Event

BEST organizes transportation forums with candidates for elected office

By Claire Roth
March 31, 2026

Candidates for six competitive races for city council and county commissioner in Eugene and Springfield will share perspectives on transportation issues.

candidates forum

BEST is organizing transportation forums with candidates for competitive races for Eugene City Council and Lane County Commissioner in Eugene and Springfield—but not for noncompetitive races for Springfield City Council:

  • Highway 99 (Eugene City Council Ward 6)
    With Greg Evans and Tai Pruce-Zimmerman
    Thursday, April 23, 2026
    5:30–6:30 pm
    Lane 25 (1166 State Hwy 99 N, Eugene)
    Facebook
  • Franklin Boulevard (Eugene City Council Ward 3)
    With John Barofsky and Jennifer Smith
    Tuesday, April 28, 2026
    6:30–7:30 pm
    Edison Elementary School, cafeteria (1328 E 22nd Ave, Eugene)
    Facebook
  • River Road (Lane County Commissioner District 1)
    With Ryan Ceniga and Thomas Hiura
    Wednesday, April 29, 2026
    5:30–6:30 pm
    Abby’s Legendary Pizza (1970 River Rd, Eugene)
    Facebook
  • Springfield (Lane County Commissioner District 2)
    With David Loveall, Sean VanGordon, and Bill Monsoor
    Thursday, April 30, 2026
    6:00–7:00 pm
    Willamalane Adult Activity Center, Cascade Room (215 W C St, Springfield)
    Facebook

As a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit, BEST does not support or oppose any candidate for elected office.

Rather these forums are intended to educate members of the public and candidates about key transportation issues affecting our community. Attendees will have a chance to hear from and ask questions of each participating candidate.

Everyone and all points of view are welcome. Please share your concerns and also listen to and be respectful of others. Thank you.

Previously, BEST’s Cycle of Change suggested a few questions to ask the candidates:

  1. What do you see as the most critical transportation issues facing Eugene and Springfield?
  2. What responsibility, if any, do cities and counties have to serve the needs of people who cannot or choose not to drive?
  3. What are the reasons, if any, to provide public transportation and, if so, what kinds of options do you want to see?
  4. How do you think the City of Eugene’s Vision Zero goal of no deaths or life-changing injuries on our streets relates to other transportation and community goals, such as reducing congestion or supporting economic development?
  5. What do you see as reasons to support or oppose the City of Eugene’s goal to triple the percentage of trips by foot, bicycle, or public transportation by the year 2035?
  6. Beyond the ongoing bond measures to repair Eugene’s streets, how interested are you in public funding to repair sidewalks, which are currently the responsibility of property owners?

Coburg Road: NOTES
Jennifer Yeh, Tom Stedman (Eugene Ward 4 candidates)
Mike Clark,* Athena Aguilar, Jasmine Hatmaker (Eugene City Council Ward 5 candidates)

Question: Most important thing to you as a candidate through the transportation lens? What are you hearing from the community?

Jennifer Yeh (Ward 4): Focus on practical and visible solutions with emphasis on prevention instead of enforcement. Sidewalk improvement is important because of equity issues. Improving road design such as implementing road diets, etc. will make transportation safer. We are not going to enforce our way into making transportation safer. Utilizing road bonds and investing dollars to make streets safer will be important.

Tom Stedman (Ward 4): Big concern areas I am hearing about are Coburg Road, Ferry Street Bridge, and Beltline, especially around bottlenecking. It would be nice to add a third lane to help with traffic. For speed bumps, the pass through in the middle for bikes to go through feels unsafe because it directs cyclists into the roadway. Intersections are unsafe due to rainy and dark conditions. People coming up the bike lane to pass on the right feels unsafe, but blocking that would negatively affect cyclists. Schools experience a lot of transportation danger; a road levy could focus on grade school area improvement. Also, there is no connectivity to West Eugene and the railroad tracks here are a hindrance. It’s not safe to use the Amazon Trail and lots of people will be needing to use that trail to reach the enterprise zone. It would be nice to have a bike lane from the Amazon area to that area.

Athena Aguiar (Ward 5): Building protected sidewalks and bike lanes and replacing sidewalks.

Jasmine Hatmaker (Ward 5): Finding out what we can do now using low cost options for problem streets, especially near campus. Increasing intersection daylighting and reconstructing streets to create more space for bikes and pedestrians.

Mike Clark (Ward 5): Absent

Question: What would you like new Eugene City Manager Jenny Haruyama to focus on or know around transportation?

Jennifer Yeh (Ward 4): Talk to the community to hear our challenges and strengths. Go out in the community to start learning and listening.

Tom Stedman (Ward 4): I’d like to hear what she did up in Beaverton, especially for ADA concerns because it’s a difficult form to get around. I would like to know what she has learned and seen in other communities in terms of solutions to some of the issues we are facing here. I have seen ‘flavor of the month’ from other new leadership, and I would like to see her not come in and destruct what we’ve done, but hear what she’s done in other communities.

  • Question from Tom Stedman for the room: What about the rent-a-bike system locally would you like to see changed?
    • Attendee: I like them because I don’t have to worry about my bike being stolen when I use them.
    • Attendee: I want to see the service area expanded for bike share so I can use it to and from more areas in the community.

Athena Aguiar (Ward 5): Build sidewalks.

Jasmine Hatmaker (Ward 5): Look at the data around problem areas and make sure she is fully engaged with the community and hearing their experiences.

Mike Clark (Ward 5): Absent

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