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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (June 21, 1979)
New bike bridge derails midway By KEN HASWELL Of the Emerald Why is the Willie Knickerbocker Bike Bridge standing almost completed across the Willamette River at Judkins Point, but still closed to both bicycle and pedestrian traffic? Because it is a case of building a bridge before having a reason to cross a river. Now that the bridge is completed. Lane County and City of Eugene engi neers must come up with bike path designs that will connect the bridge to the existing bike path system on the north side of the river. They must also plan a new bike path, which will run from the south side of the bridge to Franklin Boulevard near the Black Angus res taurant. The idea for a bike bridge at Judkins Point emerged about a year ago when the Eugene Bicycle Committee was ap proached by the Eugene Water and Electric Board (EWEB) The board in tended to place a 42-inch water main either across the Willamette or under neath it. EWEB's engineers told the bicycle committee that the difference between putting the pipeline over the river or underneath it amounted to nearly $100,000 They then asked the commit tee if it was interested in having another bicycle bridge crossing the river “It looked like too good an opportunity to miss.” said Eugene Traffic Engineer Jim Hanks ‘ So. we said yes, we'd sup port it’ and we then amended our bicycle master plan to include a bridge crossing (at Judkins Point) because there wasn’t one at the time and we felt like it was a worthwhile purpose ’ Hanks added that the committee told EWEB they didn't want to do any Photo by Jtmmi Hams The new Willie Knickerbocker Bike Bridge is not quite finished, but many area residents are discovering its advantages — even if it means carrying their bikes. thing until they were sure of the total cost of the project and the availability of funding EWEB then agreed to accept bids for construction of the pipeline in three different ways: as a pipeline under the riverbed, as a pipeline bridge across the river and as a combination pipeline and bicycle/pedestrian bridge The latter was the most expensive: it cost about $72,000 more than the other two options. The bicycle committee then contacted Lane County, Eugene and State of Oregon traffic officials, who all agreed it would be a worthwhile project to build another bicycle bridge The County Commissioners authorized $50,000, the city authorized $12,000 and the state authorized $10,000 toward the project The total EWEB pipeline project cost $1 25 million That amount includes a 45-inch diameter pipe on the north side of the river and a pipe that splits in two. A 24-inch diameter pipeline heading toward Glenwood and a 42-inch diameter pipeline heading toward Eugene on the south side of the river The contact for the project was given to Wildish Construction Co of Eugene Hanks says one of the problems with the new bicycle bridge is. "It doesn't connect on both sides right now "We felt that the opportunity for a bridge at that location would never be there again, so we decided to build the bridge and to worry about the ap proaches later,” he added. Since the bridge is a joint venture between the county, the city and the state, responsibility for the approaches to it are divided The county is respdnsi ble for the north side of the river and the city is responsible for the south side approach Keith Ellington of the County Trans portation Department says the county will start work on the north side approach next week He says that it intends to move the current bike path far enough away from the bridge abutment as to allow for a gradual sloping of the bridge connector George Price, director of Lane County Public Works Department, estimates that the construction of the north side connector will take about six weeks Diane Bishop of the Eugene Traffic Engineers Office says the bridge was "kind of an unscheduled event, so we didn't have any of the designs for any of the work to be done on the south side We were kind of caught off-guard. " She says the county decided not to do a lot of work on the north side until the city has a path on the south side But Price disagrees with her, saying the county has had other projects of more importance to contend with Dave Reinhard. supervisor of Eugene s engineering division, says they haven't any designs for the south side connector and bike path yet, "but we are hoping to get something underway by the end of summer and constructed by this fall." He says his department tentatively intends to build a pathway from the south side of the bridge It will head south until it reaches the old concrete intake of the Millrace, which goes under the railroad tracks He says there are four culverts that were built there in the early 1940s and have since been covered over with concrete The engineers intend to con vert these culverts into a bicycle under pass to save the cost of building an overpass In order to reach the culverts, the city must construct a small footbridge of approximately 40 feet to cross over to the south side of the Millrace intake Once under the railroad tracks, the bike path will run along the Millrace to Franklin Boulevard Future plans include a bike path heading north to Springfield from the Knickerbocker bridge The Willie Knickerbocker Bike Bridge is named after a Eugene citizen who was known throughout the state for his bicy cle antics He lived just outside of Eugene on a 160-acre homestead and died in a Eugene convalescent home in 1960 at the age of 92 a Whitebird offers holistic ana legal a/o By STEWART WRIGHT Of the Emerald The Whitebird Sociomedical Aid Station is many things — a crisis relief center, a heroin de toxification center, a low cost I medical outpatient clinic, a legal referral service and a coun seling center Sandy Alperm, the volunteer coordinator of the center, says that although the center receives city and county reve -“I American Folk Song Summer Term, 1979 MuE 199. Folksinging 3 Credits MuE 199. Folk Song-Writing 3 Credits MuE 199. Contemporary American Folk Song: Today’s Troubadors 3 Credits For further ormation call Paul Halpern (683-2697) or leave message with your phone number at the School of Music (686-3761). These classes are intended primarily for non-music majors, but are also open to majors. For complete course descriptions see Summer Session Bulletin. nue-sharing funds, private con tributions and fees, it is usually running at a loss There is a paid staff of 20. including coun selors, a physician and a natur opathic doctor The medical clinic charges on a sliding scale according to in come, as does the counseling service The naturopathic doctor provides an alternative to con ventional medical care He is licensed by a college of natur opathy and uses natural sub stances, dietary and environ mental methods to provide a holistic approach to health The clinic also has many alter native practitioners coming and going These include a chiropracter. a licensed mas sage therapist and a licensed massage acupuncture ther apist The center also has a legal referral service which refers clients to a board of lawyers _£nuj Main Desk What is available at the EMU Main Desk? (Main Floor, New Addition) Sales Key making, key chains, candy, cameras, film, supplies, paperback books, greeting cards, postcards, bicycle chains, school supplies, magazines, padlocks. Services Check cashing for University students, fa culty, staff with proper I.D. Theatre discount tickets Film developing Trading post ads Greyhound bus tickets Fast passes and bus tokens Ode classified ads Pay telephone & EWEB bills Concert tickets Shakespearean Festival tickets who charge on a sliding scale Once a week a lawyer is present at the center to give legal ad vice The clients advocacy council is involved in many projects, including setting up a legal co op and providing an arena where past and present clients can air their views. Alperin said The center holds counseling sessions weekly This is usually done at a prearranged time and the charge can run up to $15 per session There is also a 24-hour crisis intervention service, which deals with everything from drug overdosed to emo tional problems In addition to the paid staff there is a volunteer staff of about 50 All volunteers go through an ei^ht-week orienta tion session in which they learn basic communication skills and are introduced to the functions of the center After the orienta tion, the volunteers may work in any section of the center they wish Alperin says that volunteer work at the station is good training for medical profes sions. paralegal work and counseling All decision-making at the center is collective, incorporat ing views of staff members, volunteers and clients alike The center is located at 341 E 12th St.. 342-8255 1 cent Sundae Sale I Buy 1 at the regular price and get the I second lor only 1 cent Today Only Campus Dairy Queen 13th & MLYARO
