Adam Jones Emerald
Student Dustin Joll walks on East 11th Alley, which was purchased by PeaceHealth and could soon be closed to the public.
PeaceHealth is shelling out $85,000 to buy the alley bordering the north edge of Sacred Heart Medical Center between Hilyard and Alder Streets, a path students and community members use to walk to the University.
The ordinance to vacate the alley, which was passed by the Eugene City Council on Dec. 10 and becomes effective on Jan. 9, is the latest development in the medical group’s plans for the hospital and surrounding facilities.
PeaceHealth spokesman Brian Terrett said there are no current plans for the alley, and he would not predict the property’s future. He said that owning it would allow PeaceHealth more flexibility in planning what to do with its Eugene campus.
“We just felt it was important to have the alley in our possession,” Terrett said.
The group is relocating its main hospital facilities to a 160-acre site bordering the McKenzie River in Springfield. The hospital finalized the land purchase on Dec. 31, and it expects to break ground on the project in 2003.
If PeaceHealth decides to close the alley to the public, it could implement that decision as early as Wednesday.
Mark Allen, a resident of Eugene who uses the alley to get to work every day, said that PeaceHealth will have to expend some effort to get him to change his route.
“They’ll have to put up a fence to keep me from walking through this alley,” he said.
Some city officials agreed that getting people to choose a new route might be difficult.
“They may need security guards,” city of Eugene associate planner Gabe Flock said. “They may need to gate it.”
Terrett said if the hospital decides to close off the alley, there will be plenty of warning.
“We’re committed to a substantial public information campaign,” Terrett said, with “at least a month’s notice.”
David Brink, chief financial officer of Oregon Medical Laboratories, a subsidiary of PeaceHealth that borders the alley, said the alley should be closed as soon as possible.
“We’ve had people hit in the alley by vehicles,” Brink said. “It is not safe.”
Brink added that the thoroughfare has been a dangerous spot for many years. The alley, which parallels 11th Avenue, is long and narrow, and delivery trucks are constantly pulling in and out of the area. Workers on break sit on the curb or by the large Dumpsters, smoking just a few feet from the steady stream of traffic.
PeaceHealth initially submitted to the city a request to vacate the alley in April 2001.
“We were forced to go to the council with a recommendation for denial,” Flock said. “None of the details had been addressed to our satisfaction.”
During the summer, Terrett says the hospital did some traffic counts and determined that people could simply use 11th Avenue instead of the alley.
“The applicants tried to show that the alley wasn’t being used,” Flock said. “In the end, the city council sided with PeaceHealth.”
Flock said the city is concerned that if PeaceHealth decides to close the alley, they won’t be able to find an alternate bike route, as the eastbound side of 11th Avenue does not have bike lanes.
Terrett said that the hospital plans to iron out the details with the city.
“We’re going to work closely with the city,” Terrett said. “There’s a lot of work that still needs to be done.”
E-mail community reporter Brook Reinhard at [email protected].