Conflict consultants pave roadways to success.

Byline: CITY BEAT/EUGENE By Edward Russo The Register-Guard

John Huyler and Dennis Donald sound like nice guys, but they get involved in arguments for a living.

Soon, the Colorado consultants will immerse themselves in this community's long-running quarrel over the West Eugene Parkway.

Mayor Kitty Piercy and other Eugene-Springfield leaders recently selected Huyler and Donald to determine if there's a chance for area residents to put aside their differences over the proposed roadway.

"We will do our best to write a clear and unbiased assessment of the conflict," Huyler said.

Piercy ultimately hopes people can work together to try to develop another idea or ideas besides the parkway to move traffic more efficiently through the west part of town.

In their application to get the consulting work, Huyler and Donald cited their conflict-solving experiences in other cities, including Columbia, Mo.

The Missouri Department of Transportation wanted to rebuild Interstate 70 through Columbia. But some residents opposed the construction plans, including a pair of bypasses, Huyler said.

"As a university community, similar to Eugene, Columbia was perceived as a challenging city in which to work, with MoDOT not held in high regard," the consultants wrote.

A couple of years ago, Huyler and Donald assembled a 23-member committee, including business people, environmentalists and a delegate from the League of Women Voters.

The committee met 13 times. By early last year, the group had endorsed a plan to expand the existing roadway rather than build bypasses. "It was a laborious process with a lot of research," Huyler said. But "it was a rip-roaring success," he said.

In Eugene, the consultants will be under contract with the U.S. Institute for Environmental Conflict Resolution. Dale Keyes, senior program manager for the Tucson-based institute, and Huyler and Donald plan to visit Eugene in early April to interview residents. They hope to finish their report by mid-May.

Their work is expected to cost about $38,000, paid for by the city of Eugene and the Federal Highway Administration.

Congress approved the institute in 1998 to help communities resolve environmental disputes involving federal agencies. In Eugene, the Federal Highway Administration, Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are among the agencies with interest in the parkway.

The seven-year old Institute has a record of helping cities resolve longtime disputes.

Wisconsin and Minnesota residents argued for years about a proposed replacement bridge to span the St. Croix River. "It was in the works for 20 years, reached impasse and we got involved in 2001 and did an assessment process," Keyes said.

The Institute formed a committee of residents that for the past four years has sought agreement on such things as the new bridge's height and design, and ways to minimize its affect on the environment, Keyes said.

"They all have agreed on a preferred alternative," he said, "and they are working on details" to protect the area that would be affected by the bridge and its related roadways.

"That is why the case is so similar to Eugene's," he said. "We did the assessment (in Wisconsin), then worked together with a facilitator, moved into a collaborative process, and later looked at a variety of alternatives in public meetings."

Best and brightest

If you are looking for an impressive event involving young people, be at the Hult Center on Saturday for the Afro-American Academic Cultural and Scientific Olympics.

Twenty six students from six area highs schools will compete in the sciences, humanities performing and visual arts and entrepreneurship.

ACT-SO is a year-long, NAACP-sponsored program, where students with the help of mentors have the chance to compete with winners from other cities at the NAACP's national convention in July.

Judging in the day long event begins at 10 a.m. The performing arts competition starts at 7 p.m., with winners in each category announced afterwards.

Peter Chavannes, the city's youth leadership coordinator, is helping with the event. For more information, call him at 682-6359.