1999 Eugene Arterial & Collector Street Plan

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Discussion and Examples Regulating Access The city seeks to regulate access (private driveways and intersecting streets) on major streets to help achieve safety and mobility goals. In most cases, every lot is legally entitled to at least one access to the adjacent street, but multiple, closely-spaced accesses can present safety and operational prob- lems. Generally speaking, arterials are the most highly regulated and local streets are minimally regulated with regard to new accesses or changes in existing access. For example, the "very high" for freeways and expressways reflects the fact that access to these facilities is only allowed at inter- changes or major, signalized intersections. "High" for urban arterials reflects the city's practice of seeking to balance high mobility needs with the need for some access on these streets. The "me- dium" level of access control for major collectors recognizes that these streets frequently play a role of providing access to both homes and businesses on the street, as well as carrying moderate volumes of traffic. "Low" and "very low" indicate the need for a high level of access on neighborhood collec- tors and local streets. Process: The City's Traffic Engineer has authority to limit the number, spacing, and design of driveways on major streets. Review of development proposals involves a determination about number and spacing of drive- waysand intersections on major streets. Also, when major construction occurs, stafF looks for opportu- nities to consolidate multiple accesses into fewer driveways, particularly on commercial frontage along arterials. Recent examples include the improvement projects on Highway 99 North and West 11th Avenue. Traffic Calming The city's highest priorities for traffic calming are on local streets and neighborhood collectors. Major collectors and arterials are also candidates for traffic calming, particularly when design and construction of other improvements takes place on these streets. Process: City staff and the Neighborhood Leaders Council jointly agree on criteria for ranking traffic calming proposals. City staff (including the Fire Department/ EMS) then work with local residents to apply the most appropriate type of traffic calming to each street. Funding for this program-has been severely constrained during the past three years; neverthe- less, staff and neighborhood representatives are continuing to refine specific proposals for a few high-priority locations, along with the process for determining priorities and potential funding sources. Adding Sidewalks On streets that have curbs and gutters, but lack sidewalks, the city uses a priority ranking method adopted by the City Council to prioritize segments of streets for sidewalk retrofit. Generally the major and minor arterials are the highest ranking sections because of the safety implications of pedestrians trying to walk along these streets without continuous sidewalks. In some cases, though, a collector street or even a local street can be ranked higher based on key factors such as a nearby school or shopping area. Process: During the past five years, city staff has proposed a list of high-priority sidewalk construction segments for Council approval. Property owners have been notified and given time to hire a contractor to complete their particular sections of sidewalk. !f necessary, the city has then hired a contractor to finish any remaining segments, with the cost being assessed to the property owner. This sidewalk program is under review and may be modified by the City Council to address issues of prioritization, cost and equity. The addition of sidewalks to streets that have not yet been improved to city standards (that is, lacking curbs and gutters) generally follows the process described below under "Upgrading Streets to Urban Standards." 38