What the public thinks of Franklin Boulevard today

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.

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 a highway and feels like it. I’ve lived here most of my life and still find myself unsure of what lane I need to be in to get where I want to be. The intersection at Walnut is pretty bonkers, I’m wondering if anyone at the City has driven that one lately? Turning left there is an experience weird enough that I deliberately will drive blocks away to avoid it. Lately I’ve seen more traffic violations (running red lights) than before, and there doesn’t appear to be any traffic enforcement presence. I’d love to see changes to make it more walkable and bikeable.

I live in Springfield, near downtown, so I mostly see/use Franklin as one of my four-ish ways to get over I-5 and into Eugene for an activity or meeting. I don’t use it regularly because I can mostly work, shop, eat, etc. in Springfield. Also because HWY 126 tends to get me there faster, even though the distance is farther. To me, Franklin is a place to pass through, unless I’m visiting a restaurant on that stretch.

I believe the planned changes are a financial waste of money and a monumental disaster. Reducing the travel lanes make no sense whatsoever unless your agenda is to make it difficult for drivers in effort to get them out of their cars, which will not work. I have been personally driving this route since 1967 and know it as well as anyone and what I see is a series of things designed to slow traffic. The idea or reversing one of the west bound lanes from I-5 will result in head-on collisions unless a guard rail is installed to separate the lanes and the lane is totally unwarranted especially given the plan for the round about at Orchard. Contrary to stated plans, this is not a neighborhood and never will be. Outside of I-105, Franklin Blvd is the primary route of travel between Eugene and Springfield and is a State highway and all of your wishing will not change that. Eugene sadly has a long history of making grossly bad decisions in traffic flow, i.e. the downtown mall, 18th and Willamette, Crest Drive, E. 19th with the bump-outs, E 13th, etc. A suggestion of the strongest kind, before you solidify any plans that involve changing roadways in any manner, including speed bumps, talk with and listen to emergency services personnel including police, fire and ambulance to find out how your plans will effect their ability to serve the public. We have many streets that need repair and the money being planned for something that is not needed once again shows the City’s propensity to put preference of agenda over what is best for the public.

Its important to me to be able to use Franklin as my primary access to downtown. I would hate to see driving made more time consuming and static then it is.

I know you are trying to make safe but it is still a major road through town and traffic is already crazy especially when students back or sporting events. Cutting down on car lanes seems like it will make traffic worse.

It seems like a lot of the cars are just trying to go through not to the college. Perhaps a lane without a lot of turn lanes/merging/lights to get from Glenwood to Downtown Eugene would help.

Needs to improved for cars. Vast majority of people that travel on Franklin use cars so they should be prioritized over alternate methods of transportation. Don’t punish those who use cars to travel with ridiculous changes.

It is a main road for cars. Other modes of transportation use it as well. But if you pretend that it won’t be a major road like it is now, all you will do is cause traffic. Balance with other modes is key but let’s not pretend that it doesn’t rain most of the year and people drive when it is raining. Summer is when most people bike places. Don’t change the roads away from car use for bike use part of the year.

It’s a main thoroughfare so it’s going to be busy. Enforcing a speed limit would be great. Roundabouts – don’t do it. Look at European ideas on how to satisfy car, bus, pedestrian needs.

This is a major artery between eugene and Springfield. Please don’t make it impossible for cars to use. This city is eliminating lanes and making driving more cumbersome, but as noted above, this city is not designed to be car-free. When I lived in Chicago, I used public transportation almost exclusively. This just isn’t that sort of city.

Priority still needs to be given to automobiles. Whether you like it or not, it’s the main mode of transportation, especially in a growing city like Eugene is.

Too many crosswalks for student housing. No traffic or bus flow at all. Nearly impossible to turn onto campus if traveling west bound.

Franklin Blvd is a major travel corridor for Matt Knight, UO Campus, from I-5 etc. The current set up handles heavy traffic well and provides wide sidewalks for pedestrians/cyclists. Reducing traffic flow and overall speed to mainly favor pedestrians would be a major issue for this community. Eugene has a vision zero plan but there are other ways to achieve this like making a bike/pedestrian corridor a 1-2 blocks in from Franklin on 15th Ave for example and linking the bike/peds to existing bike paths through campus and like Alder etc. Your vision of everyone walking or riding is not compatible with Eugene weather or the demographics of an aging population with health issues that preclude them from walking or cycling. Idling cars, lost time and loss of use of high traffic corridors in favor of cutting through to quiet neighborhood side street sthat are less hassle fro drivers ie WAZE and other work arounds when traffic is made unbearable buy poor city planning. A dream is only as good as it’s dreamer. I would hope the BEST would be smart and not saddle Eugene with one more difficult and sometimes impassable corridor like Willamette near 29th or on Roosevelt on 24th Ave between Hilyard and Amazon Pkwy.

It does a pretty good job of isolating car traffic to/from I-5 and Springfield and Eugene attractions (downtown, the UofO). That leaves the adjacent neighborhood streets relatively free of traffic for the enjoyment of walkers, cyclists, scooters and skateboards. The new high rise buildings along Franklin seem to provide a noise buffer to surrounding areas.

Traffic is inhibited by many stop lights for individual to cross street. Overhead crossing would be nice.

Isn’t the part near the University called Broadway. I hate driving near the University and avoid it when possible. Traffic doesn’t start moving until you get past Walnut. With the riverbank path so close, I don’t see any need for bike lanes on Franklin. Most of the bike lanes in Eugene are used very little. With the area growing, we need our roads for vehicles.

This is an arterial street for traffic in Eugene. It’s should be made more accessible but cars still need to get through quickly

I feel Franklin Blvd functions perfectly fine. There are multiple lanes which keeps congestion down. Plenty of pedestrian paths and safe crossing locations. Bus island for those who commute by bus to safely and efficiently travel. My engagement with planned changes for Franklin has been that I attended a city event where I learned about the proposed design changes that are coming. I must say, whoever designed this doesn’t spend much time in the area. The amount of round-a-bouts is asinine. The round-a-bout that is furthest east is completely unnecessary. I believe this design is only going to create a less safe, more congested Franklin Blvd.. ESPECIALLY during events at Matt Knight Arena. I genuinely believe the City needs to revisit the design of Franklin because what is proposed is bad for the area and is going to be loathed by residents of the city.

This seems like a reasonable plan due to proximity to the university, but there are very few ways to travel between Eugene and Springfield. Eliminating the only one near downtown that is not the actual highway seems like a bad idea. The speed limit is only 30 near the university area anyway, so it doesn’t seem that it should need to be slowed more than that. Providing more pedestrian bridges or trails would still allow traffic to move and provide more safety.

Like it or not, Franklin is an important arterial street. It’s highway and traffic needs to move.

Franklin Blvd is the really the entrance to Glenwood, so changes need to contemplate the development of that area to keep traffic moving efficiently while allowing for easy biking to Glenwood. Currently, Garden Way, 13th, 15th and North and South Bank trails provide really good bike access to everywhere you want to go on Franklin or into Glenwood/Springfield, and helps separate the traffic. Trying to combine the bike and traffic streams onto one road will just make it worse for all forms of travel, particularly if you disrupt those areas. The plan I’ve seen looks like it will create more congestion, which from experience downtown encourages bikes to weave through cars and peds, and peds to simply cross wherever they feel like it. It would be nice to have one additional crosswalk where 13th ends at Franklin (at the crossing light there).

It is a major thoroughfare, so i realize it cannot be all things to all styles of transport — but take Foster-Powell as an example (in PDX) as a way to make it holistically designed.

I live in this area. Franklin is critical to going pretty much anywhere for us. Don’t screw it up