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.

The few times I’ve walked along this road, rather than take the bus and leave the area as soon as I could, it’s been anxiety-inducing. The cars travel at high speeds, small sidewalks place you right next to traffic, and frequent driveway cuts constantly direct automobiles over the top of what little pedestrian space there is. I feel perpetually on guard, and for good reason. As a result, the area is highly unpleasant, something not helped by excessive parking lots that break up pedestrian access to the buildings. Waiting for the bus next to all the noise and pollution is somewhat less unpleasant from the station, though being sandwiched in a median between 4-6 lanes of high speed traffic for sometimes as much as 15 minutes does little for my sanity. I would never bike here. We desperately need to change the area to accommodate people, rather than cars. I just heard of this project, and I want to do everything I can to see it through to the end.

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The bike lanes and sidewalks are very poor setup for mobility other than cars. This major street has potential to to be vital for multi-transit uses. I love the improvements to bus lines and stops, and me and my fellow students use it a ton because of these investments. Many times i have avoided biking back to campus on Franklin because it makes me feel unsafe.

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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!

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i feel as though they should make the street more walkable and less congested. i feel as though walking and biking is better for the environment and we should have a better opportunity to experience that.

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I think that they need to make an area for cyclist, people on scooters, and people crossing the street. Maybe even take a lane away. two lanes i think would be good enough. also take traffic lights out and put in roundabouts to make it better for cars

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While my route to campus only takes me about 10-15 minutes, I have personally encountered several close calls of nearly being hit by cars and seen others nearly injured on foot or bike on countless occasions. For pedestrians, having to cross Franklin is stressful due to the high levels of traffic. While some crosswalks are in place and well used, there is a desperate need for more infrastructure to support those on foot as well as cyclists. I would suggest clearly marked bike lanes and an increased number of crosswalks, specifically across Patterson next to the 7/11 convenience store and Chula’s restaurant as this area is well-traveled at all times of the day. Eugene’s comprehensive plan and city planning committees often discuss striving to meet equity, sustainability, accessibility, and climate change goals. However, there is a serious lack of basic infrastructure to support pedestrians and cyclists, as Franklin Boulevard and surrounding streets are designed nearly solely for automobiles shown by the lack of crosswalks, bike lanes, and safety measures in place for those not in cars. With these issues that currently face pedestrians and cyclists, it is hugely unsafe for all parties as it puts pedestrians and cyclists in direct danger and causes greater obstacles for automobiles. Within the city planning class I am taking this term, we have studied several communities and explored alternative solutions and modes of transportation other than automobiles. Communities with higher rates of walking and biking have seen drastic benefits for public health, safety, community growth and placemaking, and more. Additionally, creating this sustainable infrastructure to support and encourage people to walk or bike will help minimize greenhouse gas emissions, helping the city reach its climate goals. As there is currently construction and will be even more housing available on the north side of Franklin in the near future, there will be an even greater need for visible and safe crossing paths and the addition of clearly marked bike lanes in order to create a civil, healthier, and safer space and society.

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Transforming Franklin into a walkable street will greatly alter to area for the better. If it slows car traffic, so be it. The pedestrian friendly alternative will create better, safer routes and attract more to businesses. Most people have no interest in eating outside on Franklin- it’s ugly, loud, busy, not human scaled.

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I avoid Franklin Boulevard today because I get around town mostly by bike and on foot and the area’s current configuration feels inaccessible and unsafe. I’m excited about the planned multimodal transformation and how much more accessible, safe, pleasant, and all around better the area will become for everyone. I live 2-3 miles away and might actually consider visiting businesses and other destinations around here after the transformation. I support more efforts to facilitate safer multimodal transportation with roundabouts, BRT (and dedicated lanes), bike lanes, bump outs, wider connected sidewalks, protected multiuse paths, street trees, and more across town. Thanks for your work!

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This university-adjacent street ought to be welcoming to campus users who predominantly get around by foot or bike, yet Franklin is actually hostile to them! The city’s current redesign ideas continue to prioritize speed of cars (via 2-lane roundabouts) at the expense of actual safety and comfort of non-car users. Volumes of cars, and more importantly, quantity of people moving about via cars, do not necessitate so much car-based infrastructure, yet if that’s the way Franklin remains, it will continue to induce single occupancy, car-based travel in direct contrast to adopted existing plans on climate change, social equity, household affordability, taxpayer efficiency, and land use, and will be a major missed opportunity to get into compliance with new CFEC rules.

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Prioritize Bikes and Pedestrians; this section doesn’t really help folks get anywhere fast in cars (there are better approaches to the University and to i5); road diet needed – reduce lanes of traffic; create separated bike ways; tunnels for crossing of bikes/peds; connect exisitng bike infrastructure and enhance on Franklin (bike lane on w 11th/alder; shared path near Walnut);

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Franklin boulevard is unsafe for cyclists and pedestrians, it has far too many lanes to cross safely and the road is designed for way beyond peak car volumes rather than average car volumes. The beltway already allows a high speed bypass so this road should be narrower and slower

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If it came to a vote, I would blow up franklin in some spectacular fashion. However, updating it to be a multi-modal urban street sounds like a great alternative.

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My main issue with Franklin boulevard is that it is incredibly car oriented. I understand why but I think it’s time that the city start to prioritize bikes and peds on that street. Especially with all of the new apartments that are going up in the area.

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Franklin is wayyyyy to high capacity for a city like Eugene. As someone who comes from the Bay Area, Eugene NEVER has traffic problems. The main issue I have with driving in Eugene is the one ways and complicated road systems make it super comfusing to get around in. Going downtown from campus requires some very weird lane changes and the gps apps don’t seem to understand how it works. Going down Franklin east of campus runs you into a weird double round about that is very confusing and it shows because people keep stopping and it’s kind of terrifying to merge into the second one unless there is zero traffic there. Biking Franklin feels like a non option unless you go to the beautiful river trail or walk along the mill race which still requires some scary Franklin-ing. Walking Franklin is best avoided, I mostly stay on the inside of campus, but would love to have more of an excuse to walk along the tree canopied millrace path… unfortunately it’s usually not worth the discomfort associated with getting to that path. Crossing franklin sucks period. If you want to makes Franklin work, crossing franklin needs to be addressed. The one flashing red light for the cross walk to the 7/11 is an accident waiting to happen. I’ve had to break hard more than once because no one can see if the walker is done crossing or if they should stop yielding. Just make it a firm red light when people are crossing. The EmX system is probably the best part of Franklin. I wish it was easier to cross to that middle platform because it sucks to miss a bus because the walk sign hadn’t gone on yet.

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Franklin Blvd has very little car traffic 90% of the time, and it caters to the worst car congestion scenarios. I find myself waiting for a walk sign with no cars in the way. The bus route is nice and flows easily, but i wish it came more often.

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I live in the Laurel Hill neighborhood so my daily commute is along Franklin Blvd. I never feel safe skating, biking, or walking on the sidewalk between the I-5 entrance and Walnut. There is no separation between the high speed road the pedestrians. It is also extremely dirty and uncared for. The rest of Franklin is also inconvenient and in poor condition for anything that isn’t a car.

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