Fabulous. Thank you and so glad for the changes. Feels like what we also need is enforcement/penalties for speeding and reckless driving. When was the last time you saw someone pulled over for running a red light or for speeding?
I think there have been more, and it seems like over the last 2 years there has been a lot more enforcement, yet not enough to really end the epidemic problem of speeding and red-light violations that you rightly identify as a problem.
Thank you for writing this story, Charlie, so we can understand how this unfolded. It serves as a tribute to collaboration and collective will as well as a public record of events. Thank you, City staff, U of O students and staff, BEST, ATC, Shift and others. Here’s to the life and memory of Erick.
This a GREAT write-up, Charlie! Thank you.
Fabulous. Thank you and so glad for the changes. Feels like what we also need is enforcement/penalties for speeding and reckless driving. When was the last time you saw someone pulled over for running a red light or for speeding?
This has been a fair criticism as Eugene police for awhile have been prioritizing other issues. However, more recently they have been targeting speeders in key locations around town. The latest was just yesterday (Wednesday, Aug. 19) when they cited 36 drivers: https://kval.com/news/local/eugene-police-department-issue-36-citations-21-warnings-in-river-road-traffic-operation-lane-county-oregon-northwest-expressway-and-river-road-to-beacon-drive.
This follows a similar effort back in March when they cited 22 drivers on River Road: https://kval.com/news/local/eugene-police-issue-22-citations-in-river-road-speed-crackdown
And even further back there was a multi-agency effort led by Eugene police in summer of 2025: https://www.kezi.com/news/local/eugene-police-target-speeders-with184-stops-in-speed-saturation-patrol/article_f4a3baf8-1ecd-48ec-b148-32784f43ce7a.html
I think there have been more, and it seems like over the last 2 years there has been a lot more enforcement, yet not enough to really end the epidemic problem of speeding and red-light violations that you rightly identify as a problem.
Thank you for writing this story, Charlie, so we can understand how this unfolded. It serves as a tribute to collaboration and collective will as well as a public record of events. Thank you, City staff, U of O students and staff, BEST, ATC, Shift and others. Here’s to the life and memory of Erick.
Thank you for this essay, I enjoy keeping up to date with “The bike lane”