Fwd: Lorane Highway Safety Concerns

[Richard Hughes]

As you know, Lorane Highway is one of our main connectors to riding routes in the county's rural lands. It has a series of curves and much of the road doesn't have a bike lane or shoulder from about Crest Drive to the Spencer Creek Grange heading out from town. Most drivers give us space, but occasionally there's a driver who may be preoccupied in not sharing the road like others and we need to be more prepared to take evasive action.

Returning to town on Lorane Highway has several curves which we all navigate, but one in particular is a blind curve on which drivers can't see cyclists. This curve is right before Crest Drive. If you are a rider, this section is also uphill, which can cause riders to "wobble" more so, and possibly into the traffic lane even as they put more effort into their riding. If drivers behind you don't see you, there's little time for you to clear the lane before a vehicle reaches you.

The reason for the current concern is that vehicles are going faster, giving you less time to avoid an incident.  Some close calls have been reported and Lane County plans to post signage to address the hazards.

Also after the blind curve cyclists heading back to town were to go straight they would be continuing onto Crest Drive, but most cyclists instead follow Lorane Highway which is the left turn there. That's where the conflict with cars arises, and cyclists have to be vigilant looking at their mirrors because of the curve.

Let's be careful out there.

Richard 

[Rob Zako]

Richard: Thank you for the heads up!

Fellow GEARs members: After two UO students bicycling in Eugene were hit and killed by people driving well above the speed limit, my nonprofit Better Eugene-Springfield Transportation (BEST) pulled together a Transportation Safety Community Forum to begin to transform grief into action. We are pleased that GEARs was one of eight organizations co-hosting this event. We are very encouraged that 200+ people representing different organizations and segments of our community, including Mayor Kaarin Knudson, Lane County Commissioner Laurie Trieger, and several other community leaders turned out for the forum.

Now we are exploring if and how to work together towards what objectives. Understandably, UO groups have a lot of energy around safety just around campus. Advocates for the unhoused are concerned about deaths along Highway 99, where BEST is already doing some work. But public health partners are looking broadly at rural Lane County. There need not be a one-size-fits-all approach but rather different organizations can reinforce each other while working on different but complementary concerns.

I understand that GEARs is a cycling club, not an advocacy organization. Nonetheless, if some have interest in working for safer streets and roads, please let me know.

As we like to say, we are better when we speak and act together. We are seeing a lot of energy from unusual sources to improve bicycling!

-- 
Rob Zako (he/him/his)
Executive Director
Better Eugene-Springfield Transportation (BEST)
PO Box 773, Eugene, OR 97440-0773
541-343-5201 (home office)
541-606-0931 (mobile)
r...@best-oregon.org
www.best-oregon.org
facebook.com/BetterEugeneSpringfieldTransportation

BEST is building a successful community by bringing people together to promote transportation options, safe streets, and walkable neighborhoods.

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