Table of Contents - WETLANDS alternative

WEP at the crossroads: obstacles and opportunities in 2006

November 2006: WEP removed from State Transportation plan

proof of cancellation: how to put a survey stake through WEP's heart?
transfer WEP funds to finish Beltline, transfer ODOT & City lands reserved for WEP to the BLM

WETLANDS blog - parkway moves toward approval, City pretends alternatives do not exist

FHWA's options: cancel EIS (No Build) or new EIS to approve WEP

ODOT's Couplet Alternative (in October 2005, ODOT revived failed option rejected in 1985 - a tacit admission of defeat)

City of Eugene should rescind agreement with ODOT to assume responsibility for part of WEP

collaboration is not needed for the WEP, implement June 2001 consensus instead - a caution about compromise and capitulation

consultants hired to study the WEP study helped Kansas DOT approve controversial highway through wetlands

West Eugene Parkway maps

WETLANDS alternative - WEP would not solve traffic problems - Bus Rapid Transit (EmX)

WEP route options: 1997, 2003, 2005 - photos of 2005 map - aerial photos of WEP area taken Summer 2002
June 2006: Federal Highway proposes small change to the WEP route
ODOT maps: west of Danebo - east of Danebo - Beltline Interchange - 5th / 7th Couplet - Eastern Terminus

Roosevelt Freeway: 1959 plan and 1967 plan, 1978 Whiteaker Bypass or 6th / 7th Freeway
Land and Water Conservation Fund lands - floodplains and WEP - Amazon Creek relocation

WETLANDS home page

WETLANDS alternative to the $200 million WEP

Cost of Alternative ($17, $88 or $169 million) -- Purpose and Need met by Alternative (not by WEP) -- Avoidance criteria met by alternative

Roosevelt Blvd. is a better connector between Beltline and 99, it serves northwest Eugene neighborhoods better than WEP could. Some local traffic would use Roosevelt, regional through traffic would bypass on Belt Line.

transfer WEP money to finish Beltline, fix Roosevelt / 99 intersection
two options for completing Beltline: (1) if Peak Oil is here, (2) if Peak Oil is not yet here. The larger option could convert Beltline to an interstate highway - perhaps I-605?

transfer ODOT / City lands for WEP to BLM's West Eugene Wetlands Project

new roads: First - 99 - Second Connector, Barger Road Extended & Trainsong Connector (to NW Expressway)

fix West 11th intersections (would cost about $2 million, the cost to complete WEP study), other road repairs

bicycle paths and lanes, pedestrian safety enhanced by road test for drivers license renewals

land use shifts to coordinate transit and development, mixed use centers, co-housing neighborhoods

"Saving Oil in a Hurry" - practical steps toward coping with sudden energy shortages, road safety, speed limits

upgrade Amtrak to enable high speed trains to Seattle

Second and Garfield: ideal location for Eugene's new hospital (central & accessible)

I-5 / Beltline interchange: a practical, cheaper alternative ignored by ODOT
I-5 Willamette River Bridge: a cheaper alternative

fake alternatives - half a WEP (twice as illegal)
Bus Rapid Transit plus WEP: Crandall - Arambula (2002), Kahle proposal (2006) - Bus Rapid Transit on West 11th and Hwy 99 instead of WEP makes more sense

Hidden History of the West Eugene Parkway

1951 to 1972: Roosevelt Freeway proposal (and other dead highways), 1959 and 1967 plans

1978: T-2000 plan for 6th / 7th Freeway and Whiteaker Bypass

1985 to 1990: WEP approval process (Record of Decision issued 1990)

1996: lawsuit forced withdrawal of ROD

1999: FHWA and ODOT secret effort to remove Section 4(f) protection for BLM nature preserve

2001 and 2001: City of Eugene warned by FHWA they cannot approve WEP if illegally segmented,

June 19, 2001: No Build Consensus: Federal Highway Admin., BLM, ODOT, Lane County, City of Eugene

November 2001: Election and subsequent TransPlan Amendments to include most of WEP in transportation plans

Summer 2002: a few opponents design larger WEP with worse damage to wetlands and forests -- a weird case of activist malpractice

2002 to 2005: ODOT makes new designs (none are feasible), ignores WETLANDS alternative

2006: City and FHWA hire Osprey Group for "collaboration" - WEP removed from State Transportation plan

Highway Robbery: WEP would officially cost $169 million, really over $200 million

cost of WETLANDS alternative ($17, $88 or $169 million)

WETLANDS home page

WEP would worsen traffic

WETLANDS alternative meets "purpose and need" - WEP would not

WEP would increase north-south traffic on feeder roads and would clog up W. 11th intersections

WEP would not help trips in the City of Eugene - more traffic lights and more circuitous trips

Segmentation and Logical Termini: Western Terminus (Veneta) - Eastern Terminus (105) - 6th & 7th would be overloaded

Construction Phasing and the Couplet Alternative (Beltline traffic would be funneled through 5th and 7th Place in the industrial area)

Lies, Damn Lies and Traffic Statistics: growth projections in the SDEIS, SFEIS, Year 2025 and Region 2050

induced growth and circular arguments: we need the road because of growth, and the growth is dependent on the road

Beltline Interchange issues

ODOT removed left turn access at Seneca Road to avoid State requirements, wants City to pay for maintainance

WETLANDS home page

One of the most illegal highways ever proposed

1996 federal lawsuit overturned 1990 approval (Feds conceded defeat before trial)
FHWA, BLM, ODOT, Lane County and City Eugene promised "No Build" on June 19, 2001
Cooperating Agencies: BLM and Army Corps of Engineers did not participate in required "Scoping" of Alternatives
WEP does not meet the Purpose and Need - the WETLANDS alternative does
Avoidance, Minimization, Mitigation: WETLANDS versus WEP
Wetlands Mitigation Bank is Bankrupt, replacement wetlands are inferior
Segmentation and Logical Termini: Western Terminus (Veneta), Eastern Terminus (I-105)
Land and Water Conservation Fund LWCF lands cannot be used for a highway
Section 4(f) protects parkland from paving
Peak Oil and climate change are "new circumstances" that requires reopening the NEPA process
City of Eugene Adopted Growth Management Policies violated by WEP
Endangered Species Act: a "license to kill" - Road Kill: Fender's Blue Butterfly and Car Fenders
controlled burning for wet prairie restoration incompatible with WEP
environmental justice: WEP traffic dumped onto 6th and 7th would severely impact Whiteaker neighborhood

West Eugene Wetlands

slideshow: virtual tour of the WEP wrong-of-way
Amazon Creek proposed relocation for WEP
Bertelsen Nature Park - forested wetlands threatened by WEP
rare wet prairie and forested wetlands - a delicate balance of hydrology
plants of the West Eugene Wetlands - photos by Linda Swisher
Endangered Species Act: a "license to kill" - Road Kill: Fender's Blue Butterfly and Car Fenders
controlled burning for wet prairie restoration incompatible with WEP
Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglass - a letter that protected a park from a parkway
sand and gravel - impacts of an elevated WEP in the wetlands

TREES: Transportation, Energy, Environment, Sustainability

TRANSPORTATION for Peak Oil
change regional plans to anticipate Peak Oil
maintain road networks, don't expand them
upgrade Amtrak and inter-city buses
convert RV factories to make buses
local manufacture of electric cars, bicycles
no “mileage tax” to track all motorists 24/7
Hybrids should not subsidize Hummers

ENVIRONMENT Protection and Restoration
ecoforestry: selective logging to restore tree farms to forests, no clearcuts or biocides, value added products
green business, non-toxic industry, myco and bioremediation,
zero discharge, ban toxics to protect public health, shift to carbohydrate economy away from petrochemicals
reduce garbage: waste is a terrible thing to mind
intelligent (urban) design: beauty not ugliness
(prevent more strip mauls, billboards)

ENERGY for the Year 2025, Region 2050
build solar panel and wind turbine factories
convert grass seed farms to grow biofuels
require passive solar design in building codes
relocalize production to reduce consumption (fewer delivery trucks)
retrofit buildings: conservation & renewables
initiatives for sustainable jobs after Peak Oil

SUSTAINABILITY is not efficiency, it is post-petroleum
paradigm shifts: psychological and political
beyond boom and bust: steady state economy
local food security, more community gardens, teach gardening skills at neighborhood levels, protect farm soils from "development" regional inventories of food production and processing
economic stability needs democratic decisions, Campaign Finance Reform
public health: single payer health care
support local economy: strengthen local businesses, build downtown Farmers Market, not Whole Foods predator, ban big box megastores and franchises

WETLANDS main page

Eugene's natural disaster plans: preventative, permaculture perspectives

Eugene's Multi-Hazard Mitigation program
floods: don’t build hospitals in floodplains
storms: plant fruit trees, not firs, around homes
landslides: ban clearcuts and new road cuts
wildfires: fireworks and clearcuts increase risk
earthquakes and coastal tsunami: seismic retrofit bridges & buildings
volcanoes: plan to do without Calif. products if Mt. Shasta erupts
dam collapse:
the Willamette Valley tsunami, we must strengthen -- or remove -- the dams
critical infrastructure: redundancy, relocalization and renewables needed
hazardous material: ban toxics, monitor train & truck shipments through region
terrorism: community cohesion is solution

Disaster Mitigation and Land Use:
Eugene needs intelligent (urban) design
Hospitals, Earthquakes, Floods, and Lahars
Troubled Bridges Over Water: the I-5 bridge crisis
West Eugene sprawl in floodplains: WEP, Target megastore, Royal Node subdivision
The Long Emergency: Peak Oil and Climate Collapse require paradigm shift
Katrina disaster shows the Federal government response: we are on our own

WETLANDS - all files

1959

1967

2001election

2006

2050

4f-removal

6-7

aerial

alternative-map

alternative

amazon-relocation

articles

beauty

beltline-interchange

beltine

bertelsen

bicycle

botany

bridges

brt

compromise

contents

cooperating

couplet

crandall

dam

deadroad

disaster

douglass

earthquake

eastern

esa007

eugene-haiku

fire

flood-plain

flood

forestry

gateway

history

hospital

justice

landuse

litigated

los

lwcf

mapphoto2005

maps

mediation

mitigation

newroads

nobuild

odot-eastofdanebo

odot

parklands

peakoil

phase1a

planamendment

purpose

roosevelt

sand-gravel

spyroads

termini

top-lies

tour

toxic

traffic

traffic2015

train

transfer

transplan-cancel

trees-energy

trees-environment

trees-sustainability

trees-transportation

tsunami

volcano

waste

wep-bl

wep-cost

wep-dictionary

wep-traffic-routes

wep-trips

wep-update

weproute

west-of-danebo

west11

western

wetlands-cost

whiteaker-bypass