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Franklin Boulevard: Government Plans

Franklin Boulevard Transformation banner
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.

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Timeline

The City of Eugene is looking to begin construction along Franklin Boulevard in 2026:

  • 2026: Phase One Construction Begins
    Phase one construction is expected to begin in 2026 at the earliest.
  • 2025-2026: Finalize Plans for Construction
    The project will finalize engineering designs after making final edits to the concept based on coordination with stakeholders. The project will be put out for construction bids.
  • 2024: National Environmental Policy Act Analysis (NEPA) & Coordination with Adjacent Property Owners & Businesses
    The City and its partners will assess environmental and related social and economic effects of the design concept for NEPA. Staff will coordinate with property owners and businesses on design details.
  • 2023: Corridor Analysis
    In February 2023, staff hosted an open house showcasing the refined design concept for community review and feedback. In March 2023, staff and consultants completed the corridor analysis, which outlines the results of a multiyear study on the constraints and opportunities along Franklin Boulevard.
  • 2022: Design Concept Refinement
    Staff continued to refine and evaluate the design concept based on community feedback and project analysis.
  • 2021: RAISE Grant
    With support from LTD, the cities of Eugene and Springfield jointly applied for a federal grant to assist with funding for the project. The two cities were awarded $19 million, $11.4 million of which will be used for the Eugene portion of Franklin Boulevard.
  • 2020: Preferred Alternative Drafted
    Staff developed a preferred design concept and shared it publicly for feedback in March 2020.
  • 2019: High Level Design Concept Development
    Multiple community design workshops in January 2019 to develop preliminary concepts. In May 2019, staff presented the results of the January workshops and collected feedback to continue evaluating design concepts and generate design alternatives.

Source: 2024 Brochure

Key resources

Key documents and public meetings about Franklin Boulevard:

  • Eugene City Council Work Session (6/12/24)
    The Franklin Boulevard Transformation Project has developed a final design concept for Franklin Boulevard from I-5 to Alder Street, with the goal of creating a safe and comfortable street for people walking, biking, rolling, using public transportation and driving. Construction of Phase 1 is scheduled to take place in 2026 through 2028. This work session is an opportunity to provide an update to City Council and answer questions.
  • BEST Franklin Boulevard Design Review Team Meeting (4/24/24)
    City of Eugene and Lane Transit District staff reviewed the recommend alternative and anwered questions.
    • Presentation (27 slides, PDF)
      Project Overview. Why Transform Franklin Blvd? Public Involvement. Preferred Design Concept. Roundabouts.
  • Community Engagement Summary (4 pages, PDF, 8/2/23)
    This report details the outcomes of the open house on February 2, 2023, and the subsequent online survey.
  • Community Open House (Ford Alumni Center, 2/2/23)
    Over 160 members of the community attended an in-person open house where staff shared work done to refine the preferred alternative design since it was last shared in March 2020. Staff engaged in discussion with attendees and feedback was collected, which will be used to inform further refinement of the design as it moves forward from planning to engineering.
    • Project Overview (1 poster, PDF)
      An introduction to the project.
    • Project Timeline (3 posters, PDF)
      A summary of events along the corridor affecting the project from 1998 – 2028 – how we got here, where we are, and what’s next.
    • Walking and Biking Along the Corridor (2 posters, PDF)
      An explanation of how people walking and biking will be able to navigate through roundabouts, and a description of the types of facilities being considered for biking (protected bikeways and shared-use paths).
    • Franklin Boulevard & Walnut Street (1 poster, PDF)
      Three-dimensional street-level rendering of a proposed roundabout at the intersection of Franklin Blvd and Walnut Street.
    • Then & Now (1 poster, PDF)
      An overview of refinements made to the design between 2020 and 2023.
    • RAISE Grant (1 poster, PDF)
      A discussion of what components of the total project are planned to be delivered through RAISE grant funding.
    • Refined Preferred Alternative Design (45” × 7.5” aerial photo / map, PDF)
      Is based off the preferred alternative concept design shared in March 2020. It has been refined based on feedback from community members, business and property owners along the corridor, and engineers. Refinements include modifications to roundabout shaping, a westbound left-turn from Franklin onto Villard, and adjustments to the spaces dedicated to people walking and biking.
    • Corridor Traffic Simulation (video, 4:42) [YouTube] [AVI]
      A video simulation of how traffic will flow through the corridor based on traffic modeling.
    • Project Overview (video, 30:20, YouTube)
      This video will explain the Franklin Boulevard Transformation project, how we got where we are today, and how you can be involved.
  • DRAFT Corridor Analysis Report (113 pages, PDF, 1/27/23)
    A draft report describing the opportunities, constraints, environmental factors, and public involvement and design development history associated with the project.
  • Preferred Design Alternative Showcase (Ford Alumni Center, 3/10/20)
    Project staff shared the preferred alternative (also known as the preferred final concept design) and were available to share information and answer questions.
    • Project Overview (1 poster, PDF)
      An introduction to the project and work done to date.
    • Project Timeline (1 poster, PDF)
      Depicts where work on the project is in relation to past and future milestones.
    • Proposed Bicycle and Pedestrian Operations (1 poster, PDF)
      Discusses how intersections will work for people walking and biking.
    • Street Configurations (1 poster, PDF)
      Portrays how physical constraints may impact street design.
    • Franklin Boulevard & Walnut Street (1 poster, PDF)
      Three-dimensional street-level rendering of a proposed roundabout at Franklin Blvd & Walnut Street.
    • Next Steps (1 poster, PDF)
      How to stay involved and next steps.
    • Preferred Alternative (180” × 30” aerial photo / map)
      Uses a combination of roundabouts and signals with gateway roundabouts at each end. It also creates a new intersection at 13th Avenue and Moss Street. This alternative most closely resembles Alternative C that was presented during the May 2019 open house, but with refinements.
    • Corridor Traffic Simulation (video, 4:30, MP4)
      A video simulation of how traffic will flow through the corridor.
  • Eugene City Council Work Session (3/9/20)
    Staff presented the Preferred Alternative design concept for Franklin Boulevard and discussed potential project phasing and coordination with Springfield on a federal Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD) grant.
  • Design Concepts Survey Summary (22 pages, PDF, 8/28/19)
    A summary report of feedback received about corridor design alternatives both in-person at the Design Open House and through an online survey.
  • Design Open House (Romania Building, 5/29/19)
    The City of Eugene hosted a design workshop, open-house style. The results of work done by staff since the first workshop were presented, including efforts to incorporate community feedback into design concepts evaluation and potential corridor alternatives generation.
    • Project Overview (3 posters, PDF)
      An introduction to the project and summary of work done to date.
    • Gateways (3 posters, PDF)
      Presents design elements and character options for potential gateway treatments.
    • Bikeways (4 posters, PDF)
      Discusses the Franklin Blvd and Garden Ave bike networks and design options.
    • Alternatives (7 posters, PDF)
      Reviews different street design options being considered and explores the trade-offs for each design alternative.
      • Alternative A [Google Earth] [PDF]
        Explores a series of roundabouts along the entire corridor.
      • Alternative B [Google Earth] [PDF]
        Explores signalized intersections with one gateway roundabout at the east end.
      • Alternative C [Google Earth] [PDF]
        Explores a combination of roundabouts and signals with gateway roundabouts at each end. Strategically placed roundabouts allow vehicles to make u-turns along the corridor to make it easier to access destinations on the other side of the street.
  • Eugene City Council Work Session (5/28/19)
    Staff provided an introduction to the Franklin Boulevard Transformation project including the project purpose, goals and objectives, and an overview of public involvement and also showed some initial corridor design concepts.
  • Survey Summary (32 pages, PDF, 3/27/19)
    This report summarizes the public commentary received in response to a series of four questions that were posed to the community to help guide draft designs for Franklin Boulevard.
  • Design Discovery Workshop (1/28/19 – 1/31/19)
    The City of Eugene hosted a series of public events as part of an intensive four-day charrette that led to initial design concepts. 
    • Design Reveal (Jaqua Academic Center for Student Athletes, 1/31/19)
      This event showcased the week’s work toward a concept design for transforming Franklin Boulevard. Designers presented possible street cross-sections and intersection designs, along with information about how options impact the way people traveling by different modes use the corridor. The event was a formal presentation with structured Q&A. Designs presented at this meeting are not final and will be further evaluated in the coming months.
    • Open Studio Hours (Romania Building, 1/29/19)
      The community was invited to see the progression of design work on the second day of the charrette. The afternoon open studio allowed Eugeneans to see designers at work and peek at initial ideas for corridor transformation. Members of the public were able to chat with designers and provide comments on these initial designs.
    • Kickoff Meeting (Ford Alumni Center, 1/28/19)
      The Kickoff Meeting oriented attendees to the project process and project area, and to what the Franklin Boulevard Transformation project hopes to accomplish. We solicited input about what works well and what doesn’t on Franklin today, and what Eugeneans’ hopes are for Franklin in the future.
      • Presentation (91 slides, PDF)
      • Recording (video, 1:10:33, Vimeo)
        Also includes what your fellow Eugenean’s had to say via working group report-outs.
  • DRAFT Environmental Overview Memo (31 pages, PDF, 1/23/19)
    This document provides documentation on existing corridor conditions. It will be used to inform the design team and the public so that design concepts can take into account the current environmental, economic, and social conditions in the project area.
  • DRAFT Project Overview (9 pages, PDF, 1/22/19)
    This memo provides an overview of the Franklin Boulevard Transformation project. It includes a description of the project and the reasons the project is being undertaken. It lays out the vision, goals, and objectives, based on adopted plans, that will guide Franklin Boulevard’s design.
  • Review of Existing Plans (23 pages, PDF, 1/22/19)
    This attachment provides excerpts from relevant plans. The memo and attachment will be used as a resource by the project team and public to understand the past thinking that has gone into this project and the needs the design will resolve.
  • DRAFT Public Involvement and Communications Plan (17 pages, PDF, 1/4/19)
    This plan describes the strategies and tools for involving the public and other stakeholders in shaping the transformation of Franklin Boulevard. This document is intended primarily as a team resource to help staff coordinate communications and outreach efforts.

Sources: Franklin Boulevard Transformation, Public Involvement

Supporting plans

Other plans relating to Franklin Boulevard:

Source: Project Library

Further reading

News stories and views about Franklin Boulevard:

See also

Related information from BEST: