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B. WORK SESSION: <br /> Update on the West Eugene Parkway and the 2008-2011 State Transportation Improvement <br /> Program <br /> City Manager Taylor stated that the Metropolitan Policy Committee (MPC) was scheduled to vote on the <br /> State Transportation improvement Program (STIl') on November 10. He asked Mr. Corey to provide a <br /> brief overview. <br /> Mr. Corey reminded the council that the STIl' was updated every two years. He said the MPC was <br /> scheduled to discuss modernization projects. He introduced Leon Stiles, consultant for the Oregon <br /> Department of Transportation (ODOT) on the West Eugene Parkway (WEP). <br /> Mr. Stiles thanked the council for the opportunity to speak to them. He noted that he had two degrees <br /> from the University of Oregon and had worked for six years as a transportation planner for the Lane <br /> Transit District (LTD). He then spent ten years managing the light rail system in Portland. He was now <br /> an independent consultant who, two years earlier, had been asked to be the project manager for the WEP. <br /> He provided paper copies of a power point presentation. The electronic presentation was hindered by <br /> technical difficulties. <br /> Regarding the WEP Purpose and Need, Mr. Stiles underscored that the planned WEP had arisen from <br /> increasing problems with West 11~' Avenue resulting from heavier traffic and more traffic signals. He <br /> said the WEP was also designed to bring people efficiently to West Eugene commercial/industrial areas <br /> and residential neighborhoods. He pointed out that current routes to those areas involved circuitous <br /> travel. He stated that West 11~' Avenue was predicted to have seven major intersections by the year 2025, <br /> all of which would not meet ODOT standards and some would not meet City standards. He stressed that <br /> the purpose of the WEP was to move regional travel off West 11"' Avenue to allow better development <br /> opportunities in West Eugene. <br /> Mr. Stiles reviewed the WEP Project History. He said the original plan would have built the WEP on the <br /> south side of the railroad tracks, but this had been modified due to environmental concerns to place the <br /> WEP on the north side of the tracks. He underscored that approximately 20 routes had been considered, <br /> including the one that had been selected in 1999. The revised design would keep the road size at two <br /> lanes in each direction for the length of the parkway, approximately 5.8 miles, except for the addition of <br /> <br /> MINiJTESEugene City Council October 26, 2005 Page 9 <br /> Work Session <br /> <br />