Category: Infrastructure

Downtown Bike Parking

Posted on by RideCoordinator

With the removal of over 200 parking meters downtown GEARs has been working with the City of Eugene to improve the bike parking situation in the downtown area. Richard Hughes and Sue Wolling did a walk about survey of parking issues to determine the bicycle parking needs in the area and have been working with Jeff Petry, the Parking Services Manager.

New bike hoops that arrived last week will be installed on posts that previously held meters. The bike hoops will be installed after the city determines locations for the new hoops. The 2 hour parking signs placed on several old meter poles already serve as a locking location.

The City is also working with the South University Neighborhood on a big project to convert unregulated parking in that neighborhood to 2 hour permit parking. The unregulated parking pockets in the area are hunted for each day by UO visitors, creating more vehicle miles traveled south of 18th and more opportunity for bike/ped – vehicle interactions.  Once that project is complete the Parking Program will start work on the downtown bike hoops as well as on three different bicycle corrals at Morning Glory Cafe (450 Willamette St.), Cornucopia (207 E. Fifth Ave.) and the Kiva grocery store (125 W. 11th Ave.).


Eugene's meter rings will look like this, but in black (and less fuzzy)

This article originally appeared in the Dec2010/Jan2011 GEARs Newsletter. Become a GEARs Member to receive your copy.

City of Eugene Receives $707,000 Grant (Originally posted on WeBikeEugene)

Posted on by RideCoordinator
The yellow line shows the project area
Yellow lines are the project area

*This article originally appeared on WeBikeEugene

As we reported back in March (twice), April, May and August the City has some great plans for completing one of the ‘missing links’ in the Eugene bicycle transportation system, the connection of the Alder St. ‘bikeway’ to the river path system. The city received official word on November 16th that they were awarded a $707,000 grant from the ODOT Bicycle and Pedestrian Grant Program and can now move forward with those plans.  The City decided to piggyback the grant application with their Pavement Preservation Program which is slated to repave Alder from 19th 18th to Franklin in the summer of 2011.  At the end of October the Oregon Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee (OBPAC) met in Seaside Astoria to decide which of the 90 communities that applied for over $37 million in projects would receive the $5 million that was available. Five  Eleven communities were awarded funds including Eugene plus two alternates if extra funding comes available.

Key components of the project include the construction of a new south AND northbound bicycle facility on Alder Street, a new signalized crossing at Franklin and Alder, on-street parking reconfiguration on 13th Avenue, increased bicycle parking capacity, and significant pedestrian enhancements in the small business district. Continue reading “City of Eugene Receives $707,000 Grant (Originally posted on WeBikeEugene)” →

Transportation Remix- Save the Date!

Posted on by RideCoordinator

Transportation Remix
Building Livable Communities Through Bicycle & Pedestrian Design


What does the future hold for active transportation in North American cities?  With each passing year, walking and bicycling rates increase as more people choose to get around on foot or by bike based on interest in improved personal health, environmental considerations and simple economics.  While some North American cities are already figuring out how to accommodate these increasing numbers, others are playing catch-up after years of auto-centric development.  The City of Eugene, an early innovator in non-motorized transportation design, is preparing an updated Pedestrian and Bicycle Master Plan to help guide transportation decisions for the foreseeable future. How does creating more transportation options build a more livable community?  How can we make our public spaces, including our streets, more family friendly and usable by more people?  What are other communities doing and how can Eugene become an innovator again?

On the evening of Friday, October 22nd, you are invited to join us as we explore the topic of emerging and innovative bicycle and pedestrian design with a panel of speakers including Edward Fischer, former ODOT State Traffic Engineer- FHWA International Ped/Bike Scan Trip Report, Jessica Roberts, Alta Planning and Design- “Homegrown Innovation”, Tools & Projects from around the US, and Hugh Prichard, retired developer and real estate broker- Report from Velo-City Copenhagen.  Our panel will be moderated by Sheila Lyons, the ODOT Pedestrian and Bicycle Program Manager.

When: Friday, October 22. Happy Hour 5:00-6:00 PM Panel Discussion 6:00 to 8:00 PM
Where: Oregon Electric Station, 27 E. 5th Ave.
Details: Free valet bike parking, light refreshments and no-cost entry. Beer, Wine, & Food available for purchase

Event sponsored by, City of Eugene, point2point Solutions, GEARs, Eugene Safe Routes to School, and Envision Eugene

More Information: www.eugenepedbikeplan.org, or call Dave Roth, Associate Transportation Planner at 541-682-5727

Save the Date- Delta Ponds Bridge Dedication

Posted on by RideCoordinator

Mark your calendars and be sure to come down for the Delta Ponds Bridge Dedication on Saturday, September 11, 2010 at 11 a.m

Join Eugene Mayor Kitty Piercy and members of the community in celebrating the substantial completion of the new bicycle and pedestrian bridge over Delta Highway and through Delta Ponds. Put on your marching shoes! All non-motorized modes of transportation are welcome to participate in a short parade over the new bridge.  Note that this is a “dedication” and not an opening. With construction delays for the final touch of some ‘mood lighting’ the bridge won’t open until sometime in October.

On that same day (Saturday, Sept. 11th) Valley River Assembly of God (900 Robin Hood Street, where the East side of the bridge terminus is) will be holding a special celebration called “All Paths Lead to the Crossing” from 9:30-2:30. It will be both a celebration of the bridge and their annual community event that has a health, wellness, family, and community focus to it. It sounds like it will add quiet a bit to the celebration with a 10K run, bike stunts, lots of community booths, a bouncy house, and more. (link coming soon to that event…)

Information about the Delta Ponds Bridge project can be found at: www.eugene-or.gov/DeltaPondsBridge

Maximizing Our Transportation Dollars

Posted on by Paul Adkins

Surface Transportation Program- Urban (STP-U) funds; where we’re getting it right and where we might be missing the boat.

On Thursday the Metropolitan Policy Committee (MPC) met at the Eugene Public Library and the main item on the agenda was the STP-U funds allocation for 2011-2013. For more information on the MPC you can visit the Lane Council of Governments (LCOG) website, though it gives no great description of who makes up the MPC or what it does so we’ll have to do a separate story on that sometime. According to the LCOG website STP-U funds “are the only revenue source allocated and programmed for eligible projects solely at the discretion of the MPO” (Metropolitan Planning Organization, that is LCOG).  They also state that the “Surface Transportation Program (STP) provides States with flexible funds which may be used for a wide variety of projects on any Federal-aid Highway including highways, bridges on any public road, and transit facilities. Bicycle and pedestrian improvements may also be eligible activities under the STP.” The funds have to be met by a local match (minimum 10.27%) . These applications next move to the Citizen Advisory Committee for comments (they are meeting on March 18th 5:30 p.m. at the Eugene Public Library) then it goes back to the MPC for final approval on April 8th (11:30 a.m. at the Eugene Public Library). If you’d like to see the complete packet of applications see this PDF file from the LCOG site. You can submit comments until April 5th at the contact information at the bottom of this post.

So what are some of the projects for the upcoming cycle and are we using these ‘flexible funds’ to their highest potential? You can see the list of projects and how they meet “Regional Priority Criteria” on this PDF. We’ll do a breakdown of the projects here (based on the jurisdiction) and look at where they make some great strides for active transportation and where we might be missing the mark. Continue reading “Maximizing Our Transportation Dollars” →