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at 9 a.m., thanks to a grant from the City of Eugene's Neighborhood Matching Grants Program and a donation of materials
<br /> from Jerry's Home Improvement Center. The sod was removed at an earlier work party, and this Saturday volunteers will
<br /> focus on digging a pit and establishing a border for the play area and building a sandbox and picnic table. Once
<br /> completed, the covered sand box and play area will provide diversion for children in a protected area while their parents
<br /> tend rented garden plots at the City's community garden site at 15"and Hayes streets.
<br /> "These changes will help improve the sense of community in the garden and provide a place for children to gather,"says
<br /> Community Gardens Manager Chris Girard.
<br /> Davy Ray, the volunteer coordinator of the project, hopes to christen the project in early August with a community potluck.
<br /> For more information about volunteering, contact Ray at 782-2131 or dray@darkwing.uoregon.edu. For more information
<br /> about the Neighborhood Matching Grants Program, call Program Coordinator Beth Bridges at 682-5272. For more
<br /> information about the Community Gardens Program, call Program Manager Chris Girard in Parks and Open Space at
<br /> 682-4845.
<br /> Work Under Way to Calm Traffic in the Area of Polk Street and West 24th Avenue
<br /> Work has begun on a project to slow vehicles and increase traffic safety in the vicinity of Polk Street and West 24'
<br /> Avenue. Wildish Construction Co., under contract to the City of Eugene, began work on the $144,000 traffic calming
<br /> project on Monday, July 14. The project includes building traffic islands on Polk Street between 24`h and 28`h avenues and
<br /> on 24`h Avenue between Fillmore and Friendly Streets, installing four traffic circles at various locations, and constructing
<br /> speed humps on Taylor, Tyler and Adams streets between 28`h and 24`h avenues. Work is scheduled to be substantially
<br /> completed by late August.
<br /> The City initiated the traffic-calming project after several meetings with residents in the neighborhood. The design is
<br /> similar to the safety improvements made in 2001 in the area of 33rd Avenue east of Donald Street. Neighborhoods
<br /> throughout Eugene have made requests for speed humps, traffic islands and other traffic-calming features designed to
<br /> slow down vehicles on local streets and create safer facilities for pedestrians and cyclists. Public Works prioritizes
<br /> requests based on availability of funding and severity of safety issues.
<br /> Local access will be maintained during construction. Project updates are being provided on the City of Eugene's traffic
<br /> %o•relief hotline, 984-8484, and on the internet at www.ci.eugene.or.us/pw/traffic. For more information, contact Project
<br /> Manager Ginger Perales at 682-8473.
<br /> Park Grant, Donations, Volunteer Work Move Delta Ponds Project Forward
<br /> A$250,000 state park grant, a significant donation of property from a local business, and ongoing volunteer work are
<br /> among the latest developments in a major project to enhance the Delta Ponds area in north Eugene. The$6.2 million
<br /> Delta Ponds project, being undertaken in partnership with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers,will improve the connection
<br /> of the ponds to the Willamette River, helping water flow between the ponds and enhancing water quality and access for
<br /> fish and other wildlife while maintaining winter flood control. The recreational components of the project include new
<br /> parking areas, accessible trails, viewing areas, and interpretive signage.
<br /> The Oregon Parks and Recreation Commission on August 7 is expected to approve a $250,000 grant in support of the
<br /> recreation improvements at Delta Ponds. The lottery-funded state grant program was approved by Oregon voters in 1998.
<br /> The City of Eugene will match the state grant with $450,000 in local funds, including $200,000 from the city's park bond
<br /> measure approved by local voters in 1998. "Funding from federal, state and local sources is being combined with
<br /> community contributions to make the Delta Ponds project a uniquely collaborative effort,"said Kevin Finney, project
<br /> manager with the Eugene Public Works Department. "This collaboration is also producing a thoughtful design for a very
<br /> special place that will be an asset for the entire region."
<br /> Meanwhile, the project's planned trail system has gotten a boost through donations of land and easements by a locally
<br /> owned broadcasting company and by volunteer work done by local Rotary Clubs. The land donation and conservation
<br /> easement being provided by John and Renate Tilson, principal owners of McKenzie River Broadcasting, will allow the
<br /> construction of a parking area, viewing platform, boardwalk and gravel path. "We are very pleased to be participating in
<br /> this important environmental project and helping preserve the nature of the area,"said John Tilson.
<br /> Six local Rotary clubs—Eugene Emerald, Metropolitan, Eugene Mid-Valley, Eugene Airport, Eugene Southtowne, and
<br /> '40`Eugene Delta -- have stepped up to help construct a path connection from Goodpasture Island Road to Dedrick Slough.
<br /> EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 3
<br /> July 17,2003
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