have several reasons for their objection: The route is not needed; further road construction is a symptom of urban sprawl and better land use planning is the solution The route will encourage further development and urban sprawl in west Eugene World petroleum supplies will likely be in decline long before the road would be completed, and therefore modest fixes to existing roads would be sufficient The proposed route will disrupt environmentally-sensitive areas, including wetlands near the proposed alignment The parkway is just a resurrection of the old Roosevelt Freeway proposal (canceled in 1972), and calling the proposed project a "parkway" is deceptive The proposed route will just dump more traffic in Eugene's downtown core. The project fails the federally mandated "independent utility" test, and is thus illegal, because public transportation projects must be self-standing, according to federal law. It is alleged that construction of the parkway will raise traffic on Sixth and Seventh Avenues to unacceptable levels, requiring construction of a new highway through downtown. If such a design element was included in the current plan, such inclusion would likely lead to its cancellation. Funds spent on the project (officially $169 million) would be better spent on other improvements to the area transportation network. Over the past 20 years Eugene City Planning required businesses build along the West 11th corridor to place their parking lots behind their buildings, resulting in many buildings erected close to the existing street. Construction of the proposed parkway would require widening of the current road, forcing many of these businesses to close or relocate. Consequently, the project was opposed by many business owners along the route. On June 18 and 19, 2001, the City of Eugene, Lane County, the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT), the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), among others, held a two-day "West Eugene Charrette" to discuss the future of the project. Most participants were supporters of the highway, but at the end of the conference agreed to select the "no-build" option. This consensus was not implemented, although ODOT and FHWA continued to spend millions, for a time, on the environmental impact statement. Supporters, and the government agencies involved in the planning of the project, pointed to the fact that the parkway proposal has been approved by city voters in two referendum elections, most recently in 2001. Opponents note that the election was 51 to 49,