What the public thinks of Franklin Boulevard today

I’m not happy that the city is planning to use so many roundabouts to control traffic.

I try to avoid shopping or driving in the area. It’s too congested and feels unsafe. Friends living near the university complain loudly about the 5 or so round-abouts they’ll have to deal with. They feel it will make it difficult to shop at Market of Choice, Hirons and WholeFoods. I must agree. I’ll stay away but I wonder how emergency vehicles will manage. Forget about going near Matthew Knight Arena if there is an event.

The public engagement process has felt like box checking and is myopic in not extending further to the west. While I’m a fan of roundabouts, I’m not sure it is the most effective solution at each of the intersections as proposed to enable safe and efficient movement north-south, particularly given the large volume of pedestrians.

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.

Need to have a way to turn left to Market of Choice when driving west. Don’t use roundabouts. They are confusing when there is a lot of traffic.

Roundabouts make absolutely no sense!

Circles are not my favorite, prefer lights.. Don’t know statistics on accidents. Seems with pedestrian/ bike traffic, circles would be more dangerous and distracting for drivers with pedestrians. Also add the bus to the complexity. Not to mention the road rage we are experiencing these days in Eugene.

Where will all the traffic go? How to make pedestrians safe with hiway traffic? Roundabouts must have stops or they are dangerous for pedestrians. Current traffic lights seem best for pedestrians.

The biggest issue with Franklin Boulevard today is the lack of safe pedestrian crossings. Pedestrians are often lulled into a sense of safety, due to the bus route buffer that runs down the middle, or pedestrians are desperate, since the signalized crossings are few and far between. Having roundabouts instead of intersections (and more of them) will help pedestrians feel less impatient and be more willing to wait to cross.

I ride my bike to work almost daily in the spring, summer, and fall. I almost always move my bike up onto the sidewalk when I am crossing Franklin Boulevard, because I am concerned about being hit by the cars that are coming from behind me or turning right. I also use a great deal of caution when I am returning from work, crossing Franklin Boulevard again. I am always concerned that a driver will not see me and could hit me. As a pedestrian, I also frequently cross Franklin Boulevard. I also worry about my safety as I cross because of the fast-moving cars. I have not been hit here, but I am very cautious because I have been hit by a car and hospitalized in the past. In the winter, I now drive to work, because now that I am older, I do not wish to ride back-and-forth on my bicycle when it is dark. I have been so impressed by the change in Glenwood Franklin Boulevard. I was delighted to learn that there might be a similar traffic circle in Eugene on the Franklin Boulevard near my house. I think this would be more beautiful and would be safer, both when I ride my bicycle, and when I walk. I am disappointed by my neighbors’s strong opposition to this plan. Unfortunately, I have been unable to attend the meetings. I did respond in an email to my neighbors about my support of the plan. I also watched the strong opposition to the changes on Willamette Street in the last couple of years, and how this opposition melted after the changes were made. The changes make Willamette Street so much better. I am thinking that this might happen with the Fairmount neighborhood opposition.

I support the installation of roundabouts

Designated turn signals needed at Walnut NOT a roundabout. Drainage issues westbound in particular -approximately Orchard to Riverfront Pkwy and near 959 building and eastbound near Agate

As primarily a driver, I find it frustrating that most of Franklin Blvd does not accommodate left turns. Looking forward to roundabouts and the ability to access businesses on the other side of the corridor from the side I’m driving on.

not sure about the round about idea

crossing Franklin at Onyx Bridge and – to a less extent – Agate is plainly dangerous. I worry that the planned round-abouts will continue to be dangerous for pedestrians crossing Franklin at these locations.

Traffic circles will make things much worse for all people!

Don’t add so many traffic circles

I trust the city to implement an appropriate solution and support the new design including roundabouts.

Franklin Boulevard is very dangerous to pedestrians and cyclists. The sight lines from turning lanes, the speed of traffic, the number of lanes, the fact that people tend to drive well over the speed limit regularly, the confusing nature of the turning lanes onto side streets… I can’t even list all the ways is currently unsafe to those who are not inside a vehicle. Even though I have never been hit while walking, it has come very close a number of times and that is also traumatizing. I would never consider riding a bike or or other mobility device on Franklin because that is a death wish. I think the city’s plans are good, and that roundabouts are not as scary as people think they are!

I HATE TRAFFIC CIRCLES. I’ve had several near accidents at the Hayden Bridge one.

i don’t like the roundabout concept for this part of Franklin Blvd. It works OK in some places, ie: Glenwood just before the bridge to Springfield or in SPringfield past Riverbend toward Harlow and Pioneer Pkwy, because there are very few pedestrians! Placing roundabouts without traffic lights on the university section of Franklin would be terrible for traffic because of all the pedestrians!

Safety needs to be addressed. The merging issues at the beginning of Franklin to the east are an issue. More roundabouts or other solutions that lead to smoother traffic flow, but still allow access to ALL businesses and driveways while ensuring safety for walking and biking should be the priority.

I know many people have expressed concern about roundabouts and tree loss and closing of businesses (Hirons and MoC). I am not scared of roundabouts. They can even be nice. I would be very concerned about the other issues though. I particularly would be extremely frustrated at the loss of those two businesses and anything that would make it harder or longer for me to exit the Hendricks hill areas and go west on Franklin. That would make things significantly worse not better.

Biking on Franklin is unpleasant. I bike westward in the morning and have to be on the south sidewalk so I can turn left onto 13th. Being in the bike lane heading back eastward is terrifying. I’ve almost been hit and have seen other bikes almost hit by cars. There is glass and garbage in the bike gutters. If the larger sidewalk (once you get past Walnut heading east) were just extended up Franklin, biking and walking would be more pleasant. We don’t need a bunch of roundabouts on that street to fix the issues with it.

There is so much potential for this space to be special for the residents of Eugene and the students of the University of Oregon! Please don’t shy away from making it TRULY pedestrian centric. We need protected bike lanes, roundabouts, quality pedestrian crossings, many more trees and green spaces, etc. Thanks for doing this work!!