WETLANDS: West Eugene
Transportation, Land and
Neighborhood Design Solutions

SLIDESHOW:
virtual tour, hidden history
WEP would worsen traffic

useful, reasonable, pragmatic information, the best summary of a sane direction I have seen.
-- Jan Spencer, Suburban Permaculture

on this page:

March 2007
Federal Highway Administration selects NO BUILD

Having "No Build" get the force of law is a tremendous accomplishment. No Build was promised by a joint agreement of the Federal, State, County and Local governments in June 2001, and it's taken this long to make it official.
www.permatopia.com/wetlands/nobuild.html

Permanent cancelation of the Porkway will be complete when ODOT and the City of Eugene convert their WEP properties to parkland -- that will be the final survey stake in the heart of the beast. The City could do their part by passing a City Council resolution that costs nothing to implement. Ideally, ODOT will transfer (or sell) most or all of their WEP parcels to the Bureau of Land Management's West Eugene Wetlands project.

Refusing to compromise (by endorsing half a WEP or a WEP through different areas of the wetlands) was the correct decision -- there were many efforts to encourage environmentalists to compromise away the wetlands.

Some of the legal technicalities for why the WEP won't be built, and practical alternatives, are at the WETLANDS website at
http://www.permatopia.com/wetlands.html
WETLANDS: West Eugene Transportation, Land and Neighborhood Design Solutions

It makes no sense to build more superhighways as we pass the peak of global oil production and enter the new world of climate change.
www.road-scholar.org/peak-traffic.html
Peak Traffic and freeway fights: Planning NAFTA Superhighways at the End of the Age of Oil

Thanks to everyone who worked to prevent the Porkway - proposed 1951, canceled 2007.
Thanks especially to Barbara Kelley, whose 1996 lawsuit stopped the project more than any other single act. If that had not happened, the WEP would have been built.

Mark Robinowitz
WETLANDS

[Federal Register: March 8, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 45)]
[Notices]
[Page 10584-10585]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr08mr07-124]

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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Highway Administration
Revised Record of Decision and Notice of Final Federal Agency Actions on the West 11th Street to Garfield Street, Florence-Eugene Highway: Lane County, OR
AGENCY: Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), DOT.
ACTION: Notice of Availability of a revised Record of Decision for transportation improvements in Lane County, OR and Notice of
Limitations on Claims for Judicial Review of Actions by FHWA.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The FHWA is issuing this notice to advise the public that a revised record of decision (ROD) has been made for the West 11th Street to Garfield Street, Florence-Eugene-Highway Final Environmental Impact Statement. This notice also announces actions taken by the FHWA that are final agency actions within the meaning of 23 U.S.C. 139(l)(1). These final agency actions relate to a proposed highway project, West 11th Street to Garfield Street, Florence-Eugene Highway in Lane County, Oregon where the revised ROD amends FHWA's April 16, 1990 ROD that had selected Alternative 1 Modified, and selects the no-build alternative.

The Final Environmental Impact Statement was approved and published by FHWA in January 1990 and a ROD was issued on April 16, 1990. This revised ROD amends FHWA's April 16, 1990 ROD that had selected Alternative 1 Modified, and selects the no-build alternative. In large part, FHWA selects the no-build alternative in the revised ROD based on: public and resource agency input, including the Oregon DOT; a Lane Council of Governments resolution; and, a conflict assessment report prepared by FHWA and the City of Eugene. While the no-build does not satisfy an existing transportation need in the area, selecting the no-build alternative is in the best overall public interest at this time.

DATES: By this notice, the FHWA is advising the public of final agency actions subject to 23 U.S.C. 139(l)(1). A claim seeking judicial review of the Federal agency actions on the highway project will be barred unless the claim is filed on or before September 4, 2007. If the Federal law that authorizes judicial review of a claim provides a time period of less than 180 days for filing such claim, then that shorter time period still applies.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michelle Eraut, Environmental Program Manager, Federal Highway Administration, 530 Center Street, NE., Suite 100, Salem, Oregon 97301, Telephone: (503) 587-4716, or Ken Kohl, Project Manager, Oregon Department of Transportation, 644 "A'' Street, Eugene, Oregon 97477, Telephone: (541) 747-1496. The FEIS, revised ROD, and other project records are available upon written request from the Federal Highway Administration at the address shown above. Comments or questions concerning this proposed action and the revised ROD should be directed to the FHWA at the address provided above.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Notice is hereby given that the FHWA has taken final agency action subject to 23 U.S.C. 139(l)(1) by issuing a decision for the following highway project in the State of Oregon: West 11th Street to Garfield Street, Florence-Eugene Highway. This project identified a need to address capacity constraints and safety considerations on the current Florence-Eugene Highway on the western edge of Eugene, Oregon. The federal-aid identifier for this project is F 025(003). The actions by the Federal agency and the laws under which such actions were taken, are described in the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for the project, approved in January 1990, in the FHWA Revised ROD issued on October 24, 2006, and in other documents
in the FHWA project records. This notice applies to all Federal agency
decisions as of the issuance date of this notice and all laws under which such actions were taken, including but not limited to:

1. General: National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) [42 U.S.C 4321-4351]; Federal-Aid Highway Act [23 U.S.C. 109 and 23 U.S.C. 128].

2. Air: Clean Air Act [42 U.S.C. 7401-7671(q)].
[[Page 10585]]

3. Land: Section 4(f) of the Department of Transportation Act of 1966 [49 U.S.C. 303]; Landscaping and Scenic Enhancement (Wildflowers) [23 U.S.C. 319].

4. Wildlife: Endangered Species Act [16 U.S.C. 1531-1544 and Section 1536]; Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act [16 U.S.C. 661-667(d)]; Migratory Bird Treaty Act [16 U.S.C. 703-712].

5. Historic and Cultural Resources: Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended [16 U.S.C. 470(f) et seq.]; Archeological Resources Protection Act of 1977 [16 U.S.C. 470(aa)-470(ll)]; Archeological and Historic Preservation Act [16 U.S.C. 469-469(c)].

6. Social and Economic: Civil Rights Act of 1964 [42 U.S.C. 2000(d)-2000(d)(1)]; Farmland Protection Policy Act (FPPA) [7 U.S.C. 4201-4209].

7. Wetlands and Water Resources: Clean Water Act (Section 404, Section 401, Section 319) [33 U.S.C. 1251-1377]; Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) [16 U.S.C. 4601-4604]; Safe Drinking Water Act (DSWA) [42 U.S.C. 300(f)-300(j)(6)]; Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 [33 U.S.C. 401-406]; Wild and Scenic Rivers Act [16 U.S.C. 1271-1287]; Emergency Wetlands Resources Act, [16 U.S.C. 3921, 3931]; Wetlands Mitigation [23 U.S.C. 103(b)(6)(M) and 133(b)(11)]; Flood Disaster Protection Act [42 U.S.C. 4001-4128].

8. Executive Orders: E.O. 11990 Protection of Wetlands; E.O. 11988 Floodplain Management; E.O. 12898, Federal Actions to Address Environmental Justice in Minority Populations and Low Income Populations; E.O. 11593 Protection and Enhancement of Cultural Resources; E.O. 13007 Indian Sacred Sites, E.O. 13287 Preserve America; E.O. 13175 Consultation and Coordination with Indian Tribal Governments; E.O. 11514 Protection and Enhancement of Environmental Quality; E.O. 13112 Invasive Species.

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Program Number 20.205, Highway Planning and Construction. The regulations implementing Executive Order 12372 regarding intergovernmental consultation on Federal programs and activities apply to this program.)

(Authority: 23 U.S.C. 139(l)(1))
Issued on: March 1, 2007.
Michelle Eraut,
Environmental Program Manager, Salem, Oregon.
[FR Doc. E7-4136 Filed 3-7-07; 8:45 am]

December 4, 2006
WEP removed from State Transportation plan

At its most recent monthly meeting, the Oregon Transportation Commission removed the West Eugene Parkway from its highway construction list. OTC Commissioner Randy Pape, one of the main WEP boosters, made the motion to kill the project, which was approved unanimously.

The WEP is not quite dead yet, but it is in hospice. I've put my legal files into boxes, but not (yet) into the woodstove.

The money appropriated toward initial construction costs needs to be transferred to other projects, ideally fixing West 11th and Beltline (that intersection was approved in a 1995 Environmental Assessment).

When Bertelsen Slough, an important but polluted tributary of Amazon Creek, is transferred to the Bureau of Land Management's West Eugene Wetlands project, then and only then will the WEP be 100% dead.

It is a shame that the June 2001 promise for "No Build" made by ODOT, Federal Highway Administration, BLM, Lane County and the City of Eugene was not implemented - better late than never, but we would have saved millions wasted on more "studies" and kept unnecessary divisiveness from splitting the community.

Thanks to everyone who stayed resolute and refused to compromise away the wetlands over many, many years despite considerable pressure to capitulate. There are many dedicated citizens who worked hard to prevent the so-called Parkway, but if Barbara Kelley had not filed suit against the project (in 1996), it would have been built.

• The Inter County Connector Draft EIS (I-370, part of Washington Outer Beltway) was withdrawn in 1998, but a new Draft EIS was rushed through after Bush created an express method and the Record of Decision was signed in May (it will be in court shortly).
• The Chicago Outer Bypass (I-355) had its EIS rejected in court in 1997 (for a reason similar to the potential lawsuit against WEP). A new EIS was drafted under Bush and the road is now under construction.
• The Burlington, Vermont bypass (I-289) had an express path for the EIS worked out between Gov. Dean and the Bush administration in 2002. The EIS was rejected in court in 2004, but a new, streamlined EIS is now being prepared.

The WEP will be dead when ODOT (and the City) transfer or sell their land for the WEP to the BLM for conservation and restoration. This would prevent the highway from being revived in piecemeal form (which is illegal segmentation to avoid full disclosure of the impacts). Some proponents have suggested building half of the WEP (east of Beltline) instead of the full WEP through the BLM properties. While nearly all of the direct impact on Amazon Creek would be east of Beltline, the greatest acreage of wetland destruction would be west of Beltline, and nearly all of the impact to BLM lands and endangered species would be the west of Beltline section. If the ODOT properties and the City of Eugene property east of Beltline were transferred (or sold) to the BLM for conservation and restoration, it would be impossible to sneak through building the first part of the WEP under the guise of cancellation.

WEP Land Transfer
www.permatopia.com/wetlands/transfer.html

Who Owns What in West Eugene
www.permatopia.com/wetlands/lwcf.html

WEP slideshow: virtual tour, hidden history, WEP would worsen traffic, WETLANDS alternative
www.permatopia.com/wep-slideshow.pdf (13 megabyte PDF file)

a state-by-state database of Freeway Fights
www.permatopia.com/freeway-fights.html

dead highways in Portland and Salem
(Mount Hood Freeway, I-505, and Western Bypass in Portland, I-305 in Salem)
www.permatopia.com/wetlands/deadroad.html

Peak Traffic: Planning NAFTA Superhighways at the End of the Age of Oil
www.permatopia.com/peak-traffic.html

It's anyone's speculation where oil prices and availability will be if the Middle East wars expand to include oil facilities. The WEP was designed for traffic congestion in the Year 2025 - but by nearly everyone's informed estimates, that will be on the downslope of oil availability and therefore traffic jams could be much reduced from current levels, making new highway construction moot.

---

published in The Register-Guard newspaper on November 17, 2005

www.registerguard.com/news/2005/11/17/
ed.col.robinowitz.1117.p1.php?section=opinion

Let's look at entire picture of West Eugene Parkway
By Mark Robinowitz

The Register-Guard’s coverage of the City Council’s recent removal of support for the proposed West Eugene Parkway (WEP) has omitted important pieces of the story.

The WEP would be a federal-aid highway, not a City of Eugene project. Ultimately, the decision to build or cancel it will be made by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). The FHWA is in charge of the federal funds and approval process, and the BLM controls the parklands threatened by the WEP.

The West Eugene Parkway proposal came from the 1950s plan for a Roosevelt Freeway, which was canceled in 1972 because of intense neighborhood objections. Afterwards, the road was scaled back and renamed a “Parkway.”

In 1996, FHWA was sued in Federal court by citizens for violating federal laws regarding “segmentation” of highway approvals, and the agency withdrew its 1990 approval of the WEP. FHWA officials declined the opportunity to argue their case in court, tacitly admitting the project was illegal.

In June 2001, after it became clear the WEP was an unworkable project, an intergovernmental meeting called “West Eugene Charette” brought together the City of Eugene, Lane County, State and Federal agencies to examine the issues. They reached a consensus to select “No Build” and finish Beltline Highway instead. On July 25, 2001, City Councilor Pat Farr stated the parkway would probably not be built, and that routing some traffic up Highway 99, across Roosevelt and then down Beltline would be part of the solution, and would require work at key intersections.

The November 2001 advisory vote about the Parkway did not require federal agencies to approve it, and it did not allocate any money toward construction. Parkway enthusiasts who spent $120,000 on a media blitz to promote passage of this referendum claimed “The Money is There” and the State would maintain the highway. After the vote, local governments quietly admitted that the $88 million price tag in 2001 omitted key parts of the project (an expensive interchange with Beltline). Their most recent official estimate is $169 million, double the cost used to sell the road. The City of Eugene also agreed to assume responsibility for maintaining half of the highway, an enormous “unfunded mandate” that was not part of the electoral promises.

Since 2001, the Oregon Department of Transpoirtation has spent more millions to study the WEP, but has not been able to find an option that is affordable or legal. In early October, ODOT unveiled its latest parkway version, a revival of the “Couplet Alternative” rejected by ODOT in 1985 as unworkable and unpopular. This design would route Beltline traffic onto Fifth and Seventh Avenues between Seneca and Highway 99, and would add sharp curves and extra traffic lights. (The map in the Register-Guard did not show ODOT's newest proposal.)

The $1.7 million awarded by ODOT over the past year to finish the Environmental Impact Statement is about the same amount of money that would be needed to fix intersections along West 11th Avenue. If the charette’s “No Build” consensus had been implemented in 2001, West 11th could have already been fixed, and ODOT could have used the $17 million appropriated for WEP to finish Beltline Road (a project approved in 1995). Now that ODOT has essentially admitted defeat with its revival of the failed “Couplet” design and the City has withdrawn its endorsement, sensible solutions to west Eugene traffic flow can be implemented.

The WEP is not designed for current congestion snarls, but for traffic problems in the year 2025. The Lane Council of Governments, which crafted the traffic models, predicted last fall that gasoline prices would rise to $2.50 per gallon by 2025. This mistake was rooted in their refusal to look at “Peak Oil” -- the rise and fall of global petroleum production.

Whether Peak Oil is here now, or is still a couple years in the future, the end of cheap oil will force major changes to transportation planning long before 2025. We will need to ensure existing roads and bridges can be maintained and work at their optimum efficiency, land use must be better coordinated with transportation, and public transit needs substantial improvement.

The most important issues are what economy our region, our country and our planet will have in 2025 when the petroleum supplies will be in decline. Eugene could thrive by focusing on renewable energy, local food production, and other industries that will still be able to generate jobs after we pass Peak Oil.

Mark Robinowitz is the "road scholar" for WETLANDS: West Eugene Transportation, Land and Neighborhood Design Solutions (www.permatopia.com/wetlands.html).

 

The WETLANDS alternative was developed by reviewing the history of the WEP (which dates to the 1950s), attending official meetings where critical details were disclosed, extensive field work along the route, input from numerous citizens, groups, and participants in the official process, examining history of successful and unsuccessful highway fights in other communities and federal legal issues on transportation and environmental impacts. Printed publication will facilitate review of these suggestions by the broader community.

Ultimately, cancellation of the WEP will force a serious, regional discussion of sustainability that involves the entire community -- at the very least, it will require a major revision for long term planning for the region.

WETLANDS has crafted a transportation, energy, environment and sustainability (TREES) analysis of how the region could shift toward sustainability to prepare for Peak Oil and climate change.

The primary "road scholar" for this report is Mark Robinowitz.

Additional contributions and input were made by Jan Spencer, Majeska Seese-Green, Sarah Charlesworth, Linda Swisher and Jim Ekins. Several officials involved in the West Eugene Parkway project provided feedback on the map and some of the concepts behind the alternative.

Special thanks to Barbara Kelley of Save Our ecoSystems (SOS) for her many years of persistence in working to protect the West Eugene Wetlands from this horrible highway, and for her assistance in providing invaluable materials used in the preparation of this report.

Barbara Kelley, Save Our ecoSystems (SOS sued to stop the WEP in 1996)

Nena Lovinger, Lane County Land Watch

David Monk, Oregon Toxics Alliance

Majeska Seese-Green, Whiteaker Community Council

Jan Spencer, sustainability activist, Eugene Permaculture Guild

Linda Swisher, expert botanist and neighborhood activist

affiliations for identification purposes only

All of the work that has gone into developing the WETLANDS alternative has been volunteer labor -- neither the primary author nor any of the additional contributors received any funds for these efforts. About six million dollars was spent to “study” the WEP, money that could have been used to implement much of the WETLANDS alternative.

WETLANDS wishes to thank the Helios Resource Network and Robin Irish for financial support toward the printing of this report, which enables its distribution to neighborhood organizations, environmental groups, businesses, elected officials and transportation planners.

Whiteaker Community Council was the fiscal sponsor of the WETLANDS project.

WETLANDS spent many years working hard to keep the WEP from being approved and prevent the need for a lawsuit. FHWA and ODOT were persuaded to select No Build and implement something similar to the WETLANDS alternative -- as they promised to do on June 19, 2001.

WETLANDS can be contacted by emailing mark at permatopia dot com.
Please do not add this address to mailing lists without asking first, thanks.

"Some people see things as they are, and ask, 'Why?'
Others dream things that never were, and ask ‘Why not?'"
-- George Bernard Shaw

"It is now possible to travel from coast to coast without seeing anything!"
-- Charles Kuralt

"the axle of evil - the road to hell is paved"