Better Streets » River Road » Frequently Asked Questions

River Road:
Frequently Asked Questions

River Road walk audit with Smart Growth America and AARP Oregon on November 13, 2025.

How did the Better Streets project come about?

Following the recall of Claire Syrett, there was curiosity about how the community wanted the future of River Road to look and feel. Some members of the community report major safety issues in the community that require change, while others are hesitant about construction and change.

BEST aims to reflect a clearer picture of the community’s needs by asking two questions: What is working on River Road? What isn’t?

Are the City of Eugene and Lane Transit District looking forward to the results of this project?

Yes! While this work is being conducted by the nonprofit BEST and will not replace the community engagement the City of Eugene and Lane Transit District will conduct themselves, our results will be shared with both organizations and Lane County.

Who is BEST?

Better Eugene-Springfield Transportation, or BEST for short, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that educates the community about and advocates for better transportation options, including convenient public transit, accessible bicycle routes, safe streets, and walkable neighborhoods.

How could the City of Eugene increase capacity and reduce congestion on River Road?

There are two main ways to increase capacity and reduce traffic on a street:

  1. The City of Eugene could widen the street. Through eminent domain, the City of Eugene could take property along the street, removing many of the trees and spending hundreds of millions of dollars, to increase the amount of cars that can travel down the street each hour. This would also increase speeds outside of rush hour, which would cause more people to die on River Road each year.
  2. The City of Eugene could prioritize and encourage more efficient modes of transportation. Walking, biking, and transit each takes exponentially less space to move the same amount of people when compared to driving. Each person that switches to these modes of transportation reduces the traffic and congestion on a street.

Are the City of Eugene and Lane Transit District still trying to build EmX bus rapid transit on River Road?

No. The City of Eugene and Lane Transit District appear to be pursuing the “Enhanced Corridor” option, which includes a wide array of tools, depending on interests and needs of the community. Tools in that toolbox could include: safer and more frequent crosswalks, bus-and-turn lanes (like MLK Blvd), protected bike lanes, bus islands, and more. None of this is finalized yet, and the City of Eugene and Lane Transit District will do their own outreach before any final plans are made.  

Will the changes to River Road be the same throughout the entire corridor?

Probably not. The southern portion of River Road is more residential and has a third the number of travelers as the area around Beltline. The final design of this part of the street will likely look different than River Road around Beltline to match the needs of the community. The same might be true for the northern part of Santa Clara, but that too should be based on the community and their needs.

How does this project relate to the River Road Santa Clara Neighborhood Plan?

This project supplements the neighborhood plan by providing more focus on the River Road corridor. The City of Eugene has conveyed they want to align this project with the Neighborhood plan, along with other city and regional plans, such as the Eugene 2035 Transportation System Plan, MovingAhead, Vision Zero, and Envision Eugene.

Why doesn’t Lane Transit District run more buses down the side streets of River Road?

Transit use across the country has decreased and Lane Transit District is no exception. This means Lane Transit District has to prioritize efficiency for the routes it is providing, including providing service along major corridors like River Road.

Why doesn’t Lane Transit District use smaller buses?

It wouldn’t make sense to frequently switch buses throughout the day, and so Lane Transit District needs to run buses that are large enough for the busiest times of day and parts of the route. While a 51 bus at the end of the line in Santa Clara might be mostly empty, that same bus 20 minutes later is often quite full through the Whittaker neighborhood. Because the greatest expense of transit agencies in the USA is labor, not equipment, running larger buses is the most efficient use of taxpayer dollars.

That being said, Lane Transit District is studying alternatives to large buses on fixed routes to serve some of the lower density neighborhoods that are not being served by existing fixed-routes. This could be from rideshare-like services, expanding bikeshare, or other options. More details can be seen here

Why is the River Road/Hunsaker/Irving intersection like that? Will the City of Eugene change it?

In 2022, the City of Eugene wanted to reconstruct this intersection and add a left and right turn lane on Hunsaker and Irving. Knowing that bicycle and pedestrian improvements were coming to Hunsaker that would make this a major connection to the river path, the City of Eugene decided to take this time when they were already rebuilding the intersection and also create a protected intersection which is far safer for people walking and on bikes. While protected intersections are common internationally and becoming more common in the USA, this is the first one in the City of Eugene.

We’ve heard a lot of people complain about the difficulty of turning right at this intersection, and part of that is by design. By forcing a sharp turn and thus slowing down right turning drivers, the intersection dramatically reduces the likelihood of a right turning vehicle hitting a bike or pedestrian. That being said, it seems that the red curbs on this intersection were built a little wider and taller than they needed to be, forcing turning cars to slow down more than they want to.

While the City of Eugene is not likely to make significant changes to this intersection in the near future, they did mention that the signal timing is still a work in progress and will continue to be modified going forward.

Why don’t cars stop at the flashing crosswalks?

Flashing crosswalks (aka RRFBs) are built instead of classic red/yellow/green traffic signals because they are an order of magnitude cheaper and cause less delay to cars, who only need to stop when the person crossing is actually in the intersection. They work extremely well on narrow and slow streets, but the wider and faster the street the less people stop, and River Road is quite wide and fast.

If we want to make our crosswalks safer, we could replace the flashing crosswalks with traditional signals, requiring drivers to stop for the full ~30 seconds it would take a pedestrian to cross the entire street. Or, we could use other techniques to make the street narrower and cars drive slower so they are more likely to stop at the existing crosswalks.

Why would we want to make River Road safe for people on bikes if the River Path is right there?

The Ruth Bascom River Path is a great resource for pedestrians and cyclists, but it does not provide connectivity and access to destinations in the River Road and Santa Clara Community. Many community members use the current bike lanes to access schools, stores, work, or houses, and their safety, like that of motorists and pedestrians, is important.

Could we synchronize lights on River Road to have a green wave?

“Safe waves” can be a great way to improve traffic throughput and keep vehicles under the speed limit. Unfortunately, it is often physically impossible to have this sort of wave on a two-directional street without serious delays to all cross streets. Some communities give a green wave towards downtown in the morning and away from downtown in the evening, but River Road’s traffic tends to be fairly two-directional all day.

How can I learn more?

At www.best-oregon.org/better-streets/river-road/, you can find our updates, follow our social media, and subscribe to our newsletter.

See also

Related information from BEST:

Last updated 9/10/26.