Technical Tours APWA FALL ConferenceTuesday, september 29$45 Additional Fee
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Removing a Concrete Channel and Restoring the Amazon CreekTour Leader: Eric Dearden/City of Eugene Join us for a tour of the recently completed Amazon Creek Restoration Project, where a long-standing concrete channel was removed and replaced with a natural stream corridor that now serves as a revitalized recreational hub near the City’s urban center. Visitors will walk alongside a 1,800-foot reach of the Amazon Creek from E 24th Avenue to E 20th Avenue that once consisted of aging concrete channel walls surrounded by limited and disconnected facilities for pedestrians and cyclists. Led by the City of Eugene, with design support from Otak, the project team transformed the corridor to restore natural stream function, improve habitat, enhance water quality, and created a safer and more accessible recreational center for pedestrians and cyclists. During the tour, visitors will learn how the waterway was re-shaped from a linear concrete-walled channel into a meandering creek with riffles, pools, floodplain benches, and planted banks. The project also included a new fully ADA-compliant multi-use bridge, designed to improve access along the stream corridor, between surrounding schools, and connect residential neighborhoods with nearby recreational opportunities. New native shrubs and wetland plants are already taking root, bringing ecological diversity back to a waterway once dominated by concrete. The tour also explores the complexities of building a stream in an urban environment and how the project team navigated challenges such as temporary water management, preservation of critical utilities, adaptive construction sequencing, and ensuring standards are met for federal, state, local, permitting agencies. This tour provides insight into how technical stream design, interagency permitting, collaborative partnerships, and resilient construction practices came together to return Amazon Creek to a more natural and sustainable condition. This project was funded by a combination of local and federal sources including stormwater utility fees, stormwater System Development charges, Park Bond funds, and a FEMA Hazard Mitigation Grant totaling approximately $5 million. Participant limit: 20 
| Eugene Bike Tour: Retrofitting the Bike Lane Network for All Ages and AbilitiesTour Leaders: Reed Dunbar, Rob Inerfeld, Catherine Rohan, Shane Rhodes from City of Eugene Public Works The City of Eugene has been investing in bicycle facilities for over five decades including development of the beautiful Riverbank Path along the banks of the Willamette River and its five bike/ped bridges that link neighborhoods to parks and commercial centers. Outside of the shared use path system, Eugene relied on standard bike lanes to stitch the bicycling network together for people who were confident riding bicycles in mixed traffic. Early experiments with separated on-street facilities near the University of Oregon campus were also on offer for folks wanting to leave their cars behind and use bikes for transportation. But that network mostly attracted seasonal bike riders and students. To grow the bicycle mode share in Eugene, staff would need to look beyond the bike lane. Using the city-owned bike share system, participants will ride a variety of protected bike infrastructure and learn about materials selection, signal design, maintenance, and future connections. There will be plenty of time for questions and answers. This is a casual ride, less than 10mph, and probably about 5 miles, depending on what participants want to see and how many questions there are. Ride leaves from the conference venue. Bring your own helmet or let us know if you need one. Participant Limit: 20
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