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HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem A - Hospital UpdateEUGENE CITY COUNCIL AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY Work Session: Hospital Update Meeting Date: September 22, 2004 Agenda Item Number: A Department: Planning and Development Staff Contact: Tom Coyle www. cl. eugene, or. us Contact Telephone Number: 682-6077 ISSUE STATEMENT A work session has been scheduled on September 22, 2004, for the purpose of briefing the City Council on the latest developments related to siting a hospital in Eugene. Specifically, staff will provide three transportation alternatives to extend Agate Street. BACKGROUND Initial council discussions about hospital expansion and siting in conjunction with PeaceHealth took place in 2001. At a City Council work session on September 18, 2002, the City Council directed staff to prepare a draft list of potential sites and inducements for hospital development. A continuation of the study session on Eugene hospital sites was scheduled for November 13, 2002. These work sessions were in response to the intent to induce a hospital to Eugene. In early 2003, the council initiated a zone change to accommodate hospital uses in a wider range of zone districts and subsequently adopted the ordinance (that ordinance is currently in appeal at the Court of Appeals). A City Council work session was held on January 21, 2004, to update the council on the status of attracting a hospital to Eugene. The latest update to the council was on June 16, 2004, when staff sought affirmation on an access strategy. At that time the City Council directed the City Manager to evaluate three alternatives to extend Agate Street to provide access to a potential hospital located on the EWEB site (see Attachment A for alternatives prepared for review). RELATED CITY POLICIES Hospital development on the EWEB property has been identified as a City Council goal for 2004. McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center has identified the need for access as being critical for siting a hospital on the EWEB site. Is the council willing to provide access to the site via Agate (through the Riverfront Research Park) and Patterson (through a railroad underpass)? As part of a negotiated Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center will provide an improvement of $85 million with a substantial Willamette River setback. COUNCIL OPTIONS The council's options are to review the three street alternatives provided in Attachment A and determine if any of those proposals are acceptable. The estimated costs for the alternatives presented in the attached memo from Mark Schoening note estimated costs as follows: 1) Street Alternative 1 at $10 L:\CMO\2004 Council Agendas\M040922\S040922A. doc million; 2) Street Alternative 2 at $10 million; and 3) Street Alternative 3 at $19.5 million. Other stakeholders who would have an interest in these options are EWEB, the University of Oregon (Riverfront Research Park), and entities with an interest in the Millrace and railroad underpasses at Agate Street and Patterson Street. CITY MANAGER'S RECOMMENDATION The City Manager recommends the proposal for extending Patterson Street. SUGGESTED MOTION Move to direct staff to pursue a development agreement for the benefit of providing access to McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center via Patterson Street. ATTACHMENTS A. Memo dated August 24 from City Engineer Mark Schoening regarding Agate Street Extension Alternatives. FOR MORE INFORMATION Staff Contact: Tom Coyle Telephone: 682-6077 Staff E-Mail: tom.g.coyle~ci.eugene.or.us L:\CMO\2004 Council Agendas\M040922\S040922A. doc ATTACHMENT A Public Works Engineering City of Eugene MEMORANDUM 858 Pearl Street Eugene, Oregon 97401 (541) 682-5291 (541) 682-5032 FAX Date: August 24, 2004 To: Mayor Torrey and City Council From: Mark Schoening, City Engineer 682-5243 Subject: Agate Street Extension Alternatives Introduction At the Council work session held on June 16, 2004, the City Council directed the City Manager to evaluate three alternatives to extend Agate Street to provide access to a potential hospital located on the EWEB site. The alternatives are shown on Attachments 1 and 2. This memo summarizes a qualitative engineering analysis of the three alternatives. All of the alternatives depart to varying degrees from "Avenue A" and "Avenue B" as identified in the Riverfront Research Park conditional use permit (CUP). Two of the alternatives use the existing Agate Street railroad underpass. One alternative includes a new railroad underpass. All of the alternatives include a new bridge to cross the Millrace. All of the alternatives would connect to the proposed Patterson Street railroad underpass. The estimated costs of the three alternatives are based upon work completed by CH2M Hill for estimating the costs of the Patterson Street underpass and the extension of Avenue A. Street Alternative 1 Description Except for its western terminus/railroad underpass, Street Alternative 1 follows the alignment depicted as "Avenue A" in the Riverfront Research Park CUP approved by the City in 1989. The street is a continuation of the (now partially constructed) Riverfront Parkway on the north side of the railroad tracks, extending the Riverfront Parkway westward. Alternative 1 includes a western terminus for the street that differs from that in the CUP. In the CUP, the western end of"Avenue A" connects to the existing at- grade railroad crossing at the intersection of Eighth Avenue and Hilyard Street. Alternative 1 proposes a different connection/terminus for "Avenue A." Under Alternative 1, "Avenue A" would be extended westward a few hundred more feet, beyond the boundaries of the CUP. Patterson Street would be extended north for about 600 feet and a new Patterson Street railroad underpass would be constructed Agate Street Extension Alternatives August 24, 2004 Page 2 of 2 further west of the existing at-grade railroad crossing now located at the intersection of Eighth Avenue and Hilyard Street. Avenue A would then connect to this new underpass on the north side of the railroad tracks. This alternative uses the existing Agate Street railroad underpass. This alternative includes a new bridge over the Millrace. Cost Estimate The estimated cost of Alternative 1 is $10 million. The cost includes $4.8 million for construction and $5.2 million for right-of-way. The construction cost includes $3.55 million for road construction and $1.25 million for a new bridge over the Millrace. Street Alternative 2 Description Street Alternative 2 is the same as Alternative 1, except in one respect. Under the CUP and Alternative 1, some of "Avenue A" would be constructed directly adjacent to the northern boundary of the railroad tracks, but a middle stretch of"Avenue A" would diverge north from the tracks, running parallel to the railroad tracks for about 1500 feet at a distance that reaches about 100 feet from the tracks. This allows "Avenue A" to be "double loaded" for this stretch. The CUP shows two parking lot parcels on the south side of"Avenue A," between it and the railroad tracks, in this stretch. Under Alternative 2, that segment of the CUP' s Avenue A which diverges north from the railroad tracks, would be realigned so that Avenue A stays directly adjacent to the northern boundary of the railroad tracks for its entirety. As with Alternative 1, Alternative 2 would extend "Avenue A" a few hundred feet further to the west of the terminus shown in the CUP, beyond the boundaries of the CUP, where it would instead connect to the proposed Patterson Street underpass. This alternative uses the existing Agate Street railroad underpass. This alternative includes a new bridge over the Millrace. Cost Estimate Alternative 2 differs from Alternative 1 in that the alignment is modified to follow the railroad right-of- way for the entire length of the roadway. Therefore, Alternative 2 would cost approximately the same as for Alternative 1. The estimated cost of Alternative 2 is $10 million. The cost includes $4.8 million for construction and $5.2 million for right-of-way. The construction cost includes $3.55 million for road construction and $1.25 million for a new bridge over the Millrace. Street Alternative 3 Description Street Alternative 3 would be an east-west street that stays entirely on the south side of the railroad tracks, adjacent to the south side of the railroad right-of-way for much of its length, following the path of Agate Street Extension Alternatives August 24, 2004 Page 3 of 3 "Avenue B" in the 1989 CUP for most of its length. Under Alternative 3, however, "Avenue B" would not connect to Franklin Boulevard as the CUP provided. Under Alternative 3, "Avenue B" would be extended further westward and turn north, to a new railroad underpass within the CUP area, but not contemplated in the CUP. After crossing to the north side of the railroad tracks, "Avenue B" would continue westward adjacent to the north side of the railroad tracks to provide access to the site. An underpass of the railroad requires approximately 400 feet of road length on both sides of the underpass to descend to a depth of 16-1/2 feet and ascend back to ground level. The underpass was located 400 feet west of the Millrace to avoid impacting the Millrace and to minimize the length of roadway north of the railroad. Because of the close proximity of Alternative 3 to the railroad, the new underpass would cross under the railroad at a 45 degree angle. The close proximity of Franklin Boulevard to Alternative 3 precludes a connection of the two roadways because of the grade separation caused by the underpass. The Millrace on the south side of the railroad is significantly wider than the Millrace on the north side of the railroad and would require a longer bridge than Alternatives 1 and 2. Alternative 3 passes through an area developed and actively used by the University of Oregon. This alternative requires the acquisition and demolition of five Quonset huts used for storage and two greenhouses. In addition, the alternative would have to include provisions to maintain the local circulation currently provided to the University' s steam plant, facilities and maintenance buildings and classrooms. A vacant structure owned by the City on the west side of the Millrace would also be demolished with this alternative. Cost Estimate Alternative 3 is estimated to cost $19.5 million. The roadway is approximately 10 percent longer than Alternatives 1 and 2. The cost estimate includes $13.8 million for construction and $5.7 million for right- of-way. The construction cost includes $3.9 million for road construction, $2.5 million for a new bridge over the Millrace, and $7.4 million for a new railroad underpass. Attachments (2) Agate Street Access Options Potential Hospital Site Attachment A, Attachment 1 Agate Street Access Options to Potential Hospital Site (Detail View) ^~o~ ^~ ^~o~~