Group aims for traffic solutions.

Byline: The Register-Guard

A bunch of community leaders - representing business, government, neighborhood and environmental interests - have begun quietly meeting to see if they can find a "collaborative" model for resolving west Eugene's traffic woes.

The West Eugene Collaborative held its first meeting last month and last Thursday selected a pair of professional facilitators - Dennis Donald and John Huyler of The Osprey Group, a consulting firm based in Colorado - to guide participants in their future discussions.

The collaborative body represents a renewed effort to find consensus following the demise of the West Eugene Parkway, which died a year ago when city and state highway officials could not agree on a compromise. The Osprey Group was brought in on that effort to find consensus with the parkway plan.

The parkway's passing, however, may be a plus for the new collaborative effort, some members say.

"Most have moved beyond the loss of the WEP - that's gone," said Emily Proudfoot, a city transportation planner. `Now it's, `What are we going to do?' That's a very compelling question.'

Congestion along West 11th Avenue and elsewhere in west Eugene "is hideous - worse than ever," Proudfoot said. "We've got to do something."

The collaborative group is working with the Oregon Consensus Program, a state program that offers mediation and dispute resolution services to public agencies. The program is affiliated with the Hatfield School of Government at Portland State University.

To get the collaborative process up and running, four distinct subgroups - the city of Eugene; Lane Transit District; the Eugene Area Chamber of Commerce; and a loose-knit coalition of environmentalists - have each contributed $5,000.

About 34 people are involved in the collaborative body, representing interest groups that range from the Home Builders Association of Lane County to the West Eugene Wetlands Partnership. Residents for Responsible Rapid Transit, a citizen group concerned about LTD's plans to extend EmX bus rapid transit service to west Eugene, is at the table, as is a representative from the Oregon Department of Transportation.

Other participants include Eugene Mayor Kitty Piercy, City Councilor Chris Pryor, LTD Board President Gerry Gaydos, Lane Metro Partnership Executive Director Jack Roberts and environmentalist Mary O'Brien.

The collaborative group is an outgrowth of the Eugene Roundtable, which started four years ago to bring together leaders from Eugene's business and environmental communities.

Elaine Hallmark, director of the Oregon Consensus Program, said the West Eugene project is challenging.

Still, "it's very exciting that people in the community have come together, from cross-sections and cross interests, to look at these issues collaboratively," she said. "That's a huge step forward."

MORE INFORMATION

Web site: www.orconsensus.pdx.edu

- Jeff Wright