The missing link in a bikeway connecting Spencer Butte to the Willamette River is set to open this March.
After months of delays, the two-way track along High Street between 19th Avenue and 6th Avenue is almost ready to open.
The lanes will be similar to the bikeway on 13th Avenue, but with bollards instead of solid concrete barriers to separate bikers from car traffic. Signalized intersections will have a separate signal for bikers during which all other traffic is stopped.
The city planned to open the bikeway last year, but it took longer than expected for parts for the signals to arrive.
Though you might see bikers using it already, the lanes are technically closed until the official opening, planned for March.
Reed Dunbar, senior transportation planner at the City of Eugene, said the key to this project is the physical barrier that separates motorized vehicles from bicycles.
“When we ask people what it would take for them to use bicycles for more transportation trips, they tell us that they want separation from cars," said Dunbar. ”When the city can’t build off-street, mixed-use paths like the one along Amazon Creek, a protected bike lane is the best way to simulate that experience."
The city chose High Street because it had a higher capacity for cars than it needed and to divert bicycle traffic from neighboring Pearl Street, which sees a lot of bicycle crashes. High Street is also one-way, which reduces conflict points at intersections.
Dunbar said the city is still figuring out a system for clearing debris from the bike lane: because it has bollards in the centerline between the lanes, it’s too narrow for the city’s mechanical sweepers. Another problem: the bollards aren’t standing up to impacts as well as the city hoped. Dunbar said the city is continuing to experiment to find the best way to protect the lane.
