Better Streets » Franklin Boulevard

Franklin Boulevard

Problems today

How safe, practical, and attractive is Franklin Boulevard adjacent to the University of Oregon for everyone today?

  • Safe: No loss of life or personal harm.
  • Practical: Convenient and affordable.
  • Attractive: Welcoming and enjoyable.

In 2023, BEST surveyed how Franklin Boulevard works today. In brief, three-quarters of over 600 respondents indicated that the street today is fair, poor, or worst and in need of changes.

But the $64-million question is: What kinds of changes?

Government plans

Franklin Boulevard Preferred Concept, February 2023. Source: City of Eugene

The City of Eugene is spearheading a planning process for Franklin Boulevard from Alder Street to Interstate-5, including Garden Avenue. The stated purpose is to ”recast a deteriorating former state highway into a complete urban street, changing Franklin Boulevard from an automobile-dominated arterial to a multimodal urban street, prioritizing safety for people walking, biking, and riding the bus rapid transit (BRT) and promoting transit-oriented development (TOD).”

Learn in detail what the City of Eugene is planning for Franklin Boulevard:

Government Plans

Solutions tomorrow

In 2024, BEST has pulled together a group of community leaders and key stakeholders to review the City of Eugene’s plans to transform Franklin Boulevard. Starting in April, the group has already met three times, including to receive a presentation from the City of Eugene.

With the support of BEST staff, this unofficial design review team has developed a partial understanding of what the City is recommending and how they arrived there. The team recently sent the City a memo (also see below) summarizing the City’s work and asking questions.

Categories of users

While waiting for responses from the City, the design review team is looking more closely at the needs of different categories of users, including:

  • People / Equity
    • People walking
    • People biking
    • People rolling / using mobility assistive devices
    • People riding public transit
    • People driving
  • Prosperity / Economy / Quality of Life
    • Freight
    • Businesses
    • Developers
    • Neighbors
    • Community
  • Planet / Environment
    • Air
    • Land
    • Water

The design review team is also looking at best practices for redesigning streets similar to Franklin.

This summer, the team is hoping to share findings and recommendations with the City of Eugene, Lane Transit District, stakeholders, and the larger community.

Memo-and-Appendix-from-DRT-to-City-of-Eugene-2024-05-31Download

See also