Move EUG

Move EUG logo_long_color-05

City Council approved the Move EUG Funding Proposal

Move EUG was a planning project led by the City’s Transportation Planning Team to identify and prioritize walking, biking, and safety programs and infrastructure projects throughout Eugene. Staff spent spring 2023 listening to community members about their transportation project ideas, and summer 2023 analyzing and prioritizing the 1,300 comments we received. 

The primary objective of Move EUG was to develop a list of walking, biking, and safety infrastructure projects for funding through the 2025-2029 Street Repair Bond Measure. City Council approved the Move EUG Funding Proposal on October 23, 2023.  The list and map of the 55 selected projects can be found at the links below. 


This is an historic investment in active transportation by voters and City Council. Between 2025-2029, Eugene will see $11 million dollars of Street Repair Bond funding allocated to walking, biking and safety projects. An additional $2 million is unprogrammed and will be used to leverage grant funding or to achieve economies of scale. There was also $2 million allocated for street trees. Overall, the City of Eugene will invest $15 million of the bond funds to enhance our transportation network and increase the street tree canopy.

If you have questions or comments about Move EUG or the funded projects, please email Willow Hamilton, Community Engagement Coordinator at WHamilton@eugene-or.govRepaving Willamette Street in Downtown


Move EUG Question and Answer


Why did the City do this project? 

The 2025-2029 Street Repair Bond measure was passed by voters in November 2022. The bond measure included $15 million for walking, biking, safety and street tree projects. The Transportation Planning Team was charged with identifying projects for bike, pedestrian, and safety bond funds for approval by City Council. 

Council included the $15 million for walking, biking, safety and street trees into the bond as recognition that more comfortable infrastructure can help encourage community members and visitors to make more trips by walking, biking, rolling, and taking the bus. Increasing the number of active transportation trips made will help the city meet climate, equity, and livability goals.

Investments in walking , biking, and rolling provide additional transportation options to all community members but can be particularly impactful for the nearly 30% of community members who don't drive. Active transportation trips that replace car trips also cut down on greenhouse gas emissions, keep roadways in good condition for longer, and help make Eugene a more vibrant and livable city. 


How did the City decide which projects to fund?

Community Engagement: 

Move EUG included a comprehensive community engagement process that spanned three months, from March to May 2023. The engagement process utilized both in-person events and online tools to maximize community involvement and gather diverse perspectives. Overall, the City heard over 1,300 comments from community members about project ideas, transportation challenges, and program suggestions. View the Community Engagement Report to learn more about the City's process. 

Data Analysis: 

After months of community engagement,  transportation staff manually reviewed all 1,300 comments and project ideas heard in Spring 2023 and synthesized them into over 600 buildable project ideas for prioritization. Staff then ran the 600 projects through a prioritization matrix that looked at the following criteria:

Safety:

  • Crash Data, Fatalities and Injuries
  • Speed Limits
  • Existing Infrastructure and Bike/Walk/Roll Facilities

Equity:

  • Race and Hispanic/Latino Origin
  • Income
  • Age ( under 18 and 65+)
  • Air Quality and Asthma Rates
  • Proximity to Affordable Housing and Social Service Providers

Travel Demand:

  • Proximity to Parks and Schools
  • Job and Destination Density
  • Proximity to Transit Stops
  • Functional Classification of Street (arterial, collector, local, etc.)

Refinement: 

Once the projects were ranked based on the above objective criteria, staff adjusted the projects to make sure each ward received funding and that the projects were feasible and contributed to the overall active transportation network. 


What happens next with the 55 new funded projects? 

Move EUG only identified projects and allocated funding. The specifics of each project will need careful planning, including engaging the surrounding community. The level of engagement for each project will depend on the scale and impacts of that particular project. 

Once a project is planned, it will move into the engineering stage. This is where the specific and detailed design is drafted by engineers. This stage includes communication with residents, property owners, and businesses that are directly impacted by a project. 


What happens to all the project ideas that weren't funded?  

Transportation System Plan Update:

Staff will review the existing Transportation System Plan, which includes a list of walking and biking projects. Many of the projects identified by community members during Move EUG will be added to the current list. This ensures that they will be considered for future funding.  


Large Projects: 

Some projects identified by the community ranked high but were too large to fund with bond funding. These large, high-ranking projects make good candidates for grant funding opportunities. Staff will be able to use the robust community engagement and data driven process of Move EUG to justify and support future grant funding applications. 


Active Transportation Strategic Plan: 

Some of the 1,300 comments received during Move EUG weren't for infrastructure projects but were programmatic ideas instead. Transportation programs include Breakfast at the Bike Bridges, the Get There Challenge, Employer Incentives, and more. Staff will use the comments from Move EUG to inform the next update of the Active Transportation Strategic Plan.