Open Willamette to
traffic, business
Eugene voters will lx> voting in May whether or not to
open a two-block stretch of Willamette Street through
the downtown malt. The Eugene City Council decided
Wednesday to place the measure on the ballot. The area
has been dosed to traffic since 1970.
The advantages to opening Willamette Street to traffic
are numerous The downtown area desperately needs
to be revitalized, and the extra traffic that people driving
cars would bring to the area may help to spark new busi
ness to existing shops, as well as draw new retailers to
the area
Shopping in downtown Eugene can bn an exercise in
futility. 0* there an* no longer major stores downtown.
To shop at a department store these davs. one has to vis
it Valley River Center or Gateway Mall. The only retail
ers downtown are smaller, independent stores that bad
ly need more business. When people in Eugene think,
about shopping, they rarely consider the downtown area
In its current form, downtown doesn’t have much to
offer.
Over time, and with the opening of Willamette Street,
downtown can thrive as a bustling business district.
Stores will move back if that is where the traffic and the
money are. Neither are c urrently there, nor are the busi
nesses It just doesn’t pay.
Having Willamette Street closed may make an envi
ronmental statement opposing cars and make it easier for
pedestrians to move among the stores downtown It may
even make the area look a little nicer. However, in a
business sense, it just isn’t logical. One can’t expect cus
tomers to work harder and walk farther to get to busi
nesses Businesses have to make it easier for customers
to spend money.
As good an idea as it is to open Willamette Street, the
City Council shirked its responsibility when it decided
to refer the decision to voters. The Council should have
taken it upon itself to make a derision on opening
Willamette Street, but it instead decided to dump the
whole Issue into the laps of the voters. The Council
showed a lack of decisiveness when it referred the issue
to Eugene voters. They should have dec ided the issue
themselves.
Opening Willamette Street would not be without
flaws. Added traffic to the si root would probably prompt
construction of now businesses along the route, thereby
reducing access to the area. It will also cost money to
open the street again.
Despite the cost and possible temporary inconve
niences of construction along the route, it makes sense
to reopen the street to traffic. Without the traffic that
added access to the route would bring, fewer people will
visit shops in the area and downtown Eugene will fall
into an economic downturn.
Open Willamette Street to traffic. Both businesses and
customers will benefit from the convenience.
Oregon Daily
Emerald
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VOTE TO END A
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SEVENEIGHTHS
r
■ OPINION
Aggressive panhandlers annoying
Jot Hum pop
For most students. the path to
obtaining that magic piece of
paper signifying the successful
completion of four or more years
of mademit hell is fraught with
abstai les and sacrifices. Some
work one or more jola* to meet the
costs of attending, and others
mortgage their future by taking
out student loans Many use both
avenues to si rape hs
All would agree the personal
and financial commitment in
winning that degree, or license to
work and wear a tie as I like to
cal! it. is not an assy road to trav
el That's why many begin hut
only few finish
In light of the intense motiva
tion required to simply stav in
school, much less aad«n
ii ally. I always wonder why stu
dents choose to support the non
working crowd of Iwjggars. thiev
and panhandlers ringing hast
l lth Avenue and surrounding
locations
Unbeknownst to the majority
of students, the area surrounding
the west University neighbor
hood is considered a high crime
area by police and city officials
Certainly, a handful of obnoxious
students contribute to this stig
ma But a far worse problem lies
with the transient lieggar*. who
daily accost students for spare
change.
One need only peruse the dai
ly police logs for proof Drunken
transient urinates on sidewalk
Transient idled for shoplifting at
the Bookstore Transient arrest
ed twice in the same week for
peddling drugs. Transient arrest
ed for harassing a student. Tran
sient arrested for trespassing The
list could go on to fill up the rest
of this paper.
Probably the worst lot alum for
ihi* university « own gaggle of
losers is the intersection of i;tth
Avenue and Ald**r Street During
daylight hours, students regular
ly have to plow through the pack
of street urchins hanging out on
the sidewalk in front of the 7
F.leven store. These folks sport
dreds. filthy clothing and the
newest fashion craze among the
terminally ia/.v and malnour
ished dogs
One asked me on Monday for
"spare change to grab a bite to
eat.” Now when I first moved to
Eugene, I actually gave my
(Juinge to panhandlers — main
ly out of pity. That prat lice end
ed when I followed one into Safe
way and saw him buy a -tti oun<«
bottle of Otde English 800 It's
hard enough buying Ixier for
myself, much less some loser
allergic to work.
So anyway , I told the guy ask
uig for mimin to Ml ins dug if In'
was so hungry. The response
didn't go over well. In fat t, it was
followed by an overt threat of
bodily harm, to which I then
responded with an equally pro
fane threat of my own
Such goes life on the street
After living around the Uni
versity for a short time, most
quickly tire of the endless bog
ging and stop giving If the Uni
versity student population could
somehow organize a blanket boy
cott of furnishing panhandlers
with change for even a week,
many would pack up their
mobile homes, er. shopping carts
and find greener pastures I'm
talking about a Yellowstone-type
si enarlo where visitors aren't
allowed to feed the (tears and
those bears eventually quit i>eg
ging for food
Some say we should exercise
compassion ami mercy, helping
those less fortunate Fine with
me. Donate to legitimate causes
like United Way or the Century
Coalition.
On Wednesday, as I walked
down to Smith Family Book
Store to buy a book, four differ
ent dweebs asked me for spare
change. None had dogs, so I
couldn't recommend canine
casserole again Instead, I utilized
a common tm tit : Look right
through (lie waste of skin and <.ar
bon molecules as if he didn’t
exist. It usually works.
But Wednesday was different
One touched my arm and repeat
ed thi' request for cash. Not want
ing to get into a shouting match,
1 continued walking. Which
brings to mind the final stanza of
a haiku an alcoholic friend
recently wrote:
"Spare some change brother '"
I looktid at him while laughing,
“Change comes from within."
Students complain of the con
stant begging, yet police were
limited in the remedies they may
apply to panhandlers, limited
that is, until Thursday when the
City Council final found its
proverbial brass balls and acted
to discourage panhandlers
I tu* enactment of Eugene's
"aggressive panhandling" ordi
uanco will hopefully spell doom
for the urban parasites leaching
money from those students and
community members daring to
wall the streets.
While the now ordinance
doesn't outlaw panhandling
altogether, it makes certain
behaviors illegal Actions like
“offensive physu al i ontact" and
preventing people from walking
down a sidewalk unimpeded
will result in a penalty of up to
$l,000 and 10U days in jail
but police cannot cite a per
son under the new law unless
an officer witnesses the offense
or the victim signs a complaint,
in essence, making a citizen's
arrest
So at the end of February
when F'ugene police start enforc
ing the law. remember that there
is now a remedy. If a panhandler
gets out of hand, call the police
and wait around to sign a com
plaint
And while you are waiting,
uffer suggestions on your
favorite doggie dish; it might
make for some tasty viltles after
he gets out of jail.
/or Harwood is a columnist for
the Emerald.
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