The City of Eugene is starting construction on new parking and accessibility improvements around the Cuthbert Amphitheater in Alton Baker Park.
The $2.1 million project is funded by the University of Oregon, which acquired city land to build its “2.Mo” project – a massive indoor training facility near Autzen Stadium. Leo Harris Parkway was realigned to accommodate the project.
“And so, along with the land exchange … a lot of parking for the park was lost,” said Emily Proudfoot, principal landscape architect at the City of Eugene's Parks and Open Space Planning Office.
That parking was used for football games, the Eugene Science Center and Cuthbert Amphitheater events.
She said the improvements will include a 50-car parking lot, an ADA accessible path around the venue, improved lighting, fencing and more. They also plan to move the box office to the south, which will make it more accessible.
“What we're building is a really nice collection, I think, of site improvements and, certainly improving ADA parking for Cuthbert events,” said Proudfoot.
The work starts this month.
“I will say, my biggest concern is really around the safety of pedestrians and bicyclists on Day Island Road,” she said. “There will be big construction trucks and vehicles and added traffic, and we all share that road. Cars, bikes, pedestrians, runners. And so I'm just really encouraging a lot of extra caution, on everybody's part when you're traveling through Alton Baker Park.”
The hope is that the construction will be done in early spring before concert season at the Cuthbert Amphitheater.
