknowledgment of the Metropolitan Area General Plan in 1982, and it was designed to be the transportation component of the Metropolitan Plan. Mr. Replinger said the two stages of preparation had included development of the Evaluation Report and development of a draft document, which was before officials tonight. He said the release of the Evaluation Report in May 1984 had three objectives--to document progress made on the T-2000 Plan in the last seven years, to evaluate the plan using new information from the 1980 census and the Metropolitan Area General Plan, and to seek guidance on the key issues that would affect development of the plan. Mr. Replinger said considerable public testimony and involvment had occurred during the public review of the Evaluation Report, and the three planning commissions and the Roads Advisory Committee in August had made recommenda- tions on the assumptions. He said the five key issues identified were the amount of transit use, the amount of alternative mode use, land use--including the amount of industrial development, trip-making rates, and the level of service criteria that would be used to identify the street and highway improvement needs. He said consensus on those issues had been reached by November of last year, and Eugene and Springfield City Councils and the Lane County Board of Commissioners had adopted the assumptions used to develop - TransPlan. r Work on TransPlan then began one year ago, led by the staff Transportation Planning Committee and by the citizen Metropolitan Area Planning Advisory Committee. Mr. Replinger noted that not all members of those two committees were completely satisfied with the draft document, but the only difference between the recommendations of the two committees had been the phasing of one of the 172 street and highway projects. He also said both committees recognized that TransPlan was not the answer to all transportation questions, and suggestions for additional study were included in one appendix. Mr. Replinger reviewed the information packets distributed with the agenda and said two of the planning commissions had made their recommendations, which were available, and recommendations from the Eugene Planning Commission and the Roads Advisory Committee would be distributed shortly, when they were completed. He also said all written materials from tonight's meeting would be made available, along with a copy of the minutes. B. Public Testimony Mayor Obie opened the public hearing. Karl Eysenbach, 966 Jackson, a member of the Lane County Planning Commission and officially representing the Metropolitan Area Planning Advisory Committee, said a majority of MAPAC members had endorsed the statement he read, the full e MINUTES--Joint Elected Officials Hearing--TransP1an December 4, 1985 Page 2 ...-- text of a December 4, 1985 letter from MAPAC chair Jim Hale. The letter - described the reasons for MAPAC's recommended adoption of TransPlan and the concerns members had, including the amount of transit and alternative mode use, location of industrial development, population forecasts, parking policies, and proposed street and highway improvements and the related deficit. Mayor Obie thanked Mr. Eysenbach for his work in the TransPlan process. Jim Hale, 4064 Meredith Court, said he supported MAPAC's recommendation but was speaking for himself. He said he favored adoption of the TransP1an and believed one condition for adoption should be some consensus for a clear course of action regarding further studies about major issues of controversy, particularly population projections and use of alternative modes, that could deplete support for public improvements in the plan. Mr. Hale showed slides concerning the relation between population projections and use of alternative modes over the next 20 years. He said the plan showed 500,000 automobile trips at present, with about four or five percent for alternative modes, and he showed a chart illustrating auto trips and alternative mode use with no increase in population. He said the population increase envisioned without certain alternative mode assumptions would mean about 900,000 auto trips daily in the metro area. He also indicated on the chart the increase in automobile trips on which the street and highway improvement project list was based, along with the 23 percent of trips projected to be diverted by alternative modes. Mr. Hale said MAPAC was recommending after adoption of TransP1an that a new model be developed using lower assumptions of 11.5 percent for transit and alternative mode use. This assumption would increase the number of e automobile trips on which the project list would be based so that the same number of trips would occur sooner. He also said all the projects on the list would be needed sooner than under current assumptions, and additional projects would be called for in the latter part of the planning period. Mr. Hale said the plan needed to be made more believable to both the left and right wings of the community, adding that many people believed the population projections and alternative mode assumptions were too high. He said he thought more work was needed on those issues, or the enthusiasm necessary for funding projects might not exist. Mr. Rust requested copies of the transparencies shown by Mr. Hale. Harold Chapman, 51 Chapman Drive, showed a graph illustrating the increase from zero to eight percent in projected automobile trips diverted by transit use by the end of the planning period. He said TransPlan assumed current ridership would continue throughout the planning period, but meeting the goal of eight percent diversion by 2000 would require an annual ridership growth rate of almost 17 percent. A longer planning period could mean the goal would be met with lower intermediate ridership levels. Under MAPAC's recommended model, Mr. Chapman said four percent of auto trips would be diverted to transit at the end of the planning period, with lower intermediate ridership levels in 1990 and 1995, which he said would be more in accordance with forecasts by LTD consultants. e MINUTES--Joint Elected Officials Hearing--TransP1an December 4, 1985 Page 3 Mr. Chapman showed a graph illustrating that Eugene/Springfield was doing well e with transit ridership compared to other cities of similar population size. He said the TransPlan indication of almost 40 million riders per year was completely out of character with all other transit districts studied by consultants. He noted that the report from the consultants, ECO Northwest, had been entered into the record, and contained no evidence that the eight percent goal could be attained, but rather concluded that realization was extremely unlikely. Mr. Chapman showed charts indicating that Eugene ranked 15th in transit trips per capita, and not even Madison, Wisconsin, which was ranked first, achieved the result of 17 percent for work-related trips. He said he did not favor continuing to state that unrealistic goals could be met. He said the consultant1s report indicated a goal was something to be strived for, but a forecast was both attainable and highly likely. He added that he hoped the review of TransPlan would be done using a logical forecast, rather than an unrealistic goal that was becoming difficult for more and more people to accept. Dave Dillman, 429 Brookside, said he was concerned about the relationship of the TransPlan to the downtown area. He showed a map of the 19 analysis areas and said the projected decrease in automobile traffic downtown resulting from alternative mode use was in sharp contrast to the trends of population increase and doubling of auto traffic in the metro area. He said he felt the alternative mode percentages in the plan were too high, and he requested a new computer model such as that recommended by MAPAC, with lower alternative goals done as soon as possible to make the plan more effective. e Mayor Obie thanked the speakers for their brevity and asked that the slides they used be made available to staff for reproduction and inclusion in the record. Torn Lesiak, 409 Riverview Boulevard, Springfield, representing the Springfield Bicycle Committee, read a letter of December 3, 1985, stating the committee1s support for the Bicycle Element of the draft TransPlan. Beth Conant, 2255 Columbia, Eugene, representing the Eugene Bicycle Committee, read portions of a December 4, 1985, memo describing the committee's unanimous recommendation that TransPlan be adopted. John F. Conroy, 36380 Jasper Road, Springfield, representing the Springfield Chamber of Commerce Transportation Committee, urged representatives of the three governments to work together on a plan for a 30-30 connector road from the area of Lane Community College to Springfield. He said he believed staff had not included the plan because they did not feel the jurisdictions could work together. Mr. Conroy said he continued to work on the plan, which he displayed, and added that the land could be obtained more easily and less expensively now, before the area became congested. He said the plan had been included in the T-2000 Plan. He said even though funding and plans for the connector were not developed, leaving the project in the third phase of TransPlan would allow planning around the area for a possible future connector. e MINUTES--Joint Elected Officials Hearing--TransPlan December 4, 1985 Page 4 Paul Sturtz, 244 West l2th,/Stephen Chrisman, 342 East 13th Apt. 2, Eugene, e submitted a working paper for a potential citizens' advisory team concerning alternative modes of transportation for Sacred Heart Hospital. Mr. Sturtz said they believed the hospital could grow and still preserve the culture and vitality of the neighborhood and its buildings. They proposed organizing a committee to assist Sacred Heart in developing solutions to building and parking plans. He suggested it work within TransPlan goals, using various tactics to promote alternative modes of transport, and maximizing use of already existing flat parking and parking structures. Mr. Sturtz said he believed Sacred Heart and other employers in the area had subsidized single- occupant auto trips by offering parking to employees at artificially low prices of about $15, rather than the market range of about $30 quoted by Diamond Parking representatives. He said TransPlan advised subsidizing public transport and alternative modes, and LTD was enthusiastic and flexible about working with the hospital to increase ridership, which also should decrease parking need. Mr. Sturtz said although LTD ridership had not increased substantially with the offer of a $5 discount last year, they believed a larger discount would pay dividends. He also said Sacred Heart was "endorsing a dismal trend of overreliance on the automobile" by financing parking, and if subsidized parking were halted, solo driving to work would decrease, according to a Transportation Quarterly report attached to the working paper. Mr. Sturtz said proposals emphasized working with LTD to improve the bus system. He said he believed Sacred Heart had eliminated bus service as a e solution in order to strengthen the argument for parking lots. He also said a meeting between the two groups was expected soon, and they hoped the hospital would pursue the matter sincerely. Mr. Sturtz said it would be more cost effective to sudsidize public transit in the long and in the short run than to build new parking structures. Some suggestions for solving some of the area's parking problems included making routes and times more convenient for hospital employees, offering bulk discounts to Sacred Heart employees on passes, and establishing more convenient transfer stations and a park-and-ride network in areas such as Autzen Stadium and the Lane County Fairgrounds, with a shuttle to and from the hospital at shift times. Mary Ann Rombach, 85782 Springfield-Creswell Highway, Pleasant Hill, representing the League of Women Voters of Lane County, said the league felt the TransPlan overall set a satisfactory level for street improvement and continued to work toward a balanced transportation system. Ms. Rombach said the group would prefer that implementation strategies under Planning and Coordination (Page 4) include level of service and safety as prime reasons for implementing projects and that those reasons be assigned more weight than other criteria listed. She also asked that the mention of transit service to the airport on Page 6 also include service to the Amtrak system. Ms. Rombach said the league wondered why no federal or state money was available for the Ferry Street bridge project (Page 11), adding that more data concerning funding of that project and present and future levels of services was wanted. She also asked why the project was included in the mid-range of e priorities rather than the short-range if the bridge already was congested. MINUTES--Joint Elected Officials Hearing--TransPlan December 4, 1985 Page 5 The league had additional questions about project 314, the new bridge over the e Willamette River (Page 13). Ms. Rombach said more data was wanted concerning impacts on traffic patterns. She said the league was willing to assist in developing funding for the projects and favored fuel taxes and motor vehicle taxes as the most equitable methods of raising money. She added that Oregon had a low vehicle tax rate compared to other states, and she suggested something other than a flat rate, such as basing rates on age and cost of vehicles. The league's concerns also were outlined in a letter of November 20, 1985, included in the information packet. ~?h~l~a~a~d, 4038 Alder Street, Eugene. representing Sacred Heart Hospital, 19 19 te testimony included in information packets from the November 7, 1985, Joint Planning Commission hearing. He said Sacred Heart endorsed the general thrust of the plan, but the eight percent transit assumption for the area translated to a goal of about 25 percent for Sacred Heart employees, which he said they felt was extremely ambitious, although alternative modes would inevitably playa greater role. Mr. Hayward said changes in the health care industry were causing greater numbers of outpatients seeking minor treatment ranging in length from two to eight hours, adding that many were too sick to ride the bus or a bicycle, and indications were that the growth of outpatient services would continue. He said the number of inpatients also had increased in the past six months, placing additional pressure on parking and transportation facilities serving Sacred Heart. e Mr. Hayward cited the challenge of competing with major hospitals in the Portland area which, in most cases. included convenient access, and free or low-cost parking for employees and patients, and that of maintaining a livable, economically stable community. He said more than 20 percent of patients came from outside Lane County, up from 15 percent three years ago. adding that access and convenience were critical factors for that group, which he said also had an impact beyond the hospital. Mr. Hayward urged adoption of the changes recommended by the Eugene Planning Commission to provide for a clear amendment process. He said TransPlan did not address the current parking shortage at the hospital. He said approxi- mately 1500 people visited Sacred Heart during a typical business day, not including the second shift arriving at 2 p.m., and they vied for 813 permanent parking spaces, 391 of which were on surface lots that would disappear with more development. Mr. Hayward suggested that the statement in the Parking Element (Page 24), ". . . high prices or shortage of parking spaces can encourage transit and alternative modes use," was inaccurate, adding that those incentives also could cause problems between administrators and angry employees. He said Sacred Heart was the only major hospital in Oregon to charge employees a significant rate for parking, and he suggested the challenge was to provide incentives for alternative mode use and to acknowledge that change in attitudes and lifestyles occurred slowly. e MINUTES--Joint Elected Officials Hearing--TransPlan December 4, 1985 Page 6 Jeff Stier, 958 West 11th, representing the public interest, said he e questioned the assumption that the population goal of 293,000 people would be met by the year 2000, adding that he understood the most recent population growth projections were contained in an L-COG document completed in 1978. He said he thought updated projections were needed, noting that the MAPAC slides had included the same population assumption, which he emphasized was not known. Mr. Stier also referred to the proposed addition of a new fundamental principle #7 of the Metropolitan Area General Plan (vol. II, section II, Page 4), stating that the population level, rather than a specific year, was the basis for the plan. He said the amendment should not be characterized as adding needed flexibility to the plan, but rather as begging the essential question--when the improvements would be needed, if ever. He said he supported Councilor Wooten's comment of the previous evening, that capital improvements could not be planned for using such an ambiguous timeframe. Mr. Stier also said the question of funding would become acute if the expected number of people had not come into the area to help pay for the IIwish listll of projects. He read a statement from the introduction to the Financial Element (Page 26) that improvements outlined in the TransPlan could only be completed by expansion of existing, or development of additional revenue sources. He said potential sources of revenue included fuel taxes, utility taxes, a sales tax, payroll tax, or income tax, etc. He also said the expected deficit for the 15-year construction schedule was $117.5 million and would require presenting a strong case to voters. e Mr. Stier mentioned the issue of air quality, noting that the metro area was located in the bottom of one of the most persistent temperature inversions in the United States, which resulted in smoke, dust, and pollutants being concentrated in a small volume of air with no natural outlet. He said he did not feel that promoting or hurrying urban growth such as that envisioned in TransPlan was the business of government. He said he thought public money was being used in entrepreneurship and speculation, rather than in seeking to accommodate growth. He added that he thought the role was dangerous because too many of those involved in local government had sub- stantial financial holdings in the area and, even in unrelated areas, their judgment could not help but be influenced by those stakes. Mr. Stier cited the example of a public official with land holdings in West Eugene who naturally would favor investment of pUblic money in infrastructure in that area, even if it might not be in the best interests of the whole community. Jeri Cohen, 825 East Park, representing the Willamette Valley Company, 660 McKinley Street, said the November 7, 1982, memo in the packet described the reliance on the T-2000 Plan and Metro Plan in the company.s planning. She said the thrust of the company's challenge to the TransPlan involved concurrent public review of that plan and the draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Sixth-Seventh extension project. She said both the T-2000 and Metro plans had delineated the Alternative 2 alignment proposed by the EIS, and the company was highly suspicious of the change in delineated routes to the EIS's Alternative 1 route. She said staff had responded that the e MINUTES--Joint Elected Officials Hearing--TransPlan December 4, 1985 Page 7 proposed alignments merely indicated the corridor within which the highway was e proposed and were not site-specific, and that language was included requiring further study to determine a precise alignment. She also said staff had known for about 2-1/2 years that all alternatives addressed in the E1S were being considered, and information about the project was available. She said the Willamette Valley Company was not convinced its reliance upon the T-2000 and Metro Plans was misplaced. She said it would be reasonable to assume that precise location of a proposed street would be subject to site-specific analysis and to a certain amount of expected deviation. The deviation between the two alternatives, however, was well outside acceptable limits. She noted that the company had improved its manufacturing warehouse facility in 1983, installing numerous storage tanks at large expense and requiring city permit approval. She said the company had not been advised that an alignment other than that indicated in the two plans was being considered. Ms. Cohen also noted that national Environmental Protection Act regulations pursuant to which the draft E1S currently was being circulated prohibited any action concerning the proposal that would limit the choice of a reasonable alternative, adding that the limitation applied to both state and local agenies. She suggested that adoption of the draft TransPlan with the Sixth-Seventh extension as presently delineated would violate the prohibition and urged that adoption of TransPlan be delayed until after final adoption of the Sixth-Seventh extension project alignment. Pete Lafferty, P.O. Box 2066, (Seneca Road), said he felt the extension of a good freeway from 1-105 to the west was inevitable. He said Roosevelt Avenue e originally had been the planned location of that route and should be the focus of current efforts. He said it could greatly relieve the pressure on West 11th at least as well as the extension of Sixth-Seventh. He also said he thought three arterials would be overbuilt, adding that the improvement to Roosevelt would cost less for condemnation, would do less to disrupt business and to congest the flow of traffic, and would have more limited access in the area between Garfield and Seneca streets. He said Sixth-Seventh would not lend easily to future use as a freeway, and he felt 1-105 should be kept in the TransPlan with a connector to the west. Mr. Lafferty said he understood the concern that moving back to the original route after selling off the right-of-way was difficult, but that was not sufficient reason for dropping the best possible route and going with the "poor second" of Sixth and Seventh Avenues. Richard Gold, 2354 Emerald Street, read a statement submitted for the record, outlining his concerns about inadequate public participation in planning and about an open public process for appointing members of advisory groups. The statement also discussed the recommendation referring to the 293,700 population level identified in TransPlan and in the Metro Plan and deletion of a specific year; along with the fact that the City of Eugene was behind in maintenance and upkeep of existing facilities; amendments to population figures; inadequate listing of air pollutants and projected noise levels; and why all project alternatives were not pictured on the street map. e M1NUTES--Joint Elected Officials Hearing--TransPlan December 4, 1985 Page 8 Mr. Gold also submitted a statement dated December 4, 1985, from e Alvin Ur~uhart, 1820 Olive, urging that street projects 214, 227, and 316 be deleted ecause of the impact of increased traffic on Wsst 18th and 11th avenue neighborhoods, and suggesting that alternatives be offered. Tom Bowerman, 33707 McKenzie View, said he was concerned about including the automobile as a primary design element because of the damage it inflicts on the environment. He said he favored the plan's general ideas about increasing use of alternative transit, but specific plans for implementation appeared to include too much use of the automobile. He suggested more meaningful and creative implementation methods, such as making the bus free, noting that it would increase ridership greatly and that fares accounted for only 20 percent of LTD revenues. He said he would be willing to pay an income tax of 1/2000 percent or a property tax of 1/100 percent to support his proposal. Mr. Bowerman suggested changing ordinances to make parking less dominant in the urban landscape, and he urged compact, efficient growth, such as that in the 1990 Plan, in order to make alternatives inviting. He said citizens would continue to resist street improvements until acceptable alternatives were pursued. Connie Toomey, 2577 Harris Street, representing cyclists, said many lower income residents and senior citizens depended on and enjoyed using alternative modes of transportation, adding that she expected use to increase. Marriner Orum, 2389 Floral Hill Drive, said he was enthusiastic about the Bicycle Element of TransPlan and would like to see it implemented. He noted e the high quality of bicycle facilities in the area and the non-polluting nature of the bicycle, and he said he would like to see some priorities set. He suggested four projects for priority, including a route through Springfield along the Millrace, Glaser Street, and Thurston Road; completion of Riverfront trails from Springfield to Armitage Park; paving the shoulders of the Northwest Expressway; and a bike route from Amazon to Fern Ridge Reservoir. Jon Silvermoon, 2441 Madison Street, said he had found a comparison between TransPlan and the T-2000 Plan difficult, and he suggested that a table more clearly listing policies and deletions would be helpful in the future. Mr. Silvermoon suggested that policy #2 under Planning and Coordination (Page 4) be strengthened to include implementation of appropriate new policies dealing with use of telecommunications equipment to reduce trips for information. Referring to proposed policy TSM1 (Page 3), he said he favored leaving in wording from Page 29 of the T-2000 Plan management policy calling for transportation management techniques to be examined and/or implemented lias a first alternativell to construction. Mr. Si1vermoon said he was concerned about TransP1an's omission of Policy 6 in the T-2000 Plan, which called for demonstrated need before investment of public funds in transportation facilities or services. He said he thought such a policy should be retained in TransPlan, especially with the 1I0ver- programmingll of projects and the lack of funding sources. e MINUTES--Joint Elected Officials Hearing--TransP1an December 4, 1985 Page 9 e Mr. Silvermoon said he did not think the long list of implementation criteria listed under policy 2 (Page 4) provided any guidance as to the order projects should be implemented, adding that they instead appeared to be a IIblanket catch-all.1I He said he was disturbed by TransPlan's IIwish listll of projects. He said short-term projects were estimated to cost considerably more than each government's projected revenue, not including other multi-jurisdictional projects. He also said while ambitious projections might be justified for the medium- and long-term, he thought they were fiscally irresponsible in the short-term, adding that he did not believe the community would support new taxes. He said he thought the project list should be condensed to include short-term projects that were intended and affordable. He also suggested changing the level of service goal from E to F to see which projects fell out. Mr. Silvermoon said he thought now was a good time, because of the Mid-Period Review of the Metro Plan, to make a needed examination of land-use patterns and their links to transportation. He also reminded listeners that figures for alternative mode use were goals, not projections, which could be revised in five years, and said he favored reaching for that vision. John Dreeszen, 1550 High #11, representing the Associated Students of the University of Oregon, expressed appreciation for the hours of staff and volunteer work spent on TransPlan, adding that ASUO was particularly impressed with the proposals for continued improvement of bikeways and alternative and mass transit, and noting support for the parking element. He said students e recognized the continued primary use of automobiles but also the negative affect of on-street parking and parking structures on neighborhoods. He noted increasing student concern about the expansion of Sacred Heart Hospital at the expense of the neighborhood's character, and said students objected to claims by Sacred Heart of parallel interests between the two. He said ASUO regarded policies PK3, 4, 5, and 6 to be critical in establishing necessary control over the current trend to expand parking facilities. He said members of ASUO felt it was an excellent idea for employers to subsidize mass and alternative transit, rather than parking structures. He also said improvement of bicycle parking and locking structures would be helpful, and establishing an allowable number of new parking spaces for development seemed a reasonable way to limit paving of retail and residential space. He also said such suggestions might cause the demand for employee parking to decrease, opening up more space for patients. He suggested that incentives for employers, such as reducing the required contributions to the transit district, based on the subsidies of mass transit for employees was an excellent way to encourage cooperation, but should be backed up by limits and guidelines. He said Sacred Heart served a critical role in the community, and resources and their allocation must be shared, adding that neighbors of Sacred Heart felt the plan helped to strike a balance between their needs and those of the hospital. Dick Briggs, 80 West 23rd Avenue, Eugene Chamber of Commerce, said he felt TransPlan was good overall, but transit and alternative mode goals were too e hi gh. He added that, because of the stringency of proposed policies required MINUTES--Joint Elected Officials Hearing--TransPlan December 4, 1985 Page 10 to achieve the goals, it would be worthwhile to assess the affects of lower e percentages on community streets and parking facilities. He said if the goals were not achievable, sufficient capacity was required of proposed improvements to accommodate the extra traffic flow. Mr. Briggs said the chamber suggested changes in proposed policies to keep through traffic out of industrial areas as well as residential areas, to delete II premature II extensions of bike paths beyond the urban service boundary, and to delete "unnecessarily restrictive" prohibitions against on-street parking and limiting of off-street parking. He asked that the reasons for the changes be judged against the response by the Technical Advisory Subcom- mittee's memo of November 12. Mr. Briggs also submitted written testimony. Micheal Gannon, address unavailable, spoke concerning long-term transportation at the south end of the Willamette Valley. He said the Springfield-Coburg railroad line had been closed, and allowing it to remain closed would represent a long-term loss into the 21st century for high-speed rail transit. He said a number of proposals existed in Congress to allow for land banking of current railroad lines, and future plans such as TransPlan should work to develop participation in the responsibility to designate traffic serving a number of communities on the Wi1lamette corridor. He suggested leasing routes and said he expected the light rail system in Portland to reveal economic development opportunities that have been ignored in transportation planning for the Eugene area. Mr. Gannon also said he thought the community needed to focus on data e terminals as a method of reducing trips. He suggested linking data terminals with computer networking within the community to transportation units such as LTD transit stations, in order to build a more sophisticated knowledge base. Mayor Obie thanked the speakers and closed the public hearing. D. Questions of Staff Eugene Public Works Director Christine Andersen said staff felt the transit - goal was a significant movement toward agreement on a realistic goal that was ambitious, but also attainable. She said some conflict had existed in the T-2000 Plan about the transit goal. She said specific project identification during the first five years of the plan would not be substantially altered if the transit goal were re-evaluated and lowered. She also said the staging proposal would allow progress toward the transit goal to be evaluated as part of TransPlan's annual review process. By the time of the next update in five years, that information would be available, along with data from the transit and alternative mode study proposed in the appendix, and a future target could then be set. She also said current figures indicated four to five percent of work trips are made by transit, with about eight percent by bicycle in Eugene, and five percent in the metro area. She said the goal was ambitious, but staff felt the opportunity existed to monitor progress toward the goals and to adjust accordingly. e MINUTES--Joint Elected Officials Hearing--TransPlan December 4, 1985 Page 11 " She said the information presented in the slides had omitted the percentage of e trips that were through or commercial. She said the modelling process looked at trips according to purpose, and affect of alternative mode and transit usage was applied only to those trips internal to the system, so that approximately 40 percent of the total trips were not represented in the slide information. Ms. Andersen said the Ferry Street Bridge was a City of Eugene project, and funding was therefore the City's responsibility. She said federal and state opportunities were always being sought. Significant lead time was needed to evaluate and design the project, thus its inclusion in the second phase. She said the Valley River bridge was an alternative to a major improvement that would be required at the current Washington-Jefferson bridge, so the need was for overloads if some other crossing was not provided. Ms. Andersen said the comments from the Eugene Planning Commission regarding Sacred Heart attempted to respond to the hospital's concerns about parking and development in that area, and she encouraged review of those comments. Mr. Holmer asked whether it was possible to identify those projects in the short-term that constituted the $117 million deficit, suggesting that the plan should identify projects that would be built, in addition to those that would be desirable. Ms. Andersen said the deficit resulted from lack of an identified funding source for particular projects, and projections were made based on the level of funds currently available. She said it was possible an opportunity would exist to review the project list and to apply certain local, e state, or federal funding sources, but other projects might not meet the criteria or exceeded the level currently available or projected to be available. Mr. Holmer asked whether the list arrived at might be distorted by the availability of certain funds and would therefore not reflect what truly ought to be the priorities. Ms. Andersen said a certain amount of distortion did occur in capital improvements programming because of funding availability, and she said a similar problem might exist with the project list. Kevin Roberts, Springfield Traffic Administrator, voiced support for Ms. Andersen's comment concerning the transit goal. Mr. Roberts said the reasons the 30-30 connector project was not included in the TransPlan were that traffic was not expected to overload Main Street and South A Street; that improvements to the Eugene-Springfield highway would still be needed; and that the connector would go beyond the Urban Growth Boundary, encouraging growth in an area not designated for development in the Metro Plan. Mr. Rogers asked whether any analysis had been done of potential energy savings as a result of the 30-30 connector. Mr. Roberts said the number of vehicles redirected was not significant enough to offset the cost of building. Staff also responded that no consideration had been given to probable future development of the LCC Basin. Lane County Public Works Director John Goodson addressed concerns about the accuracy of population projections, saying the long-range transportation needs identified in TransPlan were based on land-use configurations in the Metro e MINUTES--Joint Elected Officials Hearing--TransPlan December 4, 1985 Page 12 Plan and its population projections. He said planners recognized that e projections were not an exact science, but that the best available data must be used. He said TransPlan consisted of short-range projects identified in the County's five-year capital improvement program and long-range projects that were not time-certain. He said long-range projects needed to be planned for well ahead of time, even if the exact year of their need was not yet known, in order to allow for right-of-way needs and eventual construction. He said the county CIP was the only implementation document for county projects, and long-range projects identified would be considered for implementation when the County Board of Commissioners felt projects were justified. He said staff therefore did not believe that the issue of population projections was a major factor in the adoption of TransPlan. He said timing of metro area projects was correlated to population growth, but when the need arose was something to be determined by each agency. Lane Transit District Planning Administrator Stefano Viggiano said it was very difficult to predict the amount of transit ridership so far into the future, because many of the variables, such as gas price and availability, were difficult to predict and outside of local control. He said some factors could be controlled, however, adding that TransPlan had been designed to lead to policy decisions by elected officials that would promote transit use and help to meet the projected goals. Mr. Simmons said Portland and other metro areas seemed to be part of a national trend toward offering free transit service downtown, and he asked whether LTD had any specific implementation strategies to reach the e projections. Mr. Viggiano said free service had been considered and a reduced-fare shuttle had been implemented downtown. He said that or other service could be made free. He also said TransPlan contained suggestions for a system of more direct, more frequent service connecting areas of high use, which it was believed would handle the eight percent ridership and be attractive to users. Mayor Obie asked staff what the first opportunity for review of the ridership level and population figures would be if TransPlan were adopted. Ms. Andersen said the plan called for an annual review one year from the adoption process, and studies identified in the appendix would be looked at then, along with other data gathered over the year. Ms. Andersen said TransPlan had a dual purpose in that it also was intended to be the pUblic facilities document required by the State, and that was why a full list of projects was identified specifically in the plan, even though not all were funded. Mr. Holmer asked about the criteria for the list of projects, and Ms. Andersen said criteria came from the transportation planning process. She also said staff had felt it was beneficial to list projects more specifically than had been done in the T-2000 Plan because it made it easier to identify projected needs for improvements and to meet the requirements of the PFP planning process. Mr. Replinger reviewed the schedule for deliberations: December 16 for Springfield, and December 18 for the other three bodies. e MINUTES--Joint Elected Officials Hearing--TransPlan December 4, 1985 Page 13 E. Discussion e Ms. Calvert said much of the success of the transit goal depended on the response of the three jurisdictions to the plans and policies in the TransPlan. She suggested an additional policy be added: "Establish a permanent central transit station in downtown Eugene that is located and designed to meet the needs of bus riders and to operate safely and efficiently." Mayor Obie asked whether inclusion of the additional wording would assist with federal funding of construction. Ms. Calvert said she did not think it would have much effect on funding, but would function more as a reminder that the station was needed. Mr. Rust said he favored removing the deficit and seeing what could be purchased with $150 million. He said he thought a critical mistake had been made in the assumptions process in the number of trips per household, resulting in the large numbers of unfunded projects. He also suggested that if people knew about the $.25 billion cost over the next 15 years, they probably would accept a less convenient level of service. He said if the assumptions were reworked, some of the numbers came out differently. He offered projections of the years in which the final reserves of oil would be used, adding that assumptions for federal, state, and local revenues should be lowered, the plan was overbuilt, and the original assumptions should be used. Ms. Ehrman said she thought officials would do well to become more visible themselves about biking, walking, and riding the bus, and she suggested e designating a few days per month for community leaders to use alternative transportation modes. Ms. Bascom said she thought of the project list as funding goals, adding that she had seen funding sources change dramatically over the past decade, and more changes probably would occur during implementation and update of the plan. She also said she recognized the concerns of Sacred Heart Hospital and of the neighborhood residents and she hoped cooperation could result in creative solutions. Ms. Bascom said she had visited Madison, Wisconsin, and had been impressed with that city.s management of auto use. She added that she thought the plan was workable and the amendment process was clear. Ms. Schue said she agreed with Ms. Ehrman about setting an example concerning alternative transporation, and she invited others to join the effort. Mr. DeFazio said he did not believe County Commissioners would be deliberating on December 18, because a number of work sessions was scheduled first. He said no date had been set yet, but the County would be providing public notice. He explained that commissioners were concerned about where the plan was headed, and felt most of the assumptions were predicated or oriented totally toward increasing the road system for automobile traffic. He added they were not convinced of the likelihood of fewer trips per household, but that assumption had been used to hold down other assumptions pushing for more and wider roads. He said commissioners wanted the area to grow, but not on the "San Jose model." He said he thought further examination was needed of e MINUTES--Joint Elected Officials Hearing--TransPlan December 4, 1985 Page 14 assumptions and of the level of service, specifically how much of the day - would be at service level E and what level was being planned for. He said if use of automobiles was made attractive, alternative modes would not be used. He also said he favored setting project priorities within the categories. Mr. Rogers said he was surprised by the emphasis on bike projects, and by the lack of any provision for taxing or licensing bicycles as a method of raising revenue. He suggested discussing which jurisdiction should take the lead for doing that. Mr. Hansen urged that the County lead. Mr. Simmons said the plan was intended to be global, but some specific implementation issues needed to be worked out clearly in encouraging ways to increase transit ridership. He also said he was interested in the Coburg railroad, and suggested that staff examine a method of transit not totally oriented to hydrocarbon consumption, such as light-rail corridors or some other method without such a tremendous reliance upon the cost of road rebuilding and maintenance. He said he believed the cost-per-person of a light-rail was less than that of an urban road bed, and he noted that it also created less pollution. He said he thought the plan was good, and although it had a few glitches in funding and population, those could be worked out as part of the update processes. Mayor Obie said he felt a lack of attention to transportation needs and the forming of unrealistic goals in the past had created a snuffing of the economy. He said he thought that was corrected to some extent, but not totally, by TransPlan. He said alternative mode goals should be held high, . but also should be checked carefully for realism, adding that he was willing to wait and see what happened. He said he agreed with the need to be careful about self-fulfilling prophecies about growth, lack of growth, or diminishing economy. He said the challenge was to attain financial backing, to attain the goals set out in the modal split, and to attain the population growth, and they should be looked at as goals for a healthy community. - MINUTES--Joint Elected Officials Hearing--TransPlan December 4, 1985 Page 15 Agenaa Springfield City Council, Eugene City Council, Lane County Board of Commissioners and Lane Transit District Board of Directors Joint Public Hearing - Council Chambers, Eugene City Hall, 777 Pearl Street, Eugene December 4, 1985 7:00 p.m. Item Hearing Format I. INTRODUCTIONS II. JOINT PUBLIC HEARING ON TRANSPLAN 1. Opening of Hearing by Brian Obie, Mayor of the The Eugene-Springfield Metropolitan City of Eugene Area Transportation Plan (TransPlan) 2. Presentation by staff is desi-gned to serve the area's long- 3. Public testimony range transportation needs. TransPlan 4. Questions of staff supports the community.s acknowledged S. Closing of joint hearing land use plan, the Metropolitan Area 6. Discussion by council & General Plan. When adopted, TransPlan board members will supersede the Eugene-Springfield Metropolitan Area T-2000 Transportation Additional discussion by Plan adopted in 1978. Input received officials will occur at a later during the hearing will be used for date. For information on . elected and appointed officials' meeting dates and times, deliberations on TransPlan. contact agencies listed below. EUGENE CITY COUNCIL LANE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS Brian Obie. Mayor Peter DeFazio, Chair Cynthia Wooten, President John Ba 11 Ruth Bascom Chuck Ivey Debra Ehrman Bill Rogers Richard Hansen Jerry Rust Freeman Holmer Jeff Mi 11 er Roger Rutan Emily Schue SPRINGFIELD CITY COUNCIL LANE TRANSIT BOARD OF DIRECTORS John Lively, Mayor Janet Calvert, President Christine Larson, President Peter Brandt Linda Christensen Janice Eberly Richard Gassman Joyce Nichols Richard Gorman Larry Parducci John Kelley Gus Pusateri Fred Simmons Richard Smith - For more information about this agenda, please contact the Springfield Planning and Development Division (726-3759), the Eugene Planning Department (687-5481), the Lane County Public Works Department (687-4491), the Lane County Land Management Division (687-3958) or the Lane Transit District Administrative Offices (687-5581).