Though the property is owned by the county, the Lane County Commons are situated very close to the geographical center of the City of Eugene. If our future is truly to be one with less cars and more bicyles and more mass transit, than it is essential that the Lane County Commons be integrated into that future.
Transit Node
Overview: For all the convenience and driving pleasure of a car, concerns for peaking oil production and fossil fuel emissions have underscored the environmental cost of the internal combustion engine and placed new emphasis on mass transit, bicycle riding, and other alternative forms of transportation.
The Fairgrounds Repair Project hopes to minimize automobile traffic to the Lane County Commons by making the most of existing and projected mass transit systems and pedal power. Construction of the site would also include the phased implementation of a multi-tiered, multi-purpose parking structure, as described in Section E of New and Remodeled Structures.
Implementation: The Lane County Fairgrounds sits in the center of Eugene. Jefferson Street provides direct access from Highway 105 to the fairgrounds. A major LTD bus line stops at the main entrance on Thirteenth Street, and a key bike path passes along the site's southern boundary. By adding an EMX route to Thirteenth Street that stops at Monroe Street, the Lane County Commons would become a secondary Eugene transit node and greatly facilitate getting to the site from the far east or far west of the city. This would lessen parking concerns for big events and bring more visitors to the campus during the day. The Commons' overall transit program would also encourage the reduction of vehicle miles traveled for event vendors and patrons to help minimize fossil fuel emissions.
