downtown bikeways.
(Photos © J. Maus)
Last week, Eugene transportation planners and bike enthusiasts got some exciting news; the League of American Bicyclists announced they were a “Gold” level Bicycle Friendly Community.
The League cited Eugene’s “remarkable commitments to bicycling”, their 5.5 percent bicycle mode share, and their new, human-powered only bridge over I-5 as reasons for upgrading them. Eugene had been a Sliver level city since 2004. They’re one of seven cities in Oregon to be recognized by the League (the others are Bend, Beaverton, Ashland and Salem with Bronze, Corvallis with Gold, and Portland with Platinum).
off-street paths along the river.
To celebrate, a new shop in Eugene with a transportation focus (another sign that they’re moving up in bike-friendly stature) called Arriving By Bike, held a happy hour Friday evening (learn more about that shop in The Register Guard).
You can bet that Eugene will now look ahead to Platinum, a designation that only three cities in America can lay claim to. They’ll get that opportunity when their application is up for renewal in 2013.
“They’ve also got some nice
off-street paths along the river.”
Something of an understatement to me.
considering the city is roughly 1/4 the size of Portland, with some of the finest pathways I’ve ever had the pleasure of riding. Eugene should be sharing a platinum rating right beside PDX.
The several years that I spent for college in Eugene made me a cyclist again. Kudos, Eugene!
I used to live in Eugene, the bikeways are amazing. You can get almost anywhere in minutes on a bicycle. If it wasn’t for Springfield, which sprawls eastward for 10s of miles (without even sidewalks – its just one highway strip development, basically), you really wouldn’t need a car there.
University of Oregon has the second largest bike parking area I’ve ever seen, outside of Amsterdam.
I last rode in Eugene over 25 years ago and was blown away then. I rode one lane streets with bike lanes on both sides. The paths and river bridges made cross town trips faster on a bike than were possible by car. Those were just the high points from a two day visit with friends. Well done!
Nice work transportation planners! Why Portland is rated higher than Eugene is beyond me. Eugene is a much better place to be a bicycle commuter. In the past year, I’ve lived in both places. Downtown Portland was a pain compared to Eugene.