What the public thinks of Franklin Boulevard today

The bike lanes are inadequate and make it difficult to commute from Autzen area to campus. The crosswalk countdowns are too quick considering how wide the street is. Speed limit is relatively high for the bike and foot traffic in the area. Potholes are pretty bad.

Delighted with planned changes to Franklin Boulevard – they will make it much safer and quieter for our neighborhood and invite walking and biking. They will speed up EmX service.

There is lots of merging between intersections when driving off the bridge onto Franklin and I have witness many close call crashes but especially road rage.

Not sure, it’s something that we frequent 2x a day mostly to reach the university’s daycare.

Comprehensive planning changes needed for Franklin Blvd. crossings, protected bike lanes, traffic slowing is needed.

Franklin Blvd is asked to do a lot, but wasn’t designed to do what it’s being asked to do. It is the primary means of traveling to and from events at the UofO and it is limited by the capacity of the adjacent streets to handle the traffic loads. Some restrictions on traffic flow have been implemented in the past that have made it safer for cars and EmX, but it is not a bike or pedestrian-friendly area. I hadn’t heard of the planned changes but am happy to hear that it’s being looked at. I only visit the area when traveling to and from a business in the area. If I were to attend an event in the area, I would consider a park and ride option on EmX, or shared ride such as a taxi or Uber.

Dangerous to walk on alone

The biggest problem I see with Franklin boulevard is noise, safety, walkability, and bicycle transportation. The only reasonable modes of travel on Franklin are bus or car. Even driving in a car you still have to look at a very ugly, noisy, and unsafe street. Improving walkability, and biking access is the first step to improving the street. Adding trees, moving businesses up to the sidewalk and widening sidewalks creates a safer, prettier, and more inspiring walking environment.

Today, Franklin Blvd is defined almost entirely by its value to car drivers. Drivers come from downtown or 11th St and are trying to get to Springfield or the highway as fast as possible; or they are going to other way and trying to get past the University as fast as possible. this leads to congestion and people going drastically different speeds. In addition, parking for the University or the Matt Knight is generally on the north side of the road but people are trying to get to the south side of the road, and there aren’t many crossings. I find myself often trying to get onto the river path behind the Dutch Bros riding my bike, but the pavement is broken up, cars are driving crazy in the west-bound lanes and into the Dutch Bros line, and there generally are tents or yelling people blocking access. Finally, there was a pedestrian path that came off of 15th near Fairmount that is the logical place to walk or run if you are coming from Hendricks Park and going onto the river path, but there is no pedestrian crossing there, so frequently people run across the car lanes where folks are driving 40+ mph. There’s some good things, too. I like the landscaping around the Emx, and the area down towards Onyx St is really starting to look cool. The mural at Agate & Franklin is fabulous, and I have hope for Agate St north of Franklin when the construction is done.

Even driving on Franklin is unpleasant and chaotic. Outside of a vehicle, any of the myriad passing cars could turn into a business at 45 mph without looking and kill me. It is a loud, stressful place to be a pedestrian, and I avoid spending time near it.

There is no practical way to get from downtown (ie willamette and broadway) to say, riverview street or market of choice etc. without going hugely out of one’s way to either the river or 13th. If I want my trip to be direct and logical by going down Franklin…. It is awful, not safe, you end up on the sidewalk, not well lit in some stretches -given that there’s no bike lane. Both directions of sidewalk, however, also seem like they would be both tricky to navigate and not the loveliest to journey upon if one is in a chair or has a walking assist.

It’s a state highway, and intended to be auto-focused. Other modes of transportation can use side streets if they don’t wish to be on the highway. This is easily accomplished in the campus area, so any improvements to Franklin should be focused on easing congestion and making automobile trips safe and efficient.

The lights are not synchronized properly, in either direction, which frustrates drivers thus potentially causing them to speed and/or run red lights. Traffic does not flow smoothly.

I find roundabouts difficult to understand/navigate and anxiety provoking, particularly when to enter, exit, and yield. Fast impatient drivers push me to go faster than feels safe.

People drive too fast on it.

Not bike friendly, lots of UO congestion

Bike access is for the most avid/daring cyclists, but is sometimes necessary to connect travel points. It is a key gateway to river path access at Patterson, Onyx, and Walnut but you would not know it from a design/user experience. Multiple lanes encourage speeding and make driving stressful for maneuvering into lanes for upcoming turns and allowing for business access. It is terrible for pedestrians. I provided input on the “Walnut Station” intersection improvements over a decade ago and am dismayed at the delay in action. That intersection needs to prioritize peds/bikes/transit users and set the tone for drivers entering from the east that Franklin is a street for everybody and is not a freeway. The UO needs to adopt a student education program to de-California-ize their driving habits and learn to “chill out, share the road, destress, and breathe.” Happy/positive signage along Franklin to that effect would help too.

It’s always felt like a strange corridor and now feels a bit dangerous as more apartment towers have gone up and young people are crossing more frequently

Currently very difficult to navigate by bike or walking, increasingly worse over last few decades. Would love to see modifications to make it more pedestrian friendly & to slow traffic. Seems like making new pedestrian bridge connected to UO science buildings should be accessible to public use – this would be great place to start. Also safer access between campus & river bank bike paths.

I will not bike on Franklin Boulevard and the current reroute of the bike path isn’t obvious or direct for accessing different parts of campus. It would be nice to have a separate bike lane (like there is on 13th) that connects easily to UO. It is stressful to drive on Franklin boulevard, especially at the merge coming from Springfield (by the Dutch Bros). The sidewalks are in good condition, but getting the right of way for crossing the street takes forever on foot. EmX stations could use more coverage from rain and sun.

I support the use of roundabouts, as studies confirm that they are safer and more energy-efficient than other alternatives. The people who complain about them will get used to them. Many places around the world use them extensively with great success.

I wish there were actual protected bike lanes the entire length of Franklin. When driving, people go way too fast and swerve in and out of lane changes. It’s scary.

Best options for Franklin are EMX or driving at this time. I don’t even like to walk across Franklin and too much traffic to have walking on the sidewalk be a pleasant option. Definitely would need a protected bike lane, before I’d consider biking in the area.

People walking need clear priority on this street! Please slow drivers down! Mae them have to pay attention to driving! Install speed cameras; increase in-person enforcement; implement infrastructure design changes!

Honestly, I don’t live nor travel over in that direction these days like I once did when living in SE/E Eug and predominantly rode my bike. In general, I avoid vehicle traffic when biking, taking side streets. When driving, I go the fastest route with INfrequent stops (like where I live in Santa Clara, I’ll choose NW Expressway or Beltline vs the length of River Rd).