Eugene voters are deciding the fate of the West Eugene Parkway, as votes trickle in for the special Nov. 6 election held to determine whether voters want the WEP built.
The parkway is designed to address congestion problems resulting from increased traffic in West Eugene. The original measure was passed by voters in 1986 and is being put to a citywide vote to determine whether to move forward with the proposal, according to the elections ballot. The construction project is controversial because it costs $88.5 million that could be used for other state highway projects. It also requires the establishment of 50 to 100 acres of new wetlands to compensate for habitat that will be destroyed if the road is built.
There are two measures on the ballot. 20-54 seeks voter approval for continuing the project, while 20-53 proposes other ways to alleviate congestion.
“Some councilors wanted the public to understand that there are other viable options (to the parkway),” said Bonny Bettman, councilwoman for Ward 3, which includes the University. The City Council voted last year to halt efforts to build the parkway, but it was resurrected in August by council members who wanted the public to decide.
“We have over 20 years of planning that were put in place by numerous planning commissions and citizen committees,” said Mayor Jim Torrey. “It was totally thrown aside on December 13 of last year, when the council blocked any further development of the parkway without a public hearing.”
Rob Zako, a resident of Eugene and a member of the board of directors for the group Friends of Eugene, defended the council’s actions.
“The thinking was they wanted to give the voters a choice,” said Zako. “The current planning we have (serving West Eugene with the parkway) isn’t very good. Industries go in wherever they want to with little regard to how much it will cost the public in transportation funds.”
The $88.5 million will come from the Oregon Department of Transportation. The plan has already secured $17.3 million for the first phase of the project, but allocating the rest of the money might entail shuffling around existing state highway projects in the area.
“We’ll make some short-term sacrifices to build this roadway project,” said Dave Hauser, president of the Eugene-area Chamber of Commerce.
If the parkway isn’t built, computer modeling by the state suggests that by 2015, traffic delays may exceed several signal cycles during peak times on W. 11th Avenue.
“It’s what the highway department calls congestion failure. It’s a nice way of saying gridlock,” Torrey said.
The computer modeling detailed in the ballot measure also predicts that traffic flow will increase to 46,000 cars a day by 2015. However, constructing WEP will only reduce that figure by 9,000 cars a day. If the parkway isn’t built, 36,000 cars will still use West 11th Avenue every day by that year.
Advocates of alternatives to WEP contend that the project will have long term consequences.
“The West Eugene wetlands are irreplaceable,” Bettman said. “We have already invested over $14 million to preserve them.”
Voters won’t see an immediate solution to the traffic problem in West Eugene, no matter which measure passes.
“Whichever ballot measure passes,” Bettman said, “there is considerable work to be done before projects move forward.”
Brook Reinhard is a community reporter for the Oregon Daily Emerald. He can be reached at [email protected].