The Safe Routes to School Program in Bethel has identified the Echo Hollow Road corridor as a primary area in need of safety improvements for school children and their families. With so many destinations along the Echo Hollow Road corridor, including Willamette High School, Cascade Middle School and Echo Hollow Pool, the City of Eugene and SRTS applied for a grant through ODOT to explore transportation safety improvements for all road users.
Planners held several community meetings and site visits to analyze the corridor and create a recommended concept. The recommendation includes wider sidewalks, protected bike lanes, reduced lane widths and more frequent crosswalks.
This project has only been funded through the preliminary planning stage, meaning the newly developed concept will be used to apply for grants and secure funding. After funding is in place, additional planning and community engagement will occur to create a fully fledged corridor design.
The City is now seeking comments and feedback on the corridor concept, which can be found on https://www.eugene-or.gov/4722/Safe-Routes-to-School-Projects. Please submit comments to Reed Dunbar, senior transportation planner at rdunbar@eugene-or.gov by Sept. 27.