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Stewart Road Closure <br />May l0, 1999 <br />Page 10 <br />improvement should be closed or have access limited until the improvements are <br />initiated. <br />5.055(e) Existing state and local laws regulating use of public ways. <br />The only applicable state or local law that is apparently relevant to the decision <br />concerning a resolution of the problems of Stewart Road, is the City's Administrative <br />Order 58-96-07, which prohibited through trucks and vehicles over eight tons. The <br />testimony was that this order had not succeeded in preventing all truck traffic, and had <br />not halted the deterioration of Stewart Road. This in turn means that something else <br />should be done. <br />Limiting access to streets or roads is among the authorities granted to the manager <br />or the manager's designee in Eugene Code section 5.040. It was exercised when truck <br />traffic was limited on Stewart Road. Completely closing a road is a larger step. There is <br />nothing in the record that shows that any existing state or local laws regulating the use of <br />public ways forbids or directs, requires or justifies the closure. <br />5.055(f) The efficient use of the public way by the public. <br />The City order considers the positive and negative effects of closure on the use of <br />the public way. The order acknowledges the negative effect that closure will have on the <br />use of the public way by the public. The City considers again the increased travel time <br />and travel distance imposed as a result of the closure. As with the previous consideration <br />of these effects, the City concludes that the increased travel time and distance is an <br />unavoidable but acceptable consequence of the closure. <br />The City considers that the public ways will be more efficiently used if traffic is <br />diverted to West 11`h rather than traveling on the deteriorated Stewart Road. The City <br />concludes that, without closure, continued use of Stewart Road would contribute <br />substantially to the further deterioration of Stewart Road. Since, under current City <br />policy, no improvements can be made to Stewart Road, it is more efficient to close <br />Stewart Road than it is to keep it open and deal with the further deterioration. <br />Appellants challenge this conclusion by arguing that the reasons offered for not <br />improving the street are not appropriate. In their view, avoiding improvements because <br />of the cost of assessments to the residents, should not be used as a reason to delay <br />improvement. This is especially true since one of the stated reasons for avoiding the <br />improvements is the fact that sanitary sewers would be installed at the same time, and this <br />would result in large assessments for the residents. Appellants point to the City's policies <br />of requiring construction and connection to sewers elsewhere, and argue that those same <br />policies should be applied along Stewart Road. <br />While it is legitimate to raise those policy questions at this hearing, it is not <br />possible to alter those policies by way of the appeal hearing process. It should also be <br />pointed out that the cost issues that contributed to the City's policy decision included not <br />only the cost to the residents, but also the much higher than normal cost to the City, <br />created because half the otherwise assessable properties would be exempt. Those <br />