“Eugene’s reputation in the bicycling world has slipped. The percentage of local trips made by bicycle slowly has declined, and there have been few major, eye-catching bike improvements in recent years…”
–Sue Wolling, Eugene Bike Coalition
The City of Eugene Transportation Department is kicking of their new strategic pedestrian and bicycle planning process by hosting a Walking and Biking Summit on Saturday (10/7).
City planners hope to rally the troops and boost the bikey morale with the half-day summit. Similar to the Portland Bike Summit held earlier this year, workshops are planned on topics including bike tourism, industry, sharing the road and how to be an effective advocate.
Despite their bikey reputation, Eugene is currently ranked only as a Silver-level Bicycle Friendly Community by the League of American Bicyclists. According to Sue Wolling of the Eugene Bike Coalition, they can do better.
In an op-ed published Monday in the Register Guard she wrote:
Eugene is known around the world as a city for bicycling. Many people who live or visit here are attracted for reasons related to bicycling.
But Eugene’s reputation in the bicycling world has slipped. The percentage of local trips made by bicycle slowly has declined, and there have been few major, eye-catching bike improvements in recent years. The League of American Bicyclists recently granted its gold medal for bike-friendly cities to Corvallis and Portland; Eugene received only a silver award. Eugene belongs at the top of the list of bike-friendly cities.
The environment for bicycling also has changed a great deal. Traffic has increased significantly, and some motorists are not accustomed to sharing the road with bicycles.”
bike bridge]
Back in July, I joined the BTA crew and two of Eugene’s transportation planners for a tour of their bike facilities. I liked what I saw, but I think what Eugene is sorely missing is a vocal and active bicycle community. This summit is a great way to light that fire and get folks excited.
You can register for Eugene Walking and Biking Summit online or by calling (541) 346-3889 (registration is encouraged but not required). David Roth is the man to get in touch with for more information. You can call him at (541) 682-5727 or email david.f.roth at ci.eugene.or.us .
Thanks for reading.
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Anyone interested in Eugene’s bike scene should check out this recent story in Eugene Weekly:
http://www.eugeneweekly.com/2006/08/10/coverstory.html
Gee, I wish Portland had a bike bridge. Think of how many issues it would resolve: wrong way bikers on the hawthorne, bikers vs. peds, extensive reroutes due to closures/construction/Benicio movies. Sigh…
Yeah, the deFaz bridge is just lovely — I rode it when I lived there. It’s really such a different feel when you don’t have to worry about cars or dodging peds (because there’s enough room for walkers and bikers).
Does anyone know if the Sellwood bridge and I5 bridge they’re talking about replacing because they’re too old and unsafe for cars and trucks would work for peds and bicycles if left standing , and a new auto bridge built alongside?
Yikes! I never even thought about leaving the Sellwood bridge up as a bike/ped/feral cat bridge. Good call! Considering how tight things are on the east side of the river would make it quite a feat to install a second bridge though.
Portland does have a bike bridge, 2 in fact, just not over the Willamette.
Ok, maybe the center lanes of the Glen Jackson bridge don’t count – make that ONE “real” bike bridge, over McLoughlin, part of the three bridges project. It’s pretty close in length to the bike bridge in Eugene, and it crosses a river of traffic, if not a true river.
I’d love for us to have a bike-only bridge over the Willamette, but that’s not going to happen. there’s not enough room in Sellwood, and it’s too expensive to build a new bridge since the Willamette is a navigable river.
-Matt P.
I live and cycle in Eugene and would appreciate your support at the bike summit this Saturday. Even if you can not attend, maybe show support by registering (it’s free) on line. Eugene is a great cycle city but we need improvements! Thanks for your support and maybe see you at the summit.
I always thought that the way to do a bike bridge over the Willamette would be to elevate it to a height where it would not have to be raised for river traffic. This would be ideal for most commuters since they aren’t coming from the industrial district on the eastside. The westside connection would be somewhere in the middle ground elevation-wise to the scope of downtown, reducing congestion in the bankside areas of the West. Sam Adams? Issat you?
I was home a few years ago, visiting my folks and was amazed at the Bike Lanes, paths and the signal buttons. I currently live and ride in Texas and only dream of half of the amenities you have for cyclists. Yes, there is always room for improvement but….. come on down to Texas and see what riding in the dark ages is like. Fractured Bike Lanes going nowhere, cars and trucks playing chicken with cyclists, potholes galore and a movement for banning cycling altogether.