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Em X
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Welcome to the West Eugene EmX Expansion Project Information Page
Lane Transit District is developing plans to extend EmX in West Eugene.
You are welcome to send your comments by email here.
See the LTD site here for more information.
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Below are public discussions about the proposed route and a map that shows some design ideas that will change the bike/pedestrian path. To go to the response from businesses, click here. To go to comments addressing cyclist’s concerns, go here. For the map, click here.
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The Mayor and LTD attempt to frame the process:
“...we need to have a different kind of conversation. We cannot fall into a discussion about economic development or the environment, neighborhood or region, long-term or short-term. This new conversation has to be about setting up new choices. Success in this conversation rests on our ability as a community to find the “and” choices: economic development and environment, neighborhood and regional, long-term and short-term. Mayor Kitty Piercy and Mike Eyster, President of the LTD board. From R-G opinion piece, Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Here is the complete text:
Next EmX line needs a different kind of conversation
By Kitty Piercy and Mike Eyster
Our community is in the midst of a crucial conversation about the future of transportation in west Eugene, one of our city’s most challenging transportation environments.
West 11th Avenue averages nearly 25,000 vehicle trips per day. Commuters can count on traffic tie-ups, and buses are unable to stay on schedule. While little has been accomplished, transportation improvements to the west Eugene area have been debated for many years. It is important for all residents to focus on positive solutions.
At the heart of this discussion is Lane Transit District’s proposed West Eugene EmX Extension. EmX is a key component of the Regional Transportation Plan, adopted in 2001, that calls for a 61-mile network of bus rapid transit lines along major transportation corridors. The high-frequency EmX service will be supported by “neighborhood connectors” that provide connections within neighborhoods and to the EmX service.
EmX is one of the key strategies identified in the Regional Transportation Plan to meet the transportation needs of our growing community, support economic development, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions and reliance on foreign oil. Expenditures on transit have been determined to be among the most beneficial in stimulating economic growth.
Our bus rapid transit plan has already proven successful with the implementation in 2007 of the Franklin EmX line, which has more than doubled transit use along the congested Franklin Boulevard corridor. An extension of that initial EmX line into the Gateway area is under construction and has an anticipated completion date of late 2010.
West Eugene would be a further extension of the system to the west, which when complete, would provide direct (no transfer), high-frequency rapid transit connections between west Eugene and downtown Eugene, the University of Oregon, downtown Springfield, and the Gateway area.
During the past fall and winter, an extensive public involvement process helped to determine a range of possible alignments for the West Eugene EmX. Alternatives include an alignment along West Sixth Avenue and West Seventh Avenue, an alignment along West 13th Avenue and West 11th Avenue (avoiding the residential section between Jefferson Street and Chambers Street), and an alignment along the Amazon Creek. Technical experts are now collecting data and analyzing those alternatives. When the possible alignments are presented in early 2010, information will be available on transit ridership, costs, and the environmental impacts of each.
It is clear that all of the potential alignments will have both benefits and drawbacks. It is also clear that many people have strong opinions and are passionate about the various alignments, which is very positive. We strongly encourage public participation.
The most effective public participation will occur when the technical information on the alignments is available in early 2010. The information will be extremely useful to both the public and the decision makers in analyzing the various alignment options. In early 2010, the Eugene City Council and the Lane Transit District Board will solicit public input through a series of public events before selecting a “locally preferred alternative” for EmX in west Eugene.
Federal and state funding that currently is being secured could allow a $75 million investment in the west Eugene corridor to move forward. This investment has the potential to lead a transformation of that important part of the community, while creating an estimated 1,425 jobs for the region.
To realize this potential, we need to have a different kind of conversation. We cannot fall into a discussion about economic development or the environment, neighborhood or region, long-term or short-term. This new conversation has to be about setting up new choices. Success in this conversation rests on our ability as a community to find the “and” choices: economic development and environment, neighborhood and regional, long-term and short-term.
For now, we are asking people to wait until complete information on all of the options is on the table in January before coming to conclusions about potential route alignments. We are asking for people to trust in the robust process that has been put in place by the city of Eugene and LTD to ensure meaningful input, and to contribute as honestly and openly as they can to this most crucial conversation.
This isn’t a plea for silence — in fact, it’s just the opposite. We want to hear from as many voices as possible that are informed by the analysis currently being developed and involved in the conversation about the future of the west Eugene corridor. Important decisions that involve the investment of public funds should be based on the best information available. This includes both technical information and the information that comes from engagement with the full community. We feel this is the foundation of true community building. Together we can meet today’s very real challenges and build a promising future that we can all be proud of.
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Business owners on West 11th express concerns about routing EmX past their businesses.
“Not one business owner who I have talked to wants (EmX)” Riley Riley West, owner of Riley’s Real Wood Furniture. Here is an article that appeared in the Register-Guard July 29th from business owners concerned about EmX on West 11th.
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LTD Addresses Concerns from Cyclists about a proposal to route the line adjacent to the Fern Ridge Bike Path.
On behalf of LTD...
Thank you all for your interest in the EmX project.
As part of the environmental process that we are required to follow for this project, LTD has considered all feasible alternatives. The current alignment alternatives came about through a rigorous process including stakeholders groups, such as the West Eugene EmX Corridor Committee (WEECC), the public, and agencies.
First, LTD wants to emphasize that this is a challenging corridor. There are issues and opportunities with each alternative, and we will have a better understanding of those through the analysis that we are currently completing.
The designs that are available on the website are preliminary and are being used to establish the ‘project footprint’ for the purpose of analysis. Public comment on the designs will now play a role in refining the design for the Locally Preferred Alternative (LPA).
LTD has hosted, and will continue to host, opportunities to discuss those designs, and the public is encouraged to provide feedback and can do so in a number of ways. LTD has contacted Paul Adkins to schedule a time to review the designs with GEARs.
The organization of LTD very much supports bicycle riding as an alternative to driving alone. We also see the bicycle mode as an important connector to our service. On this project, we are mindful of the needs of bicyclists.
LTD’s plan is to improve infrastructure for all modes of transportation wherever we can. Definitely, our intention is not to lessen the accesses for bicycles and pedestrians through any of our projects. We believe that there are opportunities for enhancements to the bicycle facilities along all of our alternatives. For example, we have proposed a Buck Street bicycles and pedestrians connector over the Amazon that would be part of either the W 11th or the Amazon alignments.
This is the same approach we have taken on the two previous projects. For example, bike lanes and sidewalks were added along sections of Franklin Blvd. and LTD is providing path lighting and pedestrian crossings on the Gateway project.
Mary
Mary Archer
Transit Development Planner
Lane Transit District
(541) 682-6135
http://www.ltd.org
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In response to additional comments from cyclists about the West Eugene EmX Extension project:
LTD appreciates feedback received from everyone who has been participating and following the project’s progress. Thank you for attending meetings and thinking about the future of our transportation networks (for bikes, pedestrians, transit, automobiles, and other modes).
The needs of bicyclists are very important to LTD since we consider the cycling community one of our partners in our mission to provide for reduced reliance on the automobile. LTD is working with the City of Eugene to ensure that all designs for EmX meet or exceed the City’s design standards for bikes and pedestrians. The West Eugene EmX Extension (WEEE) project is linked to a planned expanded EmX system adopted as part of the City and region’s transportation vision for the future.
It is also important to note that LTD is required to follow a project planning and review process under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the Federal Transit Administration (FTA). The Purpose and Need Statement for the project (copied below and available on the project web page, www.weemx.ltd.org) identifies the multiple interests at stake – not only transit.
At this time, the proposed designs are at 8 percent design level detail. Next summer, the Eugene City Council, the Metropolitan Policy Committee, and the LTD Board of Directors will select a Locally Preferred Alternative (LPA) for further design refinement based on information in the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) and public comments on the DEIS. The designs will remain at the 8 percent level of detail until after the selection of the LPA.
After an LPA is chosen, design details for the selected alternative will address design refinements such as exact station locations and variances in right-of-way to accommodate bike lanes, avoid buildings, avoid trees, maintain parking, and other potential impacts. LTD also is seeking ways to enhance access by path users along the Amazon and to provide for a safe environment for people and wildlife along each alternative.
In the mean time, LTD does not have a preference for any alternative. All of the alternatives have been determined to be reasonable based on the project’s Purpose and Need Statement. There are pros and cons to each alternative. Because the Amazon Alignment is perhaps the most controversial and difficult to visualize, it seems to receive disproportionate public attention. The DEIS will document information to be used in the determination of which alternative should be carried forward for further design refinement. Your comments, especially in the 60 days prior to DEIS publication in late summer 2010, will contribute to the decision-making process.
LTD is extending opportunities to review the current designs. Please sign up to receive meeting notifications (http://www.ltd.org/search/showresult.html?versionthread=4283a309b0826959d3e4640103e5804b) and join us at a design review meeting.
West Eugene EmX Extension Purpose and Need Statement
The Purpose of the proposed West Eugene EmX Extension project is to implement high-capacity public transportation service, in the West 11th Corridor (east/west), utilizing the adopted high-capacity transit mode identified in the Regional Transportation Plan, that is less hindered by congestion and that provides efficient, effective, dependable, and visually appealing service throughout the life of the project.
The project would support local, regional, and state plans and goals for land use and transportation, and support economic development and redevelopment opportunities in the corridor, while being sensitive to and protecting the natural and built environmental resources and continue to obtain local public participation in its development.
The Need for the project results from:
* Historic and projected increases in traffic congestion in the West 11th Corridor due to increases in regional and corridor population and employment;
* Lengthy transit travel times and deteriorating public transportation reliability in the West 11th Corridor due to growing traffic congestion;
* Increasing operating expenses, combined with increasingly scarce operating resources, while demanding more efficient public transportation operations;
* The decision in the Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) to implement a bus rapid transit (BRT) strategy for the region;
* Recent removal of the West Eugene Parkway as a proposed regional project, further constraining future capacity on the corridor and increasing the need for public transportation-related options;
* The region’s growing reliance on public transportation to meet travel needs in the West 11th Corridor;
* Prioritization of the West 11th Corridor by the City of Eugene and LTD as the region’s third BRT corridor;
* Local and regional land use and development plans, goals, and objectives that identify the West 11th Corridor for residential, commercial, retail, and industrial development to help accommodate forecasted regional population and employment growth; and
* Limitation of options for transportation improvements caused by the identification and protection of important resources in the natural and built environment in the West 11th Corridor, including but not limited to wetlands, rare plants, and animals and their habitat.
Goal and Objectives
The West Eugene EmX Extension Project Goal is the same as the project’s Purpose, as stated above. The Purpose and Goal states the intent of the project; the Need identifies why the project is important. As a whole, the Goal and Objectives guide the establishment of screening criteria and measures that will be used to select the Range of Alternatives to be studied in the project’s Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) and the establishment of evaluation criteria and measures that will be used to select the project’s Locally Preferred Alternative (LPA).
Objectives
Within the project corridor, the Objectives of the West Eugene EmX Extension Project are to:
1. Improve customer convenience by reducing travel time, increasing service reliability, and making other service improvements;
2. Improve operating and other efficiencies to maximize the use of scarce resources;
3. Serve as a catalyst for planned transit-oriented development and support development that is consistent with adopted land use plans;
4. Help accommodate future growth in travel by increasing public transportation’s share of trips;
5. Take into account the travel and safety needs of pedestrians, bicyclists, and motorists;
6. Contribute to establishing a fiscally stable public transportation system;
7. Design the project in a way that is consistent with laws related to resources in the natural and built environment; and
8. Support LTD and the City of Eugene’s sustainability policies, including efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Mary Archer
Transit Development Planner
Lane Transit District
(541) 682-6135
http://www.ltd.org
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Life is better with bikes TM
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