In her second annual State of the City Address Monday evening, Eugene Mayor Kaarin Knudson highlighted the city’s successes, including improving public safety downtown and building more housing.
She said in 2026, Eugene needs to focus more attention on the Highway 99 corridor and other challenges.
One bicyclist has already died on Highway 99 less than a month into the new year. Businesses and homeless advocates have also raised concerns about safety on the roadway, saying intervention is needed.
Knudson—speaking in the Soreng Theater at the Hult Center for the Performing Arts—said the corridor needs to be overhauled.
“Our expectations change the moment we stop calling it a 'highway' and start treating it as a public realm designed to safely connect community,” Knudson said. “It needs to be reimagined and—as with so many other examples—we can bring a new spirit of collaboration to this work.”
Knudson said the highway—which bisects northwest Eugene—should be remade to be pedestrian and bicycle friendly. She said the area also needs green spaces. She also highlighted the miles of streets the city has been able to pave, completed parks and environmental renovations finished over the last year, despite federal funding setbacks and financial struggles.
“We completed $10 million in street improvements in 2025, improving transportation options, pedestrian infrastructure, traffic flow and surface conditions throughout Eugene,” Knudson said. “We also fought to keep, and won, our airport expansion funding and the FEMA grant to complete the Amazon Creek Restoration.”
She also highlighted public safety successes - especially downtown. She said Eugene Police had reduced violent crime by double digits, with some crimes seeing more than a 50% reduction. Police have also reduced quality of life crimes and the city has launched a new initiative to provide peer navigation.
Knudson said Eugene needs to change the way it provides fire services this year.
The proposal comes after a tough budget year for both Eugene and Springfield. The two city’s fire departments share leadership, and many union members have called for an independent district as they’ve struggled with the growing number of calls.
Knudson said the two cities need to operate separately and provide mutual aid, or allow the formation of a new, fire government.
“The status quo is not an option,” Knudson said. “Moving to a sustainable governance model will stabilize fire services into the future, will take care of our workforce, will ensure that we have emergency response and fire services when we need them, and that work will happen in 2026.”
In December, Eugene City Council members said they’d prefer to create a new "fire intergovernmental entity." That’s different from a fire district because all city governments that participate pay into it and usually oversee its operations, instead of a board elected by voters.
She also acknowledged the stress and fear many community members are under amidst immigration crackdowns. She asked the community to look out for one another and thanked those that have worked to bring people together.
“In the face of chaos, we have been steady,” Knudson said. “In the face of dehumanization, we celebrate our diversity.”
