Input sought on 24th Avenue Protected Bike Lane Project

The City of Eugene is seeking community feedback on the proposed 24th Avenue Protected Bike Lanes project, which aims to enhance biking safety and accessibility. Community members are invited to attend a community meeting and complete an online survey to share their thoughts on the project.

The meeting will be Tuesday, Dec. 10, at 6 p.m. at Roosevelt Middle School, 500 E 24th Avenue. Attendees are encouraged to arrive on time as a presentation on the project will begin shortly after the meeting starts.

An online survey is also available for community members to provide input on the proposed changes. The survey takes five minutes and will remain open until Dec. 20.

Project overview

The City of Eugene is exploring the feasibility of adding protected bike lanes to 24th Avenue from Amazon Path to Agate Street. Protected bike lanes add more space and physical protection between people biking and people driving as compared to standard and buffered bike lanes. Adding protected bike lanes to 24th Avenue would mean removing approximately 73 on-street parking spaces between Hilyard Street and Agate Street. Preliminary parking counts show that side streets have enough available space to accommodate on-street parking demand from 24th Avenue.

The City will repave 24th Avenue from Harris Street to Agate Street in spring and summer of 2025. The repaving, in combination with possible grant funding, means the City may have the opportunity to change the current layout of 24th Avenue between Amazon Path and Agate Street.

Reasons for the proposed change

The avenue is a primary biking route for three schools: Edison Elementary, Roosevelt Middle and South Eugene High. It is also near the University of Oregon and the YMCA and connects to the Amazon Path. The number and type of destinations along the street, speed and volume of vehicles that use 24th Avenue, and history of bike crashes along 24th Avenue make the street an important candidate for safety improvements. The 2023 death of a UO student after being hit by a driver while walking on 24^th Avenue further underscores the safety challenges along the street.

In an effort to be good stewards of taxpayer dollars, the City wants to align the upcoming paving project with the future vision for 24th Avenue. The City also applied for a grant from the Oregon Department of Transportation to add bollard (vertical post)-protected bike lanes to 24th Avenue between Amazon Path and Agate Street. The grant has not been awarded. The combination of the repaving project and pending grant creates a unique opportunity to improve the safety and comfort on 24th Avenue.

Final decisions about 24th Avenue have not yet been made. Staff members are talking with residents, businesses owners and the broader community about the project. The decision whether to add bollard-protected bike lanes and remove parking on 24th Avenue will be made based on community input, the available data and City standards and goals.