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~elru~cr~ ~P~ j ~-G <br /> rt~Zq.lg3 <br /> COEXISTENCE BETWEEN BICYCLES AND CARS IN EUGENE <br /> I. Alternative Modes Mandates and Policies <br /> i <br /> i <br /> <br /> j A. TransPlan -Rapid growth in the Eugene/Springfield metro area <br /> (population expected to increase 42 percent, to 290,000 people, <br /> by 2010) and demographic changes ("baby boomers" tend to be <br /> more active, own more cars, travel more frequently) are <br /> straining the area's transportation system. As just one indication <br /> of this, between 1980 and 1990 in the metro area, vehicle miles <br /> traveled grew at the astonishing rate of 24 times the rate of <br /> population growth. Alternative modes of transportation, such as <br /> bicycles, are acost-effective way to take some of the strain off. <br /> B. State and federal mandates - Intermodal Surface Transportation <br /> Efficiency Act (ISTEA) removes funding and policy barriers to <br /> transit, bicycle, and pedestrian projects, and it allows funds <br /> formerly restricted to road projects to be spend on other modes <br /> of transportation. The Clean Air Act Amendments and Clean <br /> Water Act set emission and pollution standards that can be <br /> addressed, in part, through alternative modes. The <br /> Transportation Planning Rule (Oregon Administrative Rules) <br /> requires regional transportation strategies that, over the next 30 <br /> years, will reduce by 20 percent the vehicle miles traveled per <br /> person and reduce by 10 percent the number of parking spaces <br /> per person. Again, the use of alternative modes is a strategy <br /> that can help accomplish these goals. <br /> II. Bike Lanes <br /> A. Why we install them -traffic congestion management, air quality, freedom for <br /> people to make transportation choices, to help manage our community's <br /> growth (so that we can maintain livable community), water quality (storm <br /> water runoff contains pollutants from automobiles), to balance the decrease in <br /> available auto parking. <br /> B. Where we put them - we add bicycle lanes to arterials and most collectors. <br /> Currently, 52 miles of streets have bicycle lanes. <br /> C. Recent additions - We have added 3 miles of bike lanes to streets in the <br /> downtown area as a first phase of implementation of the Central Area <br /> Transportation Study (CATS): on Eighth from Charnelton to High; on 11th <br /> Avenue, extended from Oak to Lincoln; on 13th Avenue, extended from <br /> Patterson to Lincoln; on Lincoln from Fifth to 11th; on Charnelton from Fifth <br /> to 11th; and on 18th Avenue, extending the existing lanes to include the <br /> <br />