HomeMy WebLinkAbout08/19/1996 Work Session
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MINUTES OF THE WORK SESSION MEETING OF
THE SPRINGFIELD CITY COUNCIL HELD
MONDAY, AUGUST 19,1996
The City of Springfield Council met in Work Session in the Jesse Maine Room, 225 Fifth Street,
Springfield, Oregon, on Monday, August 19, 1996, at 6:00 p.m., with Mayor Morrisette
presiding.
ATTENDANCE
Present were Mayor Morrisette, Councilors Ballew, Beyer, Burge, Dahlquist, Maine and Shaver.
Bicycle Committee members present were Joe Downing, Chair, Rex Redmon, vice-chair, Teri Jo
Garitz, Mike Higgins, James Bolivar, Rich Farrell and James Ullmann. Also present were City
Manager Michael Kelly, Assistant City Manager Gino Grimaldi, City Attorney Joe Leahy, City
Recorder Eileen Stein, Administrative Aide Julie Wilson, Traffic Technician Dean Bishop,
Transportation Manager Gary McKenney and members of the staff.
I. Springfield Bicycle Committee Joint Meeting.
Traffic Engineer Gary McKenney presented the staff report on this issue. This joint meeting
is to provide an opportunity for the City Council to meet with the Springfield Bicycle
Committee and discuss activities, goals and accomplishments.
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Mr. McKenney reported that the Council last met with the Bicycle Committee in June 1994.
Since then, the Bicycle Committee has had several membership changes, accomplished
considerable work, and is involved in several current and future projects.
Items discussed included planning activities (Master Bicycle Plan Update and Metro
Transportation Plan Update), events support (Filbert Festival, Business Bicycle Challenge)
and special bike projects (Main Street and Pioneer Parkway).
Transportation Manager Gary McKenney discussed efforts made to get accurate bicycle
count data for several planning activities. He eXplained that spending money on monitoring
bicycle trail activity, for one week, would not be an efficient or accurate method to gather
data. He explained that during the school year the schools have been visited and parked
bicycles have been counted. This has assisted to provide a better number of bicycle riders.
He explained a good analogy would be sidewalk use and stated that sidewalks are provided
as a service to pedestrians, not because of the need people have for them. He said bicycle
paths could be considered in much the same way.
Councilor Burge felt this issue of determining accurate counts of bicycle riders was difficult
and necessary. He was not opposed to bicycle paths projects, although, did not understand
how the need was calculated and determined accurately.
Mr. Downing discussed the benefits of bicycling versus use of a vehicle for transportation.
He explained bike paths were widely used and referenced the Springfield Bike Plan.
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A Bicycle Committee member commented on the benefits of connecting various bicycle
paths and the fact that this would result in higher bicycle ridership.
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City of Springfield
Work Session Meeting
Page 2
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Mayor Morrisette discussed the Bicycle Challenge event. He stated this was another
opportunity to obtain a good bicycle count data and commented that many city and county
employees used bicycles as a mode of transportation during this event.
After discussion, Mr. Downing indicated the Bicycle Committee would get definite
information about bicycle use and survey information from schools and businesses.
Mr. Downing then discussed the Main Street striping project. He stated that later this year
when the Oregon Department of Transportation restripes Main Street, they will also stripe a
bicycle path lane on Main Street.
Also discussed was the Metropolitan Transportation Plan (Trans Plan). Mr. McKenney
stated the Bicycle Plan would also be a component of the Trans Plan.
Mr. Downing stated the Bicycle Committee would be involved with the Filbert Festival in
conjunction with the Big Brother/Big Sister group. They would be volunteering to assist
with the bicycle valet parking project during the festival. Fencing and bike racks would be
available for riders to lock their bikes while attending the festivaL
Chief DeForrest explained the City of Eugene is currently working on efforts regarding
bicycle security. Once the report is available he would forward it to the Bicycle Committee.
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Mr. Downing explained the annual Bicycle Challenge was a success. Over 1,600
participants were involved in the challenge.
Mr. Downing explained that the Pioneer Parkway bike path project was moving forward.
Mr. McKenney explained the contract was scheduled for award at the end of 1996 or early
1997.
Mr. Downing stated that Lane Transit District was also supporting bicycle riding by having
bicycle racks in front of buses.
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 6:50 p.m.
Minutes Recorder - Julie Wilson
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, Bill Morrisette
Mayor
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City Recorder