HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 12 Correspondence from Philip Farrington, PeaceHealth, Regarding the Pioneer Parkway EmX Corridor Proposal
Property Planning & Development
February 18, 2008
. PeaceHealth
Mayor Sid Leiken and City Council
City of Springfield
225 Fifth Street
Springfield, OR 97477
Re: Pioneer Parkway EmX
Dear Mayor Leiken and Council:
Please accept this letter as support from PeaceHealth for the Pioneer Parkway EmX
corridor proposal. As you know, PeaceHealth has actively planned for the EmX project
and incorporated it into our roadway design for RiverBend Drive. We believe that Phase
2 extension of the EmX will provide significant benefits to staff and visitors at Sacred
Heart Medical Center at RiverBend, employees at the RiverBend Annex, and other
existing and future development in the Gateway area.
The proposal to have two dedicated EmX lanes along International Way is critical to
providing the rapid, efficient transit service which EmX can deliver. There is ample
room within the curb lines along International Way to provide the existing vehicle and
two dedicated EmX lanes, and widening the existing sidewalks to serve as multi-use
pathways is consistent with the approach the Council approved in designing the MLK
Parkway through the RiverBend campus.
The proposed EmX design allows for future flexibility, as they will not be separated from
regular traffic lanes by curbs, thereby allowing regular traffic to make left-hand turns as
needed.
Promoting enhanced transit service through EmX will help reduce congestion in the
Gateway area and allow for greater utilization of existing parking resources by
encouraging higher transit usage. I urge you to approve the Pioneer Parkway EmX
proposal, because it is the most efficient and cost-effective design that impose the least
private burden to provide the greatest public benefit.
Phone: (541) 335-2593
Fax: (541) 335-2595
RiverBend Annex 123 International Way Springfield, OR 97477
www.peacehealth.org/oregon
Dedicated to Exceptional Medicine
and Compassionate Care
.~. . ~
cc: Tom Boyatt, City of Springfield
Lisa VanWinkle, Lane Transit District
Jim Werfelmann, PeaceHealth