OREGON OBSERVATIONS 26 DECEMBER 2023
Eugene Airport parking is full; officials ask travelers to use public transport. Popularity’s a bitch, ain’t it? For all the rocket scientist City of Eugene officials that had anything to do with it: What made you think you could make it more attractive to fly in and out of Eugene’s airport without substantially increasing parking capacity? As one who watched the conversion of the Eugene Police Department’s tactical driving course into overflow parking, complete with shuttle service to the terminal, I wondered if that would be enough. Even as construction got underway, the original lot was packed to capacity in the days preceding holidays or a major trade show (like CONEXPO). The minuscule expansion pointed to one thing: The goal of the evil partnership between the City of Eugene and Lane Transit Authority has always been to force everybody to take the bus everywhere. Just think about the inconvenience involved when taking a family of four by bus to the airport and their required baggage to depart on a two-week vacation. To verify governmental collusion, look no further than Eugene’s recent approval to allow almost no parking for new multifamily housing units, which would force occupants to take LTD’s buses for transportation. It’s bad enough that Eugene’s permitting section demands that 30% of the area involved in new construction be dedicated to landscape. With further reduction beyond that, you’re walkin’ or ridin’ the bus everywhere. It’s like a new generation of city planners revisited the hippie-generated plan of the early ’70s when they turned the entire city core into a giant, car-less pedestrian mall. It only took ’em a little over 30 years to come to their senses and reverse THAT laughable decision. I’m surprised they didn’t buy Ken Kesey’s “Further” hippie bus and erect it as a shrine in the middle of town.
OREGON OBSERVATIONS 26 DECEMBER 2023 Read More »
