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.
People drive way to fast on Franklin, it would be nice if you guys made it harder to do so. Additionally the bike line are awful and unsafe, I have personally almost been hit in the Franklin bike lane. The sidewalks also don’t exist in many areas along the Franklin. There needs to be more bike/pedestrian infrastructure and also more places to cross on Franklin
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
PLEASE make Franklin Boulevard more walkable and bikeable. I want to feel safe crossing Franklin!
The sidewalks are too small on some parts and with cars going at really high speeds i often feel unsafe walking.
Franklin feels safe to bike on but the constant construction does pose a safety hazard to pedestrians.
It is very commercial, spread out, dangerous, and could use a lot of work to make it more approachable and not as daunting.
Wish it was safer for walking
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.
I ask that you prioritize pedestrian and bike safety.
Biking and walking is extremely inconvenient in this area and it is loud and super ugly with unsafe high speeds and very large intersections and ped crossings
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.