Better Streets » Smart Growth America

Better Streets
with Smart Growth America

BEST and AARP Livable Communities organized walk audits to see problems along Highway 99 and River Road and town halls with Smart Growth America to learn what solutions have worked in other communities.

Changes are likely coming to Highway 99 and to River Road; BEST wants your voice to lead the way.

Our Better Streets for People and Businesses initiative invites all segments of the community to share how these corridors are working today. If we hear things are just fine, great! If we hear broad agreement that there are significant problems, that knowledge can form the foundation for developing broadly supported solutions. (Past plans have not always enjoyed such broad support.)

To kick off this work, on Thursday, November 13, 2025, BEST and AARP Livable Communities hosted experts with Smart Growth America that are advocating for Complete Streets for everyone. Separately for Highway 99 and for River Road, participants joined a walk audit to see firsthand what is working today and what needs improvement and then a town hall to learn what approaches have worked in other communities.

BEST will ensure that community feedback is shared with the City of Eugene and Lane Transit District to inform future planning for Highway 99 and River Road.

What we heard

We heard from participants of the walk audits and town halls about what is and is not working today. Read on for a summary and a photo gallery of all four events.

Highway 99

Challenges that we heard on the Highway 99 walk audit:

Unsafe road conditions
- Vehicle speeds too fast
- Bike lanes feel unsafe to use due to street design and driver behavior
- Street is too wide
Uncomfortable to walk or bike
- Car noise is too loud to enjoy walking
- Unsafe and infrequent road crossings
- Lack of safe crossings and connectivity
- Not enough physical separation between walking, biking, and cars
- Many driveways
- Unwelcoming to pedestrians and cycling
- Sidewalks hazardous to walk
- General feeling of unsafe conditions, especially for vulnerable populations needing services on Highway 99

Most supported solutions we heard during the Highway 99 town hall:

Road diet / traffic calming devices / reducing travel lanes
More frequent and better illuminated pedestrian crossings
Make it a boulevard, not a highway

River Road

Challenges that we heard on the River Road walk audit:

Doesn’t feel safe
- Vehicle speeds
- Too many cars
Uncomfortable to walk
- Noise, noise, noise
- Unsafe and infrequent road crossings
- Frequent driveways across the sidewalks
Uncomfortable to bike
- Narrow bike lanes without separation from traffic
- Bike lanes between two car lanes
- Challenging intersections
Desire for more amenities
- Community gathering spaces
- Places to sit and rest

Most supported solutions we heard during the River Road town hall:

Slowing traffic and reducing speeds by far the highest priority
Fewer car lanes
Incentivize businesses
Median islands

Observations & Next Steps

Smart Growth America summarized their observations and recommending next steps:

Smart-Growth-America-Observations-Next-Steps Download

Thursday, November 13, 2025

Highway 99 Walk Audit
9:00 – 11:30 am
Start @ Lane County Parole and Probation (2699 Roosevelt Blvd, Eugene)
See firsthand what is working well today and what needs improvement.

Highway 99 Town Hall
12:00 – 1:30 pm
Petersen Barn Community Center (870 Berntzen Rd, Eugene)
A presentation on better streets in other communities.
A discussion of opportunities for Highway 99.
Lunch provided.
Join on Facebook.

River Road Walk Audit
3:00 – 5:30 pm
Start @ Grocery Outlet (2060 River Rd, Eugene)
See firsthand what is working well today and what needs improvement.

River Road Town Hall
7:00 – 8:30 pm
Howard Elementary School (700 Howard Ave, Eugene)
A presentation on better streets in other communities.
A discussion of opportunities for River Road.
Snacks and drinks provided.
Join on Facebook.

Smart Growth America

Smart Growth America helps create healthy, prosperous, and resilient places to live for all people through research, advocacy, and direct community support. Their work spans housing and land use, transportation, and economic development to find solutions to communities’ most pressing needs.

Dustin Robertson is a Senior Program Manager, Thriving Communities at Smart Growth America. He focuses on Complete Streets and the intersections of mobility, health, and equity. His work informs best practices and research, building capacity at state and local levels across the country.

Mehr Mukhtar is a Senior Policy Associate at Transportation for America. In this role, she contributes to policy and advocacy that enhances climate resilience in the transportation system, supports equitable and sustainable public transportation, and advances the national passenger rail network.

Chris Rall has been with Transportation for America since 2010, originally serving as Oregon Field Organizer. Incrementally expanding his role and responsibilities, he became Outreach Director in 2019. Chris runs T4America’s membership program, keeps partners and allies apprised of developments on transportation policy and opportunities for innovation, and guides T4America’s amplification of the local voices so critical to reforming the United States’ transportation system.