B street closure objection raised.

Byline: Jack Moran The Register-Guard

SPRINGFIELD - City officials say a blocklong section of B Street - a thoroughfare situated between the downtown corridor and the historic Washburne neighborhood - must be closed permanently to make room for a new municipal public safety complex.

But if Spring- field resident Scott Olson has his way, state officials won't allow that to happen, and the city could be forced to draw up a new construction plan for the $29.6 million project.

Olson, a civil engineer who works downtown and also serves on the city's Justice Center Community Advisory Committee, warned the Springfield Planning Commission on Tuesday that a formal city decision to close B Street would prompt him to file a complaint with the state Land Use Board of Appeals, asking that the ruling be overturned.

"I promise you, if the city approves this (street) vacation, it will be appealed," Olson said during a public hearing on the topic.

Olson's primary contention is that closing B Street would violate city and metro area policies that encourage keeping the road system interconnected, to allow easy access for all modes of travel, including walking and bicycling.

Before initiating the B Street proposal last month, the City Council in April voted 4-2 in favor of changing the development code to allow a closure if it is determined that the benefits in doing so outweigh any negative impact. Councilors Anne Ballew and Christine Lundberg voted no.

At Tuesday's hearing, Olson was alone in opposing the street plan. No Washburne neighborhood residents notified of the proposal weighed in, and only one other person has lodged a formal objection with the city. West D Street resident Bob Foster has written four letters stating that closing B Street would inconvenience him.

But according to a set of findings pieced together by city planners, the street closure would not cause a major imposition to pedestrians, cyclists or motorists, as they would have to travel only a few hundred more feet to go around the block.

City officials have said that during the afternoon rush hour, they would expect traffic to double on C Street - which is lined with homes and an apartment complex- if the stretch of B Street between Pioneer Parkway East and Fourth Street is closed. Traffic would increase on A and Fifth streets as well.

The planning commission later this month will issue a recommendation on the plan to the City Council, which will make the final decision.

Last year, the council took the first step toward closing the street when it approved a site-design plan that requires replacing the thoroughfare with a secure parking area for police vehicles.

Councilors at the time agreed that the plan was not ideal, but chose it because three other options presented by project officials would have required increasing the justice center construction budget.

If Olson follows through with a LUBA appeal that is ultimately supported by the state panel, the city might have to redesign the complex, which is planned to include a new police department, municipal court space and a 100-bed jail.

Springfield Police Chief Jerry Smith on Tuesday said that for safety reasons, it is crucial that the secure police parking area is located adjacent to the new justice center. If the street is not closed, the city could instead build a secure lot on the north side of B Street. But Smith said that would create an unsafe situation where officers would have to cross the street to get to their vehicles.

Additionally, Smith said the jail must have an evacuation plan, and that it wouldn't work to walk inmates across the street if the lockup ever had to be evacuated in an emergency.

Seven people testified during Tuesday's hearing in favor of the street closure.

"Closing B Street is a way to keep us from moving backwards, in terms of (police) response time," said Roxie Cuellar, who served as chairwoman of the committee that advocated for the passage of a successful 2004 bond measure that raised money for the justice center.