Bethel citizens see link between traffic, jobs
EUGENE, Ore. -- Home to nearly 12,000 residences and businesses, Bethel is the largest neighborhood in Eugene.
Neighborhood activists say Bethel has a lack of jobs in the immediate neighborhood, which forces more people to drive to work elsewhere in the city.
The result? Traffic snarls.
"Which only compounds the issue of everybody getting on to these two main collector streets during rush hour time," said Heather Hannah with the Active Bethel Citizens committee.
Those main streets are Barger and Royal. Hannah said Lane Transit District could help with more routes.
"We have no transit center; we have no express bus service," she said.
Beyond traffic, another growing pain is public safety -- and a rise in property crimes.
"I know they're trying, the police department is," said City Councilor Jennifer Solomon, "but they are woefully understaffed, and so that plays itself out here in Bethel."
In the long term, the Bethel and Trainsong neighborhoods are hooking up on a joint assignment to improve the not-so scenic Highway 99 strip.
Solomon said the planning alone could take 10 months.
In the short term, there are major plans for a parcel of property right next door to the Babe Ruth baseball complex, where the Eugene YMCA wants to build a Bethel Center.
"It's the kind of project that I think makes real sense from a collaboration standpoint with the community, with the city, with the schools and with the Y," said Dave Perez, the Eugene YMCA director. Look for groundbreaking by 2012.
