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To: Staff and Officials of the City of Eugene <br />and <br />Interested Persons <br />From: Mary Tegel <br />2730 Emerald Street / Eugene, Oregon 97403 <br />541.683.4705 <br />Re: Vehicular Parking on Turf near Amazon Pool 31 July, 2003 <br />It has come to my attention that local citizens, with the assistance of legal counsel, have drafted a <br />letter contesting the parking of motorized vehicles on the turf for Amazon Pool patrons, as <br />"overflow parking." I am writing this as an attachment to that letter. <br />Because I am the chair of the Amazon Neighborhood Association, I chose not to sign the the <br />above -cited letter because I do not want to convey the appearance of impropriety in my capacity as <br />a neighborhood leader; our association meeting schedule cannot accomodate the speed and urgency <br />of this situation. And, as a group, the association Steering Committee has written a letter to pool <br />managers. Instead, I choose to write this memo as an ordinary citizen. <br />There are several issues: <br />- confusing management decisions which seem inconsistent with city goals and rules <br />- the ongoing loss of open space <br />- the degradation of the land <br />I contest the practice of parking on the turf. I suspect that if this were the practice of a private <br />entity, code would be enforced precluding parking on turf, so close to a waterway, and in the <br />floodplain, and nearby to areas of important vegetation and. It is unacceptable for many vehicles to <br />be parked on open ground --- dripping antifreeze and other automobile fluids, with muffler <br />systems creating a fire hazard, and which compact the soil. Further, this practice - -- which occurs <br />every day for many hours -- precludes my enjoyment of the park. <br />If structured activities continue to claim park land, where can I sit and quietly read a book, watch a <br />bird, have a conversation with a friend, and notice the passage of the day and seasons? Open -space <br />is that - -- if it is dedicated to any land use, my understanding is that plants and animals, included <br />two-legged people on foot would be the acceptable and allowable use. <br />I concede to recreation staff that they have a parking problem. I would prefer to call it a <br />transportation problem with planning and management flaws, The pool is an asset and I would not <br />take a bit of the pleasure away from the many hundreds of swimmers; I appreciate the work the <br />staff does to accommodate this worthwhile activity. The city does not owe patrons a place to park. <br />e. e. <br />�O.ns�fwe -�'b <br />i <br />