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Editorial
Vehicular traffic unfit
for downtown mall
The portion of Willamette Street between Eighth and
Kith avenues has become the focus of vigorous public debate
during the last few months. Controversy has been sparked
by a proposal to reopen to vehicular traffic the central plaza
of the downtown shopping mall where Willamette Street in
tersects Broadway Street.
Two distinct proposals have been presented to the
Eugene City Council by urlwn design consultant Don Miles.
The first proposal would create a narrow, two-lane street
with parking bays that would run down Willamette Street
and through the portion of the mall where the concrete foun
tain presently stands.
Another proposal would renovate and redevelop the
portion of Willamette Street that runs through the mall
without reintroducing motorized traffic to the two-block sec
tion of downtown.
Renovation, rather than motorization, should iw* im
plemened by the city council to preserve a part of Eugene
where pedestrians can shop without the interference from
vehicular traffic.
Reintroducing traffic to the two-block section of the
mall will create more problems than it would solve, and lit
tle evidence supports the hypothesis that reopening the
street will improve the economic conditions of downtown
After Sunday's fatal accident on Franklin Boulevard,
the underlying danger of the automobile has been brought to
the forefront of public ccnsciousness. Reopening Willamette
Street to traffic, even though it may be slow and controlled
by traffic lights, will endanger shoppers to the potential
brutality of the automobile.
With the presence of cars and trucks, noise pollution in
the mall will increase, thereby diminishing the pleasantness
of the shopping environment. Traffic would bo repugnant to
many shoppers, and the public has made this clear to the ci
ty council in both written and oral responses.
In addition, air pollution in the pedestrian mall also
will increase as a result of reopening Willamette Street to
traffic. Although this increase in air pollution may be small
and unnoticable, it w ill still detract from the mall's objective
of providing an attrative place to shop.
Reopening Willamette Street to vehicular traffic may
improve the smooth flow of traffic in the downtown area,
hut doing so may have consequences that presently an?
unperceived.
The teenagers who cruise the "gut”, for example, may
migrate to the new Willamette Street, especially because
residents near the gut are attemping to eradicate cruisers
from the neighborhood. An increase in cruisers along
Willamette Street would, in effect, lead to an increased
amount of crime, noise, and litter in the downtown mall
area.
The aesthetic consequences of reintroducing traffic to
the mall not oidy outweigh the possible economic benefits of
such a plan, but also may negate any such benefits.
The negative externalities that would accompany the
presence of the automobile in the mall could conceivably
decrease the amount of business stores and restaurants
received because people would be more inclined to shop
elsewhere, such as Valley River Center.
Several downtown business owners have expressed op
position to the initiative. Furthermore, an initial public
hearing on the proposal to allow traffic down Willamette in
dicated many Kugene residents oppose the plan.
The continuity of the walking mall should lx? preserved
at the small expense of excluding the automobile. But if the
city council, which recently split in a vote, decides to
reopen the mall to vehicular traffic, then the issue should lx?
presented to the public on the next available ballot.
nsKMKHER
Of PRINCIPLE.
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Letters
Strong defense
With Aug •> come* the
me mo r ia I i/.a t ion of the
Hiroshima and Nagasaki bomb
ings. And now my thoughts go
liack through the years to those
mothers, fathers, wives and
children who lost their loved
ones in fierce battles of the
southwest pacific.
Oh yes. the lapanese had lives
lost, but 1 also remember that
"day of infamy" when they (the
lapanese) without provocation
destroyed l*earl Harbor and in
discriminately slaughtered both
civilians and military
personnel.
I still recall our youth in
military uniform fighting in far
off jungles, wounded, suffering
and dying to protect the world
from the savage imperialist
whose aim was world
domination.
And then President Truman,
commander in chief, made a
most painful decision —
Hiroshima and Nagasaki were
made targets. This ended the
war.
For me to memorialize these
two cities and their losses
would be for me to turn my back
on those who died to defend the
world against a dictatorship
with all its evils.
lot's all remember, only
through a strong defense is
peace possible.
Kdward A. Kelly
Commander
lane County
Veterans Council
Oregon Daily
Emerald
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Trojan horse
The proposed new constitu
tion called the “New State of
America" is dangerous to our
freedom To me it's like a Tro
jan horse.
lien; we am fighting com
munism and paying out a huge
amount for defense and this
document could take away
much of what we hold dear
without them even Iwing an ar
my marching on us.
I refer to the proposed
changes that would come about
— such as the bearing of arms
allowed only to the military, the
police and those licensed under
law.
I refer to the part in Article I
Section 8 whem it says religion
shall l»e privileged. That means
no right to practice your
religion. You know what hap
pens to privileges when some
bureaucrat decides to take them
away. They are gone. That's
what happens.
I also refer to Section It.
Education shall be provided at
public expense to those who
meet appropriate tests of
eligilibility. That would have
probably left Einstein out. I hear
he was quite the dunce.
And Linus I'auling — the on
ly living two-time Nobel Prize
winner. He said a very en
couraging small class and its
professors made the difference
for him at Oregon State before
he went to Harvard.
All of our states would be
divided up into new stales.
As you might expect this was
put together by non-elec ted.
non-appointed people from a
group calling themselves the
"Center for the Study of
Democratic Institutions." This
was paid for with money that
indirectly came from our taxes.
Rose Marie Wymore
Veneta
Stereotyping
In response to the |uly 21
oditorial cartoon. I feel it was
quite effective — effective in in
creasing the fear of pit bulls and
continuing a stereotype image
of pit bulls.
Increasing awareness should
be a goal for the Emerald, in
stead of making th« pit hull a
very fearsome and always
dangerous animal.
Any animal can be trained to
be as vicious as many pit bulls.
No one knows what makes so
may pit bulls attack, whether
it’s breeding or the environment
and training.
Stereotyping all pit bulls is
just the same as stereotyping all
women or all blacks. While it is
true these animals don't have
the same rights or respect that
women and blacks now have. I
don't believe it's right to make
the pit bulls seem so feared.
A possible alternative to (be
cartoon would be writing an ar
ticle presenting the pros and
cons of pit bulls. Presenting a
neutral opinion. I think, would
make the Kmerald seem more
open than a one-minded paper
that stereotypes.
Heidi Schuman
TAG student
Dog solutions
In response to the |uly 21
editorial cartoon, 1 believe the
pit bull race should not be total
ly outlawed, but perhaps there
should bo an insurance policy
for a group of high-risk dogs.
The greater the risk, the more
you pay. Also, an analysis of the
home and owners would also be
prudent.
The outlawing of owning
more than one pit bull would
stop the private party from
breeding them. This in turn
would be left to a couple of very
specialized breeders.
I think there isn't just one
cause but two. Their instinctive
viciousness makes them easy
prey for organized criminals of
all sorts.
On the other hand, in some
cases the dogs are overly
vicious, causing the family's
"cute” pit bull to suddenly,
and without warning, attack the
innocent.
If the suggestions in the above
paragraphs are used. I think the
problem would be dramatically
reduced and laws can once
again return to the number one
position.
Brian Turner
TAG student