New Search
City Parks Planning Staff and Mayor Participate in National Parks Forum <br /> Eugene Mayor Jim Torrey presented issues related to developing a community park in Santa Clara at the sixth annual <br /> Parks Forum in Reno this past July. Andrea Riner, Parks and Open Space Planning Manager, representing City staff, <br /> and UO Department of Landscape Architecture Chair Cynthia Girling representing the community also attended. In <br /> ,ddition to Eugene, four other U.S. cities participated in the American Planning Association forum during which each <br /> community presented park-related case studies to peers and a panel of experts. Participants included experts in <br /> public/private partnerships, innovative park funding strategies, greenways and riverfront park systems, and the <br /> relationship of parks to urban design. <br /> The response generated from Eugene's case study included suggestions to build a stronger partnership with the UO and <br /> engage the public in a review of the project and a discussion of smart growth, recreation needs, and community values. <br /> Other presentations included: <br /> 1. Charlotte, North Carolina working with the local community college and other public and private partners on the <br /> Sugar Creek Greenway; <br /> 2. Honolulu, Hawaii developing a funding and management plan for a large tennis and soccer complex; <br /> 3. Virginia Beach, Virginia planning a hospital and health"campus" in a portion of an existing city park; and <br /> 4. Buffalo, New York looking for management and funding strategies to enhance and protect its historical parks <br /> system, planned and designed by Frederick Law Olmstead. <br /> Keynote Speaker, Dr. Andrew Dannenberg, gave a presentation on a new Center for Disease Control program that <br /> focuses on the role parks and open space play in promoting public health. For more information about the City Parks <br /> Forum, contact Parks and Open Space Planning Manager Andrea Riner at 682-4909. <br /> People Powered Fridays Celebration Finale Tomorrow Morning <br /> The final celebration for the third annual People Powered Fridays will be held Friday, August 16, from 7 to 8:30 a.m. on <br /> the northwest side of the Ferry Street Bridge. The event, sponsored by the City of Eugene, LTD Commuter Solutions, <br /> and PeaceHealth, includes free coffee and pastries from Full City Coffee Roasters and Bagel Sphere. <br /> —"Nearly one-thousand residents have registered this year, setting a record over previous years. Registrations for People <br /> Powered Fridays are accepted on the City of Eugene website (www.ci.eugene.or.us); at all three Eugene Public Library <br /> branches; at Amazon, Hilyard, Sheldon, and Petersen Barn community centers; at Sheldon, Amazon and Echo Hollow <br /> pools; and at each of the grand prize donors' retail locations: Paul's Bicycle Way of Life, Collins Cycle Shop, and REI. <br /> All who register are eligible to win great prizes. <br /> People Powered Fridays is for residents and commuters in the Eugene area who are interested in transportation options <br /> that are easy, enjoyable and fun, and improve the environment, air quality and livability of the community. Participants <br /> pledge to bike, walk or use some other manual alternative to driving one day each week during the summer months. <br /> For more information on People Powered Fridays, contact Transportation Options Coordinator Cindy Clarke at 582-5285. <br /> Deck Slabs to be Placed for Four New Bridges for the Fern Ridge Path in West Eugene <br /> The deck slabs for four new bridges over west Eugene prairie wetlands will be placed on Monday, August 19, as <br /> construction to add two more miles of the Fern Ridge Path continues. Each of the pre-fabricated deck slabs is 120 feet <br /> long by 7.5 feet wide and will be placed on the bridge foundations by two cranes positioned on either side of Amazon <br /> Creek. <br /> "The Fern Ridge Path has four bridges to allow the path to cross over several waterways,"says City Engineering staff <br /> and project manager Bud DeSantis. "Setting the deck slabs of these new bridges is a major step in the construction of the <br /> path." The Fern Ridge path currently travels along Amazon Creek from the Fairgrounds to Terry Street. New <br /> construction will extend the path north and west to the intersection of Royal Avenue and Greenhill Road, along more than <br /> 400 acres of west Eugene wetlands. The project also includes extensions from the main path to bike lanes at Roosevelt <br /> PAGE 3 <br /> EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE <br /> 3 <br /> August 15,2002 <br />