Tag: Alder

Alder 18th-19th Closed Part of Wednesday

Posted on by RideCoordinator

One of the cities busiest bicycle corridors will be closed at one intersection tomorrow. Please be aware of this closure and adjust your travel/timing accordingly.
The closure (and short notice) is unfortunate but at least it is for a good cause- Eugene’s first dedicated bike signal.

Here’s the info:

Traffic Advisory
Alder Closed Wednesday from 18th to 19th to Install New Bike Signal Pole

Work to upgrade the traffic signal at the intersection of Alder Street and 18th Avenue will require closing a portion of Alder Street to through traffic for several hours on Wednesday, Oct. 26.

Alder Street between 18th to 19th avenues is scheduled to be closed to southbound traffic from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Wednesday. The southbound and northbound bicycle lanes will also be closed in that area. All sidewalks as the crosswalk on the south side of 18th Avenue will remain open.
The closure will allow a crew from the Eugene Public Works Department to install a temporary bicycle signal pole at the southeast corner of Alder Street and 18th Avenue. In about a week, the crew will return to install the signal indicators. Once completed, the signal will provide a dedicated signal phase for bicycles to cross the intersection.

The dedicated bicycle signal phase at Alder Street and 18th Avenue is one of a number of improvements designed to increase safety for bicyclists and pedestrians on Alder Street from Broadway to 19th Avenue and on 13th Avenue from Alder to Kincaid streets. Other improvements include buffered bicycle lanes and a “cycle track” on Alder Street, sharrows and parking reconfigurations on 13th Avenue, and a new signal to be installed in November at the intersection of Alder Street and Broadway.

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CONTACT: Steve Gallup, Assistant Traffic Engineer, 541-682-4960

From Public Information Section, 541-682-5523 or 541-954-2938 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Good News on the Riverfront for Cyclists

Posted on by RideCoordinator

via Allen Hancock and Connecting Eugene

Taken from the South Bank path near the originally-proposed ORI site

After more than two years of hard work we have succeeded in keeping a large private office building and parking lot off the banks of the Willamette River!  The Board of Higher Education recently approved a lease for an alternate site–a crucial decision virtually ensuring that the ORI building won’t be constructed on the riverfront.  See recent articles in the Register Guard from July 2, July 7, and July 9 for details.

 

Connecting Eugene had been recommending this site for the ORI building for a long time because it not only protects the riverfront but it will also maximize collaboration between other tenants in the the Research Park and save taxpayer money because utilities and infrastructure won’t have to be extended.  This is a win for everyone in Eugene!

As a community, we now have the opportunity to create a safe and convenient connection from the river bike path to the UO by way of the new Alder Street bicycle boulevard, protect the riparian zone, remediate polluted soils, and we can design a landscape that integrates with the neighboring EWEB redevelopment.

We couldn’t have done it without you!  A big thank you to everyone who attended meetings, wrote e-mails or letters to the editor, chalked messages on the bike path, generously gave money, testified at city hall, helped proofread press releases, or simply gave us encouragement.  And let’s give thanks to all the people who worked to protect this land in the 80s and 90s as well.

As wonderful as this news is, the future of the riverfront is still uncertain.  The plan that guides riverfront development will expire in 2012 and UO President Lariviere has pledged to initiate a community-wide conversation on how this land should be used.  When the time comes, we will need to make sure that the concerns of bicyclists and pedestrians be heard.

Until then, the student government (ASUO) has generously provided funds to bring speakers to Eugene who can offer examples of innovative riverfront design and engage the campus and wider community in imagining how the Willamette riverfront might best serve the University and residents of Eugene for many years to come.

We’ll keep you posted.

A few of the many people who helped protect the riverfront.

Allen Hancock, Paul Cziko and everyone involved with Connecting Eugene

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)” →