Roosevelt
Blvd.is a better connector between Beltline and 99, it
serves northwest Eugene neighborhoods better than WEP could. Some
local traffic would use Roosevelt, regional through traffic would bypass
on Belt Line.
transfer WEP money to finish Beltline,
fix Roosevelt / 99 intersection two options for completing Beltline: (1) if Peak Oil is here,
(2) if Peak Oil is not yet here. The larger option could convert
Beltline to an interstate highway - perhaps I-605?
transfer ODOT / City lands for WEP to BLM's
West Eugene Wetlands Project
new roads:
First - 99 - Second Connector, Barger Road Extended & Trainsong
Connector (to NW Expressway)
fix West
11th intersections (would cost about $2 million, the cost
to complete WEP study), other road repairs
bicycle paths and lanes, pedestrian safety enhanced by road test for
drivers license renewals
land use shifts to coordinate transit and development, mixed use centers,
co-housing neighborhoods
"Saving Oil in a Hurry" - practical steps
toward coping with sudden energy shortages, road safety, speed limits
upgrade Amtrak to enable high speed trains to Seattle
Second and Garfield: ideal location for Eugene's
new hospital (central
& accessible)
Peak Oil and climate change are "new circumstances" that requires reopening
the NEPA process
City of Eugene Adopted Growth Management Policies
violated by WEP
Endangered
Species Act: a "license to kill" - Road Kill: Fender's
Blue Butterfly and Car Fenders
controlled burning for wet prairie restoration incompatible with WEP
environmental
justice: WEP traffic dumped onto 6th and 7th would severely impact
Whiteaker neighborhood
plants of the West Eugene Wetlands - photos by Linda Swisher
Endangered
Species Act: a "license to kill" - Road Kill: Fender's
Blue Butterfly and Car Fenders
controlled burning for wet prairie restoration incompatible with WEP
Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglass
- a letter that protected a
park from a parkway
sand
and gravel - impacts of an elevated WEP in the wetlands
Piercy defends push for parkway forum
By Edward Russo
The Register-Guard
Published: Friday, December 9, 2005
The Federal Highway Administration, in collaboration with two other
federal agencies, next year plans to decide if the environmental studies
that have been done for the roadway comply with federal law.
If so, the federal agency could issue a recommendation to build, something
the Oregon Department of Transportation needs in order to start construction.
The mayor's proposal, which could use a mediator with transportation
expertise, would provide another opportunity for public input, said
Emily Lawton, assistant administrator of the Federal Highway Administration's
Oregon division, who attended the MPC meeting.
"This would give the public a chance to say have you considered
this (alternative) before?" she said. If the answer is "no" and the alternative fits the
official purpose of the parkway, which is to improve traffic through
the west part of town, then it's possible the environmental review would
"go back to square one," she said.
Purpose
and Need
West
Eugene Parkway
WETLANDS
alternative
"Provide
a major access-controlled east-west connecting arterial ... between
Highway 126 ... and the I-5 / I-105 corridor."
The WEP would not
connect to I-105.
The 2002 TransPlan amendment to approve
most of the WEP removed funding for WEP also competes with Belt
Line projects that are the main connection between 126 and I-5.
WEP traffic would overload 6th and
7th at Chambers and at I-105.
The "Couplet
Alternative" unveiled in October 2005 would not build an
"access-controlled" arterial east of Seneca, but instead
would funnel Beltline traffic onto inadequate local roads with numerous
driveways and intersections.
The
WETLANDS alternative would complete Belt Line (the real 126
/ I-5 connection) and permit its upgrade to Interstate
Highway status.
The west 11th / Beltline
route between Highway 126 and I-5 would be a better express through
route than Highway 126 to I-5 with the WEP (fewer traffic lights).
Expanded public transit (including
west Eugene Bus Rapid Transit), intersection repairs on West 11th,
a few new roads (the First / Second connector), and zoning shifts
could reduce congestion more than the WEP.
Peak Oil's economic impacts will
reduce traffic demand long before the WEP's design year of 2025.
The "Purpose and Need" need to be rewritten to include
consideration of natural limits to growth, including Peak Oil and
probable impacts of climate change on regional water supplies.
"Improving
access to the West Eugene industrial area via direct connections."
The
WEP's 5th / 7th couplet would make access to existing businesses
more complicated. The partial access at Seneca (no
left turns allowed from WEP) would not improve access to
the area.
The WEP threatens to convert industrially
zoned areas into commercial strip malls (which are more
profitable near major highways).
The WEP is an effort to extend the
declining paradigm of boom and bust toxic industry that is unlikely
to survive past the peak of petroleum production.
The
First / 99 / Second connector would improve access to the industrial
area better than converting 5th and 7th into the WEP.
Completing Belt Line, fixing 99
and Roosevelt, and intersection repairs around the industrial zone
would better benefit businesses.
A long term program of shifting to
green businesses and bioregional sustainability would ensure continued
viability of industrial type jobs.
"Better
link West Eugene residential areas with downtown, thereby supporting
orderly and planned growth."
The WEP
would bypass all three residential areas in west Eugene: River Road, Bethel-Danebo, and 18th Street - South Hills.
Bethel area drivers are better served by Roosevelt, 99 and Belt Line,
River Road would not benefit at all from WEP, and 18th Street congestion
issues were ignored by the EIS.
New links
between Highway 99 and Northwest Expressway would improve neighborhood
connectivity. The First - Second connector would improve connectivity
for the west Eugene industrial area (the WEP would reduce connectivity
for some businesses). The intersection repairs along west 11th and
nearby roads would improve traffic flows more effectively and cheaper
than WEP.
"Implement
an important part of the area-wide roadway system as envisioned in
... TransPlan."
The
WEP would not fulfill the 1986 TransPlan (which
WEP was originally designed for), which included Terry Street from
WEP to 11th, a Danebo / WEP intersection and Beltline extended to
18th Street.
It would not even meet the current
Transplan, Regional Transportation Plan or any other government
planning document. The WEP / Beltline interchange was not in the
TransPlan when it was developed. WEP funding cannot be accommodated
in the region's long term transportation budgets.
The
WETLANDS alternative would integrate existing roads with new connectors
better than the overpriced , ineffective WEP.
The alternative could be fit into
the 20 Year fiscally constrained list with projected highway funds.
A new TransPlan / Regional Transportation
Plan amendment is required whether a Final EIS is ever published
or No Build is selected.
"Relieve
congestion and improve safety on West 11th Avenue."
The
WEP would increase traffic on north-south roads between the highway
and West 11th (Seneca, Bailey Hill, Bertelsen, Belt
Line, Green Hill), clogging these West 11th
intersections.
The worst congestion in Eugene is
on 6th & 7th Avenues and on Beltline.
Fixing
West 11th intersections for safety and capacity would cost about $2
million. Completing the Supplemental Final EIS is expected
to cost at least another $1.7 million (money that cannot be used to
solve the problems).
The National Environmental Policy Act requires that an Environmental
Impact Statement develop a “purpose and need” for a proposed
federal project, and that this P&N is the baseline for developing
a range of alternatives to consider during the project development phase.
The WEP’s “purpose and need” (P&N) was written in
1985 as part of the original DEIS.
The P&N is so out of date that it needs to be rewritten. Since 1985,
the BLM bought land in the path of the parkway for ecological restoration
purposes, and its recent inclusion in the NEPA process as a “cooperating
agency” means that the agency needs to participate in the “scoping”
of alternatives. Several analyses have shown that there is no need to
build a large expressway in West Eugene to cope with traffic problems
and poor land use designs. Public support for the WEP is decreasing, and
would be almost non-existent if the region needed a new gas tax to pay
for the budget shortfall. Perhaps the most important changed circumstance
that mandates a new P&N is the fact that we are nearing, if not at,
the global peak of petroleum production.
ODOT and FHWA have not been able to design a version of the WEP that
meets the five requirements of the 1985 P&N.
ODOT officials have repeatedly
suggested that there are three purposes for WEP (beyond
the 1985 P&N statement).
1. To facilitate through
traffic in the region.
The WEP would not significantly
improve this, and if funds for WEP delayed fixes to Beltline,
it would reduce this goal.
The WETLANDS alternative
would meet this goal through finishing the Beltline (Phase
3 - Highway 99 to West 11th). The travel from 126 to I-5 would
have 2 traffic lights without WEP, and 3 lights with it.
2. To accommodate local residential
traffic.
The WEP would have minimal improvement,
if any, to local residential traffic in the three main residential
areas of west Eugene (northwest Bethel, River Road, 18th Street).
The WETLANDS alternative would better
serve existing neighborhoods through fixes to existing roads
and a few new roads (none on WEP route) to provide better connectivity.
3. To serve the west Eugene industrial
zone
The WEP would not improve access to
the industrial area, and some businesses would see reduced access
from the "Couplet Alternative." The WEP would also
provide significant incentives to convert industrial zoned lands to
commercial areas (near intersections).
The WETLANDS alternative would provide
better mobility and access for the industrial zone. The First / Second
Connector would better serve the industrial zone than converting 5th
and 7th Avenues (from Seneca to 99) into the WEP
Purpose
and Need
The National Environmental Policy Act requires that an Environmental
Impact Statement develop a “purpose and need” for a proposed
federal project, and that this P&N is the baseline for developing
a range of alternatives to consider during the project development phase.
The WEP’s “purpose and need” (P&N) was written in
1985 as part of the original DEIS.
Purpose and Need #1:
“Provide a major access-controlled east-west connecting arterial
... between Highway 126 ... and the I-5 / I-105 corridor”
The WEP would not connect to I-5 or I-105. The 1996 ODOT traffic study
states that 6th and 7th Streets east of the WEP terminus at Garfield
Street would be overloaded beyond road capacity, causing congestion
that does not meet a reasonable standard for “purpose and need.”
This level of saturation also would violate ODOT’s standards for
acceptable levels of congestion on major state highways such as 126.
In addition, the Plan Amendments would cancel a road “modernization”
project on 126/I-105 (widening the off-ramp from the Washington/Jefferson
bridge onto 6th Street), which the Plan Amendments predict would cause
even more severe congestion in Year 2015.
In July 2002, two projects on Belt Line (Belt Line Phase 3 from Roosevelt
to West 11th, River Road to Delta Highway) were “futured”
to find money for the WEP. The documents provided by the City and County
as part of the TransPlan amendment process admitted that “futuring”
the Belt Line widening from River Road to Delta Highway would cause
it to degrade from Level of Service D to LOS E eastbound, and LOS E
to LOS F westbound. This violates the WEP’s ostensible “purpose
and need” to connect Highway 126 to I-5. In addition, the TransPlan
will likely need to be revised again to accommodate the “heart
transplant” of Sacred Wallet hospital to the McKenzie River floodplain
– which would require even more widening of the Belt Line.
ODOT’s “Frequently Asked Questions” about the WEP
(Fall 2001) changed this purpose and need statement to “Provides
a major, access-controlled, east west connection between Oregon 99 and
Oregon 126 west of Eugene.” However, an alternative of an upgrade
to West 11th west of Belt Line, the completion of Belt Line, and upgrade
to the Roosevelt Blvd / Highway 99 intersection would meet this revised
purpose and need statement, providing a (mostly) access-controlled,
east-west connection between Oregon 99 and 126 to the west.
Purpose and Need #2:
“Improving access to the West Eugene industrial area via direct
connections”
Existing north -south roads and Roosevelt Blvd. already provide sufficient
access. The latter is is not congested during rush hour, and the SDEIS
did not include traffic projections for Roosevelt, perhaps because the
analysis showed that this major arterial would remain lightly used.
ODOT’s 1995 approval of the Belt Line widening project would sever
the Belt Line / Roosevelt connection, forcing industrial area traffic
onto WEP.
The WEP threatens to convert industrially zoned areas into commercial
strip malls (which are more profitable near major highways). This would
displace some industrial area businesses to more distant locations,
defeating this ostensible purpose for the parkway. The partial access
at Seneca (no left turns allowed from WEP) would complicate access to
the area.
The WEP would also divert traffic from existing businesses that depend
upon West 11th traffic.
Purpose and Need #3:
“Better link West Eugene residential areas with downtown, thereby
supporting orderly and planned growth.”
The WEP route would bypass west Eugene residential areas. These neighborhoods
– River Road, Bethel and the south hills – would not be
next to the WEP. Bethel and southwest Eugene motorists would have to
pass existing east-west roads to access the WEP.
The WEP’s overloading of 6th and 7th Avenues makes a “link”
with downtown more difficult.
The WEP would probably facilitate an exodus of businesses from the downtown.
Building this much transportation “infrastructure” at the
edge of the urban area would be a magnet to encourage relocation to
the periphery. For example, two years ago, EWEB, Eugene’s utility,
contemplated relocating their headquarters from its downtown location
to First and Seneca, immediately next to the WEP. This “purpose”
of the WEP needs rewriting to indicate how the highway would help turn
Eugene into a doughnut pattern of development, with sprawl around the
periphery of the region with a hollowed out downtown at the core. The
City of Eugene cannot simultaneously profess an interest in revitalizing
downtown while planning a freeway at the edge of town to serve out of
state big box retail stores
Purpose and Need #4:
“Implement an important part of the area-wide roadway system
as envisioned in ... TransPlan.”
The current WEP version would not fulfill the 1986 TransPlan (which
WEP was originally designed for), which included Terry Street from WEP
to 11th and a Danebo / WEP intersection. The current TransPlan does
not include the WEP / Belt Line interchange – all of the WEP is
not in the 20 year fiscally constrained list.
Purpose and Need #5:
“relieve congestion and improve safety on West 11th Avenue”
The SDEIS admitted that West 11th intersections with Belt Line, Bertelsen,
Bailey Hill and Seneca would exceed acceptable levels of congestion.
The WEP would merely add a new congested route through west Eugene,
not “relieve congestion and improve safety.”
Real Parkway
Purpose:
California style "donut" development to ensure a permanent
Republican majority
“collective wet dream of all the panting suburban realtors /
commercial homebuilders / car dealers / strip-mall developers / parking-lot
pavers, and other pathogenic characters who fed off the metastasizing
tumors of suburban sprawl.”
www.accessatlanta.com/ajc/opinion/0102/city_in_mind.html
The real purpose for the WEP is to facilitate new subdivisions
in an expanded City of Eugene that would attract conservative Christians
-- many from southern California -- who presumably are habituated to giant
freeways and monoculture sprawl dominated by franchises for multinational
conglomerates that lack any local identity. The WEP would make
Eugene look more like southern California so new arrivals from there will
feel more welcome. These new citizens, who are not yet taxpayers for the
region, would then ensure a socially conservative, financially unconstrained
city Council. The WEP would spread sprawl around Fern Ridge reservoir
with “ticky-tacky little boxes that all look the same.” This
puncturing of the UGB would also facilitate trophy homes on the ridgeline
above Willow Creek (which would pour lawn chemicals into Willow Creek
headwaters). Another purpose is to centralize the regional economy with
Wal-Mart type stores to concentrate economic power at the expense of locally
owned businesses.
The west Eugene Wal-Mart / Target combination, one of the ugliest locations
in the metro area, is a perfect example of the real “purpose”
of the parkway.
