What the public thinks of Franklin Boulevard today
BEST asked: How safe, practical, and attractive is Franklin Boulevard adjacent to the University of Oregon for everyone today?
Here is what they wrote. The comments have been categorized by some topics that were frequently raised.
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.
Not nearly enough lighting making walking, biking, or any other use of the sidewalk feel very unsafe. Barely enough light to drive safely.
Pave the cracks on Franklin
I live on Sylvan and walk/ride along Franklin almost daily. The speed of vehicles as they leave eug to enter southbound i5/enter Springfield is alarming. The lack of bike lanes in both directions on Franklin is challenging for our commute. The lack of lighting near the eastern end approaching Sylvan is difficult at night. We often walk the much longer route up through Hendricks park to avoid the speeding vehicles and loud noise along Franklin between Sylvan and walnut.
Walking on Franklin near UO is awful, it seems outdated and pretty scary. The sidewalks are narrow as if they are original yet the roadbed used by cars has increased…so that the cars are inches from you and moving fast…a space buffer between pedestrians and the cars would be great. There are many community-wide evening events at the UO (i.e. Nordic Film series in the winter) where parking after hours in Franklin parking lots is permitted; As such more lighting would be great in the parking lots, and along the sidewalks used to get on campus, and along the cement footpaths on campus from the buildings to the sidewalks on Franklin.
People love to race across the street to catch buses (it’s me!). I feel like it would be helpful to have more lighting on Franklin especially around bus stops.
Currently, Franklin Boulevard is build for cars and buses with pedestrians on foot, wheels, and mobility aids being an afterthought. Additionally, there is not great lighting on many stretches of side walk, which make it especially unsafe at night. Given the prevalence of nighttime walkers on/near college campuses, and the high incidence of those people being under the influence of substances, I think well-lit walkways are of paramount importance!
There needs to be more lighting
I think the accessibility to those on wheelchair and mobilized assistance technologies should be accommodated, the sidewalks are difficult a lot if the time for these communities- it’s difficult as is for those with scooters or walking. The pavement and sidewalk and lighting accessibility are issues.
wish there was more lighting
I feel as if there is not a lot of light to see pedestrians on bikes, scooters, or walking. More light could reduce the amount of people who get his corrsing the street.