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Office at 682-5411. Busy Week in the `Hoods' 'le second week of the month is always a busy time for the Neighborhood Associations. Eight groups held General or `steering Committee meetings on Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday nights. All told, almost 330 neighbors participated in these meetings! Over 120 people attended the River Road Community Organization's forum on railroad pollution Monday evening. The forum featured speakers from the Department of Environmental Quality and the Oregon Toxic Alliance. Across town, on Tuesday night, over 100 neighbors attended the Fairmount Neighbors General meeting. The University's plans for East campus and the Walnut node proposal were the main topics discussed. In addition to these meetings, about 50 neighbors attended a Southeast Neighbors meeting to discuss the Natural Resources Study; approximately 25 neighbors at Jefferson Westside talked about possible alternative uses of the Fairgrounds; 12 neighbors in Whiteaker debated the River Road Node and the WEP; about 15 neighbors in Amazon shared a delicious Valentine potluck; and the boards of Friendly Area Neighbors and Downtown Neighbors attended to business. For more information, please contact Beth Bridges, Planning and Development, at 682-5272 or via e-mail beth.b.bridges@cieugene.or.us. Union Pacific Railroad Schedules Crossing Upgrades The Union Pacific Railroad is in the process of improving its network of tracks through the Eugene area. Railroad crews are currently pulling up existing tracks and railroad ties and replacing pieces as needed. In Eugene, 10 streets will be affected, one at a time, as Union Pacific makes the needed improvements to its crossings. Work at these crossings will require full closures for two to four days each, depending on whether there is one track involved or two. The railroad expects to begin its work at the crossings by early March. Work will involve removing a section of the pavement or the existing rubberized treatments which are located at the approach to the tracks from each direction. To meet current `andards, existing crossing surfaces will be replaced with pre-formed concrete slabs. All current ADA standards are ..atisfied by this crossing upgrade. Union Pacific's current plan is to move from east to west, with the first crossing location being at East Eighth Avenue and Hilyard Street. Subsequent work will take place at High Street(at East 5th Avenue), then at Pearl, Lincoln, Lawrence, Washington, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe and, finally,the Van Buren street crossing. The work effort will then move on to county crossings, starting with Irving Road, and proceeding north toward Junction City. Traffic control plans will be submitted in advance to Public Works Transportation for review and approval. The railroad intends to position solar-powered variable message boards approximately 48 hours prior to each crossing closure to warn the public of the impending detour. For more information, please contact Jay Millikin at 682-5271, or email jay.millikinQci.eugene.or.us. Carpet Cleaning Professionals and City Form Partnership to Protect Water Quality A new partnership program with local carpet care professionals and the City's gin Stormwater Management program focuses on a commitment to protect local WIER waterways while promoting environmental stewardship. The Clean Water Business Program is modeled after a successful program in Sacramento, California that works in us= conjunction with participating carpet care businesses. d PARTNER�,.r N+� Prior to starting the program here, members of the City's stormwater staff met with several carpet care experts to get their input and determine how to create an effective program in Eugene. The program is educational and voluntary and does not impose more regulations. Participating partners and their staff attend an educational workshop that reviews stormwater pollution issues and best management (116.- EUGENE EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 3 February 14,2003 cc021303.wpd