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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

I will not bike on Franklin Boulevard and the current reroute of the bike path isn’t obvious or direct for accessing different parts of campus. It would be nice to have a separate bike lane (like there is on 13th) that connects easily to UO. It is stressful to drive on Franklin boulevard, especially at the merge coming from Springfield (by the Dutch Bros). The sidewalks are in good condition, but getting the right of way for crossing the street takes forever on foot. EmX stations could use more coverage from rain and sun.

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.

I do not think it is justified to spend the amount proffered for just some kind of EmX fixups.

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.

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.

Between the increase in student Population at UofO and the increased traffic along Franklin, the conditions make it unsafe for anyone but LTD to travel along Franklin. Students seldom are aware of anything but their smart phones and often cross in front of motor vehicles. LTD drivers are seldom paying attention to other vehicle traffic and make conditions worse. Disabled people, bicycles and skateboards are often at risk as well. You might try adding pedestrian overpasses at key intersections to help with pedestrian safety.

Needs two bus lanes, separate bike facilities and more protection between sidewalk and high speed traffic

I would like to see more safety. As a college age woman, I find myself scared and sometimes in uncomfortable situations at the bus stop at walnut station on Franklin Blvd at night. I also find myself scared walking down Franklin Blvd by myself at night from dad’s gate station area to walnut station area.

I see Franklin Blvd mainly from an EMX bus, and it mostly looks pretty bleak.

The road needs to be re-paved. Too many potholes. I find walking on Franklin easy and safe. Driving and parking in the area is also easy. The EmX is easily accessible and frequent. I don’t believe roundabouts will help anything. They would make travel worse by changing the flow of traffic. I see students and staff commute along Franklin daily with no complaints or issues.

Speeding is the biggest issue. Making if more friendly for walking, biking, etc for students would be beneficial . Maybe more sky crossings for pedestrians… wider bike lanes. I think the bus lane is good.

Too many people walking or biking crossing the street wherever they want to. The EMX makes things worse

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.

The EMX lanes need to be removed and relocated to the right lanes to support better movement of traffic and busses. OR install a much better people mover system like a light rail or regional train service to support the Eugene/Springfield/UO areas to remove cars and busses from the roads.

Its not a pleasant walk/bike. There is no shade or shielding from the heavy traffic which includes EMX busses

Franklin Boulevard is acceptable if one is traveling via EMX and just okay by car, but is a nightmare for any other means. Traffic speeds are not enforced and it is not uncommon that I am passed by cars going 45-50 in the posted 35mph zones. The sidewalks are far too close to the streets with no buffer, forcing bicycles to ride on the sidewalk with pedestrians. In addition, there are apparently no regulations governing the “ride share” scooters that can currently be found dumped all over town; even though they have the potential to go much faster than a bicycle, the undergrads who use them frequently ride on sidewalks as well, adding to the congestion. Franklin could use a reduction in the number of car lanes; a dedicated two-way bike/scooter lane, better sidewalks, roundabouts to mitigate the flow of traffic, and pedestrian overpasses so that crossing the boulevard doesn’t feel like one is taking their life into their own hands. Events at the Matthew Knight Arena are an additional nightmare, thanks to the UO’s getting by without having to provide parking for events and offloading the burden of parking and traffic management to the surrounding neighborhoods (where I lived until May of this year). The Franklin/Villard intersection is a nightmare on event days, between the traffic and tour buses/touring semi trucks/etc. impeding traffic; I have many times been stuck behind a row of Uber/Lyft vehicles that have decided to simply pull over in the right turn lane on Franklin (approaching Villard from the west) to drop off passengers for especially large events.

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.

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

I think that roundabouts in high traffic areas that include buses, pedestrians, bike riders, scooters, skateboards, etc. would be incredibly hazardous. I like the idea of slower speeds for autos is a great idea.

So help me if ANY more traffic circles are put up ANYWHERE I will no longer go to that part of town for ANY REASON…. I would not patronize any business, I would change doctors offices, I would stop supporting Fire & Police services in those areas…. THANK GOD I do not live in Eugene… but due to many of the street changes ( EMX, changes to traffic flow, etc.) I am doing MUCH more of my personal needs services (Physicians, Grocery shopping, Health care, goods & services, etc) in Junction city, Veneta, and Springfield, because getting areound Eugene in ANY form (Walking, biking, scooter, motorcyle, or car) is just too much of a pain in the butt to deal with anymore…. OH by the way, I’m 61 years old and have watched Eugene descend into a disaster for travel… and for all that is holy…. QUIT screwing around with LTD… it has been a disaster since the “Eugene City Bus” system was ended, and has only gotten worse since then….