What the public thinks of Franklin Boulevard today

Cars often speed or do not wait for pedestrians to cross villard. Often times cars speed way too close to sidewalks and do not respect busses or people walking.

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.

Franklin is unsafe for bicycles and scooters. Bus access is good, but the pedestrian access doesn’t feel safe or enjoyable. The sidewalks must be awful for people with wheelchairs or other devices. Franklin is also very unattractive, and is one of the first roads that some visitors see. This stroad is poorly designed and doesn’t serve our community.

From being a gravel road to a major thorough fare it has seen some changes over the years, none recently. Some of the pavement going east, left lane needs attention. Sharing with bikes and mopeds is probably needed. The EMX seems to be working well on Franklin. Safety is good I believe. I have not seen many cars speeding on this road, there are some, generally feel safe.

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.

More trees, slower traffic, a small trolly bus (not a tram) for visitors and students. It would be a magnet to get people away from their cars. Give it a cute name, like “Rolli” or “Dolly”.

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 think Franklin boulevard has issues regarding accessibility for disabilities and other non car related ways of travel.

From attending 5 city open houses and neighborhood presentations I have questioned and learned a lot about the Franklin Boulevard Project. It is excellent. Finally, Franklin Blvd will be safe to cross, bikeable and walkable. EmX service will vastly improve. Students and seniors will be much safer and better able to navigate the neighborhood.

Some of the turning lanes on Franklin are confusing, even as someone who is familiar with the area. I accidentally turned into the wrong lane from Franklin onto Villard the other day (luckily other drivers saw me error and gave me room to correct it!) I don’t love having to turn left/make U turns to access business on either side. I appreciate that the EMX runs along Franklin, when I have taken it before (I did moreso in the past when I lived near a place that was on the route) I found it convenient for accessing the UO and Downtown. As a pedestrian, Franklin just feels exhausting to me–loud and full of traffic and I feel like I have to be extra vigilant at crosswalks because of all the different turn lanes/vehicles/etc.

Franklin Blvd should remain the same. There are back streets available for bikers & scooters to travel safely if they feel unsafe on Franklin Blvd. I feel very safe driving and/or walking. The City of Eugene already supports & has provided enough accommodations for LTD. The busses aren’t even filled to capacity. Market of Choice and Hiron’s are family owned by long time Eugene families. The City of Eugene needs to support these families who keep their businesses in Eugene, as well as take a good look as to why many businesses in Eugene have shut down and the City of Eugene makes it nearly impossible for new businesses to come to town. The City of Eugene couldn’t even keep the hospital in Eugene, while Chick-Fil-A or In-N -Out is building in Springfield.

Please don’t do round abouts, they are a nightmare. Sky bridges are great. Too much focus on buses!

Last 2 yrs I’ve been consumed w/ a house I’d bought so I barely go off my Santa Clara property. Actually haven’t seen Franklin Blvd for awhile due to that. I also am living further away than I use to, especially compared to when residing in SE/E Eug. I actually use to bike to Springfield ~2x/mo, using EMX to avoid biking Franklin Blvd. Traffic on Franklin doesn’t seem to expect bikes. And the couple of times around the underpass, going towards/from Eug, I felt uneasy, especially at nite, when busses weren’t running anymore (I’m female & feel vulnerable & wary in those few blocks. It just seems like an area someone could knock you off your bike and…cause you harm, w/o there being any witnesses when traffic is low. It’s too isolated there, a place for opportunity for bad things to happen. My gut puts up red flags around that vicinity. The times I had to use that route, one was first trying it, the 2nd was at nite, when I had no other alternative. And I surely wasn’t going to jump on the bike path after dusk!)

Auto and pedestrian crashes are a serious issue. Pedestrian connectivity along corridor is a problem. Bike system is mainly non-existent. Need more frequent EmX including double tract. Safer pedestrian and bike crossings. Make Franklin better for all users.

Traffic light at Franklin and Agate Street has way, WAY, too much green time for non-existent eastbound car traffic. I have missed so darn many EmX’s here that I have begun to treat the “don’t walk” sign more like a stop sign or a yield sign than a light while on foot and trying to catch EmX. I am sick and tired of being legally obligated to yield right of way to a bunch of thin air! So I’ve started ignoring the don’t walk sign as long as there’s no traffic and I’m only going to the Agate transit platform island.

The few times I’ve walked along this road, rather than take the bus and leave the area as soon as I could, it’s been anxiety-inducing. The cars travel at high speeds, small sidewalks place you right next to traffic, and frequent driveway cuts constantly direct automobiles over the top of what little pedestrian space there is. I feel perpetually on guard, and for good reason. As a result, the area is highly unpleasant, something not helped by excessive parking lots that break up pedestrian access to the buildings. Waiting for the bus next to all the noise and pollution is somewhat less unpleasant from the station, though being sandwiched in a median between 4-6 lanes of high speed traffic for sometimes as much as 15 minutes does little for my sanity. I would never bike here. We desperately need to change the area to accommodate people, rather than cars. I just heard of this project, and I want to do everything I can to see it through to the end.

Franklin is currently one of the most unfriendly & unsafe streets in Eugene in terms of pedestrian, biking or using businesses. And this is an area where there is a significant number of students walking and biking. I currently choose not to utilize businesses in this area because of the noise & lack of accessibility. Improvements would increase my interest in utilizing businesses in this part of town. Additionally it is important that access by pedestrians & alternative forms of transportation be improved, that the speed of traffic be reduced, access to transportation systems be improved upon. I believe the both the public process around re-development on Franklin and the recommendations/ outcomes are good ones. I’m also concerned that delays will result in the loss of federal funding.

The bike lanes and sidewalks are very poor setup for mobility other than cars. This major street has potential to to be vital for multi-transit uses. I love the improvements to bus lines and stops, and me and my fellow students use it a ton because of these investments. Many times i have avoided biking back to campus on Franklin because it makes me feel unsafe.

People love to race across the street to catch buses (it’s me!). I feel like it would be helpful to have more lighting on Franklin especially around bus stops.

It is good that Franklin Blvd has its own bus lane, as well as designated crosswalks. However, the street is still very unsafe for pedestrians and bicyclists, and for those wanting to use the bus, oftentimes it is difficult because the bus stop is in the middle of the road and sometimes the bus leaves before the crosswalk allows pedestrians to cross and reach the bus stop. I have just missed the bus many times because of this, or have had to run across the street to avoid being hit by a car in order to make the bus. I have also witnessed these things happen to others also trying to take the bus. Franklin Blvd overall has good and bad aspects, but my main concerns are that it needs to be safer for non-drivers and possibly more nature could be integrated into the street in order to beautify it and make it more eco friendly, although the main priority should be making Franklin Blvd safer.

I avoid Franklin Boulevard today because I get around town mostly by bike and on foot and the area’s current configuration feels inaccessible and unsafe. I’m excited about the planned multimodal transformation and how much more accessible, safe, pleasant, and all around better the area will become for everyone. I live 2-3 miles away and might actually consider visiting businesses and other destinations around here after the transformation. I support more efforts to facilitate safer multimodal transportation with roundabouts, BRT (and dedicated lanes), bike lanes, bump outs, wider connected sidewalks, protected multiuse paths, street trees, and more across town. Thanks for your work!

I’ll be living on Franklin and really am worried about the noise and safety, so those are what I am most concerned about. It always seems so dangerous with everything moving so fast so close to the sidewalks, and I really don’t trust the barely-existent bike lanes. The EmX is creepy, too, so I don’t take it a lot.

I would love to see Franklin completely removed from a car-centric style. It would be best-suited as a rapid transit hub with EmX and LTD lines being the most prominent and most important, then tree-lined bikeways being the most important individual transpotation, and then protected, shady walking areas. Cars should have 1 lane in each direction and be the least-prioritized, or, ideally, completely non-existent in exchange for faster, safer methods like EmX or possibly a future eTram line.

So far no, I think it’s good that we have a free access bus to all students so it’s more convenient and no need for us broke students to pay

Walking along Franklin Boulevard does not feel safe. Almost no one bikes on Franklin either. There is no peotection from cars or the elements. The makeup of the street and sidewalk could be greatly improved to make it walkable and feel safe. The EMX is great and is the best way to travel on Franklin.