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.

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

It would be nice to have more options for walking and biking without feeling like I could be hit by a car. As a driver, I often experience bikes and pedestrians walking out in front of my because of limited options for them. The lack of crosswalks makes it so pedestrians and bikes often jaywalk, especially in the dark when there are events on campus, and the lack of bike paths discourages my use of the businesses along Franklin.

I cross Franklin daily for work and nearly every day have to avoid someone running a red light. It’s by a wide margin the most frequent place I see that behavior impacting pedestrians in Eugene.

So much opportunity for safety and access improvements, which would make the road more enjoyable for all users, including cars and busses. In the current configuration, Franklin is loud, fast, and unpleasant for those not in a car. When I drive it, it’s unpleasant because I worry that I can’t see pedestrians or cyclists. I would prefer if the driving surface were fewer lanes, there was dedicated infrastructure for peds and cyclists, and clearly marked crosswalks with responsive lights.

Too much traffic. Cars going too fast. Drivers don’t pay attention to pedestrians and bikers. Drivers cruise through red lights when making right turns. Crosswalks are too far apart, especially with respect to the EmX stations.

Between the increase in student Population at UofO and the increased traffic along Franklin, the conditions make it unsafe for anyone but LTD to travel along Franklin. Students seldom are aware of anything but their smart phones and often cross in front of motor vehicles. LTD drivers are seldom paying attention to other vehicle traffic and make conditions worse. Disabled people, bicycles and skateboards are often at risk as well. You might try adding pedestrian overpasses at key intersections to help with pedestrian safety.

Honestly, it’s not bad for the volume of people/cars that move through the area. From a safety standpoint, pedestrian awareness is the greatest challenge in my opinion. I personally almost hit several pedestrians who simply disobeyed all traffic guidance. That planning cannot fix.

Intersection Walnut/Franklin dangerous for drivers if turning left from either north or south. Safety relies on trust and eye contact between drivers. Kids crossing street at same intersection often oblivious to drivers waiting to turn.

Too many stop lights and odd intersections. Sidewalks could be wider for pedestrians as well as more prominent pedestrian crossings. There are many “turn lanes” that seem to not be ready correctly as I have witnessed many “almost collisions” between city buses and cars, or cars and pedestrians.

Speeding is the biggest issue. Making if more friendly for walking, biking, etc for students would be beneficial . Maybe more sky crossings for pedestrians… wider bike lanes. I think the bus lane is good.

It is very wide and difficult to cross on foot currently

No roundabouts!!! They will make it worse for everyone. Impose a lower speed limit, make safer bike lanes, install actual traffic lights at crosswalks instead of the flashing red light, but no roundabouts!!!

Franklin is auto-centric while other forms of transportation are secondary. Crossing Franklin can definitely be a challenge at times for pedestrians. While most of my trips down Franklin are by car and without issue, making the street into something that’s more friendly to other forms of transportation seems like a good idea.

Too many people walking or biking crossing the street wherever they want to. The EMX makes things worse

It is a horrible street considering all the pedestrians who try to cross it, which will only increase as they build more apartments north of it.

Have to be very careful when driving to be sure not to hit anyone.

Constant jaywalking

My biggest problem is cars and buses going right ahead and continuing through the light at which I commonly cross.

With more students living north of Franklin today than there was 20 years ago, and with the Matthew Knight Arena drawing more visitors, I feel like a footbridge over Franklin Blvd would come in handy. When I walk on the sidewalk in front of Market of Choice the speeding cars are just inches away. One distracted driver hopping the curb there could be fatal to walkers. We do need a safer pedestrian corridor on Franklin. Also needed is a safer way to gain access to the river bike trail that leads to the Knickerbocker Bridge. Crossing with a bike at Villard or Orchard St is unnerving, especially with smaller kids who also like to bike. Cars start speeding up to highway speeds at about Franklin and Orchard.