UO student plan for 13th Avenue draws $150,000 pledge from private citizen

EUGENE, Ore. -- (Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2013) -- The city of Eugene on Dec. 4 will hold an open house on a plan by University of Oregon students to improve the safety of 13th Avenue. It will run from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the Eugene Public Library Bascom-Tykeson rooms, 100 W. 10th Ave.

The student group LiveMove in 2012-13 voluntarily studied the corridor to see if there could be a better way to accommodate people on bikes in both directions on 13th. Their design uses a two-way bike lane with separation between vehicles and bicycles on the north side of 13th, similar to the bike lanes along Alder Street near campus.

“This is an incredible project – students, working without pay or academic credit, have put their studies into action,” said Marc Schlossberg, an associate professor in the UO’s Planning, Public Policy & Management department and co-director of the Sustainable Cities Initiative. “It’s a great example of the university translating ideas into action in the service of the larger community, which in this case includes creating a safer and more sustainable 13th for decades to come.”

"Anyone that doubts one person, or a small group of people can make a difference, has been proven wrong with this project,” said Nick Meltzer, LiveMove president. “Eugene has a prevalent culture of commuting by bicycle, and it is time for the city to stand behind their citizens in supporting alternative modes of transportation."

The group’s design has caught the attention of John and Susan Minor, whose son, David, a UO graduate in sociology and environmental studies, died as a result of a bicycle accident at 13th and Willamette streets in 2008. The Minors have offered to donate $150,000 to make the plan a reality, with the hope that it will be named for their son.

About the University of Oregon

The University of Oregon is among the 108 institutions chosen from 4,633 U.S. universities for top-tier designation of "Very High Research Activity" in the 2010 Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. The UO also is one of two Pacific Northwest members of the Association of American Universities.

SOURCE: Marc Schlossberg, Sustainable Cities Initiative, 541-346-2046, schlossb@uoregon.edu

Note: The University of Oregon is equipped with an on-campus television studio with a point-of-origin Vyvx connection, which provides broadcast-quality video to networks worldwide via fiber optic network. In addition, there is video access to satellite uplink, and audio access to an ISDN codec for broadcast-quality radio interviews.

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