University students and faculty gathered with Eugene residents to show their support for the Willamette Riverfront at Saturday’s Riverfront Appreciation Day.
Speakers and community members expressed their opposition to the University’s plan to construct buildings along the Willamette Riverfront, a site that many called the heart of Eugene.
“We have to continue to have the river how it is now and preserve it,” ASUO President Emma Kallaway said. “It’s the best thing for students.”
ASUO President-elect Amelie Rousseau agreed.
“We have to make sure that every student has access to green spaces and remember that we’re a part of nature,” she said. “Every student who wears an ‘O’ on their chest has the burden of the choices the University makes.”
The local group Connecting Eugene and the ASUO Executive co-produced the event as part of UO Earth Week. Riverfront Appreciation Day ran from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m and included live music, activities for kids and guest speakers.
Many of the speakers called for more collaboration and transparency between the University and community members and students in the planning process. Connecting Eugene’s petition, which can be signed on the group’s Web site, calls for the University and the Oregon Research Institute to find an alternative site for its proposed construction. The petition also asks for a “transparent, meaningful and participatory planning process” to take place before development begins.
The Riverfront Research Park was approved by the City of Eugene Planning Department in 1989 and was extended by the city for three more years this February. The plan requires nearly complete development of the University’s riverfront property, from EWEB to east of the Autzen footbridge, and from the riverbanks to Franklin Boulevard, according to Connecting Eugene’s Web site. The Oregon Research Institute Building is planned to be constructed at the western end of the Riverfront Research Park.
“The (University’s) master plan must be updated to reflect current values,” Josh Laughlin, conservation director of Cascadia Wildlands and University alumnus, said in his speech. “There’s a lot at stake, both human and non-human.”
The Willamette River and riverfront is home to dozens of animal and plant species, including geese, ducks, osprey, salmon, sturgeon and blackberries.
“The future of this landscape is a reflection of who we are,” Ron Lovinger, University professor of landscape architecture, said. “We are the stewards of the future of this place. We need to stand up and fight for this noble place.”
Community members who attended the event also expressed their concern.
“This is public land being privately controlled for profit,” community member John Krasser said. “The University is more concerned with profit than education.”
Christo Brehm, graduate student in landscape architecture and planning and a member of Connecting Eugene, said there are alternatives to the proposed site.
“There’s no reason for the ORI to be on the river,” he said.
Connecting Eugene member Allen Hancock gave a tour of the riverfront and possible alternative sites for the ORI building to be constructed. Connecting Eugene says a site between Franklin Boulevard and the railroad tracks could be one of the alternatives.
Connecting Eugene was founded in April 2009. The group garnered 300 petition s ignatures on Saturday.
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Event asks University to respect the riverfront
Daily Emerald
April 25, 2010
Courtesy of Connecting Eugene
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