What the public thinks of Franklin Boulevard today

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.

I’m supportive of the changes proposed for Franklin. I live 4 blocks from Franklin and there is incessant traffic noise. It’s a ‘track meet’ when I’m not driving on it, and it’s ‘too annoying with all the lights’ when I am driving on it. Classic George Carlin bit, but true for me. I think the changes will slow down speeds, yet maintain steady throughput. I want all of our city streets to be narrow and treed. Frankly, I want all cars to go away as soon as possible.

Please keep the trees and grow them, keep Eugene a tree city and a bee city.

Needs things to bring people there. Needs shade, slower traffic. dicey turn at Patterson and Franklin.

Pls make it much more walkable, tree-lined, and pleasant

I used to commute to the university for years by bus and car. Please keep as many trees as possible. Good luck with the roundabouts.

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

Simplifying the intersections and making them more consistent would be very helpful for pedestrians and drivers. Currently, no two intersections are the same. When walking on Franklin, I often wish there were more trees for shade too.

Would love to see more trees along the corridor, dedicated bike lanes, and over or underpass crossings for pedestrians,. Roundabouts need to be designed so vehicles and pedestrians/cyclist do not interact with each other

More tree’s please

I really don’t like how the buildings along Franklin all block the view to the canal. There used to be lovely green area with trees and shade. Also, all of the student housing and student apartments are an eyesore. They look like cargo shipping containers. If more housing is built, can it be for long term residents and not all for students?

Besides making it safe and fit with current needs, please make it beautiful. The trees need grooming and we need new “Welcome to Eugene” sign. It’s embarrassing when you enter the city from that street.

I support the goals of both Vision Zero and CFEC. I have no opinion about traffic circles nor the locations of turns off of Franklin. I am most concerned with creating a safe and attractive thoroughfare with clear delineations between cars and non-motorized user paths as well as trees for much-needed shade.

The pavement on the East end of Franklin Blv. has very uneven surfaces. The crossing distance is *very* long making it hard to cross the street in a timely and safe manner. There are currently few trees on the East end of the street making it very hot to walk alongside the street. Due to the width of the street many people speed while driving.

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”.

This is the first impression that the UO and the city gives to anyone first coming into town and it is not a good one. In fact, it is very unattractive. The lack of trees, the overly wide roads with multiple lanes of traffic encourages fast driving…the city can do better. I worry about students the safety of students who have to cross this street regularly.

The UO campus and downtown Eugene are pedestrian friendly, human-scaled environments. Franklin should emulate this. Less traffic lanes, protected bike lanes, more trees.

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.

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!!

Franklin Boulevard is terribly hot in the summer, and hardly attractive. It’s time to invest in some quality shade trees where currently there are hardly any to be found.

Because there aren’t much housings around, it’s not generally a safe place. Cars are high speed and it’s not safe to bike in those narrow lanes. I also wish there were more trees around, and better sidewalks.

I am excited about the idea to add more round-a-bouts to Franklin Blvd. I like the two round-a-bouts in Glenwood and I think they would improve traffic flow closer to campus. Making left turns off of Franklin on Villard St and Orchard street when going West Bound feel very dangerous. Particularly Orchard St – I avoid this left turn at all costs. The traffic in the Market of Choice and Hiron’s parking lot is also very uncomfortable. It is unclear if there are one ways and the visibility is poor especially when the sun is setting. I would like to see more trees on Franklin to improve the walking experience. I believe that the sidewalks and bike lanes could be made safer. I do NOT feel safe biking on Franklin, which is a real shame because there are so many PeaceHealth bike facilities in that area. The stores are so set back on Franklin making them feel inaccessible to pedestrians. This should be changed to promote more UO student foot traffic at local stores.

I wish the street was slower and had more biking/walking options as well as more trees and less concrete for a better sense of place. If these things were achieved, development of a better district could happen as opposed to just focusing on maximum care throughput.

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.

We need to dicincentive travel by car, and encourage walking, have a protected bike lane, and have businesses that people actually want to go to. More trees and shady, nice areas for people to walk and rest.