What the public thinks of Franklin Boulevard today

Delighted with planned changes to Franklin Boulevard – they will make it much safer and quieter for our neighborhood and invite walking and biking. They will speed up EmX service.

There is lots of merging between intersections when driving off the bridge onto Franklin and I have witness many close call crashes but especially road rage.

Franklin Blvd is asked to do a lot, but wasn’t designed to do what it’s being asked to do. It is the primary means of traveling to and from events at the UofO and it is limited by the capacity of the adjacent streets to handle the traffic loads. Some restrictions on traffic flow have been implemented in the past that have made it safer for cars and EmX, but it is not a bike or pedestrian-friendly area. I hadn’t heard of the planned changes but am happy to hear that it’s being looked at. I only visit the area when traveling to and from a business in the area. If I were to attend an event in the area, I would consider a park and ride option on EmX, or shared ride such as a taxi or Uber.

Dangerous to walk on alone

The biggest problem I see with Franklin boulevard is noise, safety, walkability, and bicycle transportation. The only reasonable modes of travel on Franklin are bus or car. Even driving in a car you still have to look at a very ugly, noisy, and unsafe street. Improving walkability, and biking access is the first step to improving the street. Adding trees, moving businesses up to the sidewalk and widening sidewalks creates a safer, prettier, and more inspiring walking environment.

Even driving on Franklin is unpleasant and chaotic. Outside of a vehicle, any of the myriad passing cars could turn into a business at 45 mph without looking and kill me. It is a loud, stressful place to be a pedestrian, and I avoid spending time near it.

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.

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.

I find roundabouts difficult to understand/navigate and anxiety provoking, particularly when to enter, exit, and yield. Fast impatient drivers push me to go faster than feels safe.

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.

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

Currently very difficult to navigate by bike or walking, increasingly worse over last few decades. Would love to see modifications to make it more pedestrian friendly & to slow traffic. Seems like making new pedestrian bridge connected to UO science buildings should be accessible to public use – this would be great place to start. Also safer access between campus & river bank bike paths.

I support the use of roundabouts, as studies confirm that they are safer and more energy-efficient than other alternatives. The people who complain about them will get used to them. Many places around the world use them extensively with great success.

I wish there were actual protected bike lanes the entire length of Franklin. When driving, people go way too fast and swerve in and out of lane changes. It’s scary.

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.

In its current form, Franklin Boulevard is fundamentally not conducive to being a safe, truly multimodal street. It’s too wide, cars drive too fast, with pedestrian unfriendly sidewalks. Getting from point A to point B along Franklin presumes you are driving.

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 avoid riding my bike on Franklin because it does not feel safe.

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.

Spending millions of dollars on Franklin Boulevard is completely unnecessary and a waste of taxpayer dollars. Even if much of the funding comes from the federal government, that still must ultimately be paid — either through direct taxation (i.e. raising taxes) or the indirect taxation of inflation — which hurts the lower and middle classes the most. The current federal deficit is $32 trillion and rising rapidly, threatening the economic health of our country. Also, traffic circles are unsafe, despite claims to the contrary. I have come close to getting sideswiped several times in the crazy new traffic circles recently built in the Glenwood section of Franklin Blvd. All in all, this strikes me as another government boondoggle designed to benefit bureaucrats and their cronies in private business. Please don’t make these proposed changes.

I am all for making Franklin safer for the community. I worry, being a homeowner on Moss street. The University has encroached, and made life miserable many days of the year. I hope there is not increased traffic down my street or parking. It’s a double edge, sword, putting lots of resources towards college students, when they have no investment in the neighborhood.

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.

Some drivers don’t know (or seem to know) there is a speed limit and how to safely turn left on Franklin.

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.

As the Franklin area expands more, there are changes that need to be made that need made. I agree with Mr. Hiron in speaking out of “no roundabouts!! People are definitely not programed in Oregon for roundabouts Too many businesses & UofO events going on in such a short span of road. Speed is a factor in most often incidents, people hurry & don’t pay enough attention as it is!!!