Franklin Urban Riverfront Corridor Project

Eugene and Springfield, Oregon,
United States of America

The cities of Eugene and Springfield, Oregon, share a 3.5-mile stretch of Franklin Boulevard along the Willamette River that includes several important urban features, landmarks, and institutions. Both cities had conducted planning studies focused on commercial redevelopment of this key area, but the AIA Southwestern Oregon study is the first comprehensive analysis aimed at galvanizing the linkage between Eugene and Springfield in a way that serves a broad range of interest groups. Implementation of the Riverfront Corridor Project will help convert this heavily traveled commercial strip – which includes the new Franklin Boulevard EmX rapid transit bus system – into a diverse, mixed-use, pedestrian-friendly environment that unifies the riverfront greenway. Another important component of the project is the creation of parks and open spaces within the corridor to better link the two downtowns through an expansion and realignment of walking, jogging, and bike paths along the river.

Project Overview

The poor condition and appearance of the Franklin Corridor and other arterial routes connecting Eugene and Springfield, Oregon, was widely perceived as an impediment to the area’s economic renewal. Franklin Boulevard’s visual environment, defined by frequent access points, unappealing and competing signage, minimal landscaping, inefficient land development and unorganized parking, needed significant changes for the area to grow and thrive. The Willamette River, a significant environmental asset, was largely ignored and disconnected from the adjacent corridors and neighborhoods.

AIA Southwestern Oregon’s “Franklin Corridor and Riverfront Study” seeks to transform this aging commercial/industrial corridor connecting the two cities into a vibrant mixed-use area. The proposed design includes street-level shops and restaurants, office buildings, a rich variety of housing, and neighborhood markets. A proposed open-space network will link public courtyards, sidewalks, and streets to allow pedestrians, cyclists, and joggers to move through new urban paths that connect Franklin Boulevard to millrace waterways and the Willamette River.

The overarching vision is of a dynamic, welcoming environment that is a destination in itself, with mixed-use buildings lining multi-directional boulevards that safely accommodate pedestrians, bikes, cars, and public transit. In its details, the study articulates critical urban elements that the respective jurisdictions are using as a guideline to understanding the corridor’s physical and ecological features. The process began when AIA Southwestern Oregon invited the Eugene and Springfield communities to develop common goals for the area. Discussions focused on a public waterfront, a restored millrace, public parks and green space to the river, multi-way boulevards, mixed-use buildings, and uninterrupted east-west bicycle paths. Hundreds of citizens participated in the project by learning how other communities have developed similar assets, and reviewing the variety of proposals that were created for the corridor and riverfront area.

During the planning process, local residents, designers, and city officials determined that the Willamette riverfront should be open to the public along its full length through the corridor, with a south-side greenway along the river incorporating bicycle and pedestrian paths. They proposed connecting Eugene and Springfield to the river by way of “green fingers” – parks functioning as a continuation of the existing streets and park blocks to the Willamette River. They also suggested rebuilding the millrace along the corridor.

Because it is important to rebuild the boulevard in a way that accommodates its multiple users – local and through traffic, pedestrians, bicycles, and buses – the study recommended converting Franklin Boulevard into a multi-way thoroughfare with slower-moving traffic on the side and through traffic in the middle. Such boulevards have been successful in communities around the world where they have transformed arterial streets such as Franklin from undeveloped eyesores into landscaped boulevards that attract appropriate development.

Planning groups also looked at specific districts in the corridor. For Eugene’s emerging Courthouse District, they created plans to connect downtown with the river through an extension of park blocks, weaving natural systems into the urban cityscape. This plan incorporated a riverfront open to the public with a parkway or esplanade.

For the East Eugene area, which spans from Walnut Street to the University of Oregon, the plan proposes converting the street into a multi-way boulevard to attract mixed-use and pedestrian-scaled development, while also accommodating through traffic. Likewise, an interface with the existing millrace was seen as a positive connection to a historic urban waterway.

All groups endorsed the idea of higher building density along Franklin Boulevard with the understanding that this type of development can stimulate more residential and commercial activity and attractive streets. Yet the teams also expressed a strong desire to limit development in a way that preserves the integrity of existing neighborhoods along the boulevard.

Proposals for the Glenwood area addressed the river and the boulevard as unifying elements that could support sustainable developments, including mixed-use buildings as well as open space. In addition to suggesting that Franklin Boulevard be converted into a multi-way thoroughfare, planners made persuasive drawings that showed large traffic circles at the east and west ends of Glenwood. They proposed connecting Glenwood to the north side of the Willamette River with a new pedestrian bridge.

In addition, the project provided an opportunity for the University of Oregon School of Architecture to work with AIA Southwestern Oregon in exploring urban design issues, while strengthening the University’s ties outside the immediate community of Eugene. The chapter’s extended involvement in envisioning the future of this critical urban connector has set in motion extensive transformation. Through collaborative efforts, civic groups and public officials have begun to develop a riverfront transportation corridor that respects the natural environment and provides a healthy human connection to the waterfront.

Additional Files

Project Overview

2.2 Vision_Findings

Franklin Urban Riverfront Study