The Lane County Board of Commissioners has unanimously selected Carl Wilkerson as Lane County’s newest Sheriff. He was sworn into office on June 11. 

Wilkerson will serve as the Sheriff through 2026. He could begin a four-year term in 2027, if voters elect him. 

Wilkerson has served as Chief Deputy of the Lane County Sheriff’s Office since 2019 under former Sheriff Clifton Harrold, who officially retired on May 16. 

As the Chief Deputy, Wilkerson was responsible for personnel, labor relations, budget, training, the Office of Professional Standards, the radio network and many other tasks.

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Many faculty, staff and students at the University of Oregon have been participating in the UO Gaza Hunger Strike, which began on May 19. Campaign members held a call to action rally outside the Eugene Federal Building on May 23, which marked day five of the ongoing hunger strike.

Around 30 people attended the “urgent call to action” event at the Eugene Federal Building for roughly 50 minutes. 

Speakers spoke to the crowd regarding the situation, the reasons for the hunger strike and a call to action with demands toward local and federal leaders in Oregon and UO to get involved in efforts to end the siege on Gaza. 

“About a dozen off and on” have been formally fasting, and many have been involved in the campaign who are not actively fasting, according to Kaleigh Bronson-Cook, the main speaker at the event and an implementation coordinator for UO’s College of Education. 

According to Bronson-Cook, hunger strikers are protesting in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza experiencing mass starvation. “A symbolic length for the average person in Gaza right now who’s experiencing the genocide is only eating every two to three days, so I fasted for two to three days,” Bronson-Cook said. “Others are striking indefinitely until they’re no longer physically able.”

Dahlia Fomley, a member of the Faculty and Staff for Justice in Palestine, is on day five of the hunger strike and said he will be going on strike indefinitely until their demands are met.

Fomley demands that local, state and federally elected leadership to stop sending aid to Israel and to get involved in ending the Israeli blockade.

“The genocide in Gaza is constantly on my mind as a result of not only hunger, but just on the incredible importance of the situation as it has been developing,” Fomley said. “It is one of the most, if not the most, important issues of our time, and I do think future generations will judge us based on how we act in this moment of conscience.”

Bronson-Cook said that to maintain the well-being and health of those participating in the hunger strike, each person was assigned a buddy responsible for ensuring their partner has regular health checks, stays hydrated and maintains vitals through taking vitamin and glucose tablets, electrolyte products and fresh water. 

There are also medics from local community groups who have volunteered to do blood glucose checks and health check-ins, two of whom were present during the event. 

“We’re incredibly privileged to be able to have access to support, to be able to choose to fast as a political act and as an act of protest, rather than acts out of being forced to fast,” Bronson-Cook said.

Hunger strikers at UO, along with other students at college campuses across the US will continue to “stand in solidarity” through fasting, hoping to bring awareness and attention to the cause and for leaders in government positions to take action. 

“What I’ve been thinking about this week is that it’s not just being hungry, it’s like you’re trying to exterminate culture,” Bronson-Cook said. “It’s very emotionally difficult to imagine what people in Gaza who are experiencing genocide must be feeling and experiencing, having this gone on.”

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With the exit of CAHOOTS (Crisis Assistance Helping Out on the Streets) on April 7 from the city of Eugene after 35 years of operations, questions and uncertainties are being raised throughout the community. Clients, workers and former employees are searching for answers as to what the next steps are.

CAHOOTS, a mobile crisis intervention program, is operated by White Bird Clinic, which is a federally qualified health center that provides primary care services in the communities it serves.

CAHOOTS saw drastic reductions from its operator, White Bird, that resulted in over 20 employees being laid off and its service hours reduced to one shift a week. The city of Eugene, seeing that CAHOOTS could no longer fulfill its contractual obligations, came to an agreement with White Bird to terminate its contract with CAHOOTS effective April 7.

Research and discussions about CAHOOTS’ overall impact on the community and the challenges they’re currently facing were introduced during a
pre-planned town hall meeting on April 10 at the University of Oregon, three days after the announcement that its services would end in Eugene. CAHOOTS will continue to operate in Springfield.

How CAHOOTS impacted Eugene

According to Alese Colehour, a master’s student in social work at Portland State University who presented at the April 10 town hall, CAHOOTS handled over 16,800 requests for service in 2024, an average of 46 calls per day.

CAHOOTS responded to calls that included de-escalation or mental health emergencies in addition to other situations, often serving as an alternative to police intervention.

To highlight its value in the community, a community survey showed 94% of survey respondents agree or strongly agree that CAHOOTS is an essential part of public safety and good use of tax dollars, while 90% agree the program aligns with their values. 

Additionally, 98% of respondents from the Eugene and Springfield Police Departments agree that CAHOOTS is effective in preventing suicide. 

Natalie Cheechov, a former medic with CAHOOTS, explained that there are two branches of clients. The direct clients are the most vulnerable members who may or may not know how to access other services. The other type of clients are those who aren’t usual users of CAHOOTS and will be impacted by the additional strain placed on emergency services.

“It’s atrocious that CAHOOTS has been defunded, so I think it becomes important for us as scholars and academics to share our research findings, especially at this moment,” Rori Rohlfs, an associate professor in data science at UO who spoke at the town hall, said. 

Rohlfs and Nathan Burton, a graduate of the University of Oregon data science program, researched the impact of CAHOOTS and shared their findings on the diversion it redirects away from police responses, essentially the reduction of calls police receive. 

They notably found that CAHOOTS directly diverts about 17% of dispatched calls.  

According to the CAHOOTS Call Volume Report, the most common types of calls over the last three years have been for public assistance, welfare checks, transportation to services and suicidal subjects that include prevention, assessment and intervention.

CAHOOTS responded to 3,217 incidents in the final three months before its exit and 13,929 incidents in 2024. 

“I think that there’s going to be really quick repercussions and really large gaps that show up quickly that CAHOOTS has just been filling for 36 years, and all of a sudden, we’re going to see those holes in the infrastructure,” Michelle Perin, a former employee at White Bird Clinic who spoke at the town hall, said.

After Perin presented the challenges CAHOOTS is facing from recent uncertainties surrounding its future, she said that the challenge now “is finding an exit ramp so that CAHOOTS’ future is no longer tied to White Bird’s future.” 

“We have been in contact with our national allies, advisors who are explaining what the steps are to be able to create an organization, and currently just looking for a fiscal sponsor who would be able to move us forward and also getting legal advice on what that would look like,” Perin said.

A lasting effect on the community

Cheechov said she got her EMT certification when she was 18 and waited five years to work for CAHOOTS. She was hired last summer as soon as she turned 23 and then was laid off on April 7. 

“My initial thoughts were, of course, for our community and the clients that we serve, and just a lot of unknowns about what showing up for them will look like, who will show up for them if anyone will show up for them now,” Cheechov said.

Cheechov said her team’s commitment to showing up for their clients quickly instilled in her, changing her as a medic and a person. She hopes the community continues staying together and was encouraged to see the number of people supporting CAHOOTS and its future.

“It was really devastating to see the people I love and care about the most lose their jobs,” Cheechov said. “But also to watch them grieve this program that’s so near and dear to them, that’s so revolutionary (and) so important in this moment in history now more than ever. It’s a huge symbolic loss for not just Eugene but for the whole country.”

Perin said it’s hard to say what the future holds for CAHOOTS, the community reliant on its services and all the workers who were laid off. She hopes to continue supporting those dealing with a difficult time and regroup, staying in solidarity with each other and their mission.

For Rohlfs, she hopes the public has a better understanding of CAHOOTS’ services, its impact in Eugene and the steps they can take to support its restoration efforts. 

“I hope the community feels called to action to call their city representatives, to tell their friends to be in community with one another and look after each other while we’re away,” Cheechov said. “But in the hopes that we can return to the streets as soon as possible and keep doing what we love to do and what we’re really good at.”

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Leaves and trash blow in gusts of wind early in the morning along the streets of Eugene. The roads are empty and the city is peaceful, quiet, with no one in sight.

On the sidewalk, Alika Leatherberry, 50, sits in his clothes protecting him from the weather but remains alert of his surroundings in case situations suddenly turn physical. After experiencing homelessness for over six years, he said he assumes the worst out of most people after seeing individuals often steal from one another and treat each other poorly.

“It’s hard because I never thought I’d see myself in this situation that I’m at,” Leatherberry said. “I never was the type of person to allow myself to be ‘one of them,’ so to speak, where I feel like I’m just as incapable and incompetent as the people that don’t want to do anything.”

Experts on homelessness say the state of homeless encampments and shelters is detrimental to those living in them, drawing attention to the need for long-term affordable housing and an increased use of temporary, short-term housing programs to mitigate housing issues.

Leatherberry said he grew up in Hawaii before moving to California. He later moved to Arizona to spend time with his father, and then he worked in Tucson before they shut down his job site with the Microsoft escalation team and relocated.

His father got sick, forcing him to eventually sell his house in Tucson, and Leatherberry has been homeless ever since his father died in 2019. He said he bounced around to different states before finally ending up in the streets of Eugene. 

“All day, every day, is the same day”

Leatherberry said that he’s noticed that some unhoused people’s priority is to sit and guard their stuff while making sure they don’t get attacked or plundered by others around them. 

“I’ve never experienced anything this vicious before,” Leatherberry said. “There was a lot of violence where I grew up (in Oahu), but nothing to this point where there’s homeless people stealing from other homeless people. There’s no love whatsoever.”

Claire Herbert, an associate professor at the University of Oregon who researches housing and homelessness, said she believes the narrative of unhoused people wishing the worst on each other aligns with her own research and one done by the University of California, San Francisco, showing unhoused people are often victimized by other unhoused people. 

She said this is evidence of the intense trauma, scarcity and violence that circulates through vulnerable communities. 

“I think that the worst thing we can do is take an individual approach and blame the people in that encampment for treating each other poorly,” Herbert said. “It calls attention to the need to create more safe places for unhoused people so that they are not feeling like the only option they have for a place to live is somewhere where they feel like everyone is against them.”

The struggles with encampments and homeless shelters

One of the biggest reasons homeless encampments exist is that there aren’t enough shelters to get into, according to Herbert. At least 17 emergency shelters are available throughout Lane County, but specific regulations and restrictions may limit their eligibility to live in certain shelters.

According to the National Alliance to End Homelessness, a lack of affordable housing is one of the primary causes of homelessness. Additionally, the 2024 Annual Homelessness Assessment Report to Congress recorded 771,480 people experiencing homelessness on a single given night in January 2024, 255,667 of whom were unsheltered. 

In Lane County’s Point-in-Time Count on Jan. 31, 2024, 3,085 people were homeless, with 2,096 unsheltered people and 920 individuals in emergency shelters.

A conflict the city faces is that homeless people need help, but on the other hand, communities complain about their presence. Additionally, they often drive the need to limit how many resources the city puts towards homelessness. 

Herbert said that Oregon House Bill 3115, a bill that passed in the 2021 Oregon legislative session, was meant to protect unhoused people from being “penalized” for camping in public spaces when shelter beds are unavailable. However, homeless people aren’t experiencing the necessary protection because they’re largely unaware of where they can legally be or are in unsafe places. 

“I would say that in most instances, probably the authorities have the law on their side in terms of when they can move people along or not,” Herbert said. “But that doesn’t mean that that’s what’s most ethical, moral, and it certainly doesn’t mean that that’s the best approach to resolving the problem of encampments.” 

Homeless sweeps have been a topic of controversy and frustration in Eugene over the last year, rife with ethical and moral dilemmas. Controversies arise regarding the potential inhumane treatment of homeless people and a lack of support for those displaced by the sweeps.

Herbert said that her research shows the more often people are moved, the harder it is for them to gain potential stability or traction. “We’re perpetuating the problem by moving people around versus alleviating it in any way,” she said. 

Lesley Jo Weaver, an associate professor at UO who researches health inequality in homelessness, has often seen the negative impact of forced relocation and believes homeless sweeps are “exceedingly unethical.”

“I have yet to hear about a single situation where someone was forced to move and at the same time given any kind of guidance or resources that led to an improvement in their situation,” Weaver said. “In every instance I’ve seen, a forced removal has led to a deterioration in their circumstances.”

The need for affordable housing

The number one frustration and complaint when Weaver talks to service providers is that they know the ultimate solution to homelessness is housing, but they don’t have any housing to hand out.

Herbert said the problem isn’t being solved if housing isn’t offered and that it’s cheaper to house people than to serve them on the streets since taxpayers pay a lot towards funds intended to address homelessness. 

“If that money was put up front into housing, into preventing homelessness and into trying to rapidly rehouse folks who are currently on the streets, that would be a much better use of financial and personnel resources,” Herbert said.

Exploring the next steps to mitigating homelessness

Two homeless-focused housing models introduced by the NAEH have been demonstrated to effectively end homelessness: permanent supportive housing, which pairs long-term rental assistance with supportive services, and rapid re-housing, which provides quick and short-term rental assistance and services. 

Public housing, where federally funded housing is rented at subsidized rates, and the Housing Choice Voucher Program, which helps support people to pay rent in a private market, both provide decent and safe affordable housing for low-income people. These are administered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Lane County provides many homeless-focused housing models, including many emergency shelters and a variety of poverty and homeless programs.

Herbert wants to see the city take a harm-reduction approach to homelessness, which means reducing the harms of living outside while housing is being built. This may include creating different shelter options and more places to legally camp and park. 

For Leatherberry, he said he’s not comfortable being in his situation and it drives him crazy sitting around, waiting for things to happen. 

He said that he’s not here to give up or let himself quit. He has made it this far in life and is doing the best he can with what he has to make it out of his situation one day.

“There’s a lot of people I think that deserve a chance to do something with themselves and they shouldn’t be faulted for choices that they made before or things that have happened,” Leatherberry said. “Nothing they can do about changing the past, it’s only the future that they have access to, making differences.”

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Jeffrey Alan Voss, 31, was sentenced to five years of probation on April 9 for posting violent threats on Facebook and was in custody for six months prior, according to the US Department of Justice.

The videos posted between Sept. 24 and 27, 2024, included two in which Voss held a firearm and in another discussing becoming “the next Kip Kinkel.” Kinkel was a school shooter who killed his parents and two people at Thurston High School in Springfield, Oregon, in 1998 and injured 25 others.

After Voss claimed he was minutes away from a high school and made violent threats, a criminal complaint was filed reporting the live videos posted, and the Eugene Police Department arrested Voss following the report.

Following an FBI search warrant on Oct. 1, 2024, at Voss’ house in Eugene, agents discovered and seized two firearms, a replica firearm, ammunition, body armour and a handwritten note on his desires for vengeance and individuals he wanted to harm.

Voss was indicted by a federal grand jury in Eugene on Nov. 5, 2024, and pleaded guilty to the charges on March 6.

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CAHOOTS, which stands for Crisis Assistance Helping Out on the Streets, is ending its services in Eugene after laying off many of its workers two weeks prior and drastic budget cuts, announced by White Bird Clinic. 

Service hours for the CAHOOTS and Crisis programs were set to reduce to one shift per week on April 7, but things took a turn when it was announced on the same day that its services would no longer be available in the city of Eugene.

After a budget shortfall of $11.5 million in the city of Eugene, CAHOOTS introduced drastic budget cuts and additional financial issues led to employee layoffs. 

Services will continue to operate in Springfield and its crisis hotline seven days a week. Those in need of mobile crisis services in Eugene are directed to contact the Mobile Crisis Services of Lane County. 

CAHOOTS provides mobile crisis response and transportation to stabilization units or immediate stabilization in cases of urgent medical needs. They respond to certain non-emergency calls that involve behavioral health and homelessness in addition to other services. 

A town hall meeting for CAHOOTS is scheduled for April 10 at 6 p.m. to research and discuss the service’s impact it has on the community and the challenges it faces, as well as a Q&A with presenters and attendees.

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Thousands of people gathered at Eugene City Hall on April 5 in opposition against President Donald Trump’s policies. Over 1,000 locations nationwide took part in the “Hands Off!” rally in a National Day of Action.

In one of the largest facilitated protests in 2025, the rally was organized by two national-led organizations. A national movement called “50501” and Indivisible, a locally-led nationally coordinated movement, helped organize the Eugene demonstration and were joined by about 18 other local organizations, 10 speakers and four musical acts at city hall. 

Eugene City Councilor Matt Keating was in attendance at the event. In an interview with the Daily Emerald during the rally, he spoke about Eugene’s role in this national movement that was displayed across the nation. 

“This is an impressive, inspiring coalition of grassroots activism and advocates who are standing up for what’s right, and saying that the oligarchs, the greedy out-of-touch DOGE billionaire class, that their brand of politics doesn’t belong in our United States, our state and in our community of Eugene,” Keating said. 

The rally at Eugene City Hall began at noon and speeches concluded at approximately 2 p.m. Many protestors stayed around as live music and entertainment followed until 3 p.m., concluding the rally. 

One of the 10 speakers at the event was Victoria Acosta, who said she was motivated and encouraged to speak in front of the crowd about certain issues pertaining to backlash against the Mexican community. 

“I feel like it’s my job to come up here with the privilege that I do and speak for this community that is overlooked and underseen,” Acosta said. 

Debbie Williamson, the MC (master of ceremonies) of the event, said she jumped on the opportunity to speak at the rally about issues important to her. She said the current state of America is “frankly terrifying,” and that “America just doesn’t feel very America right now.”

“One of the risks that we’re facing right now is losing the right to free speech, so I’d just like to say ‘thank you’ to every person that showed up somewhere today to fight for our basic freedoms,” Williamson said.

As for the protest’s coverage throughout the nation, The Washington Post reported tens of thousands of people rallying on the National Mall in Washington D.C. “Several thousand people” were reported at Tom McCall Waterfront Park in Portland, and other “Hands Off!” protests took place in many different cities across Oregon. 

As a local city councilor, Keating believes Trump and Elon Musk want to bring the government “down to the studs” and that it’s their job as municipal leaders to ensure vital services are protected, asking everyone to stand up for the local community. 

“This is a ripple effect all across the country,” Keating said. “Donald Trump and Elon Musk don’t represent my values and they certainly don’t represent the values of the 5,000 or so folks who are here today, or the 500,000 plus who are standing up all across the United States.”

Gallery • 16 Photos

Max Unkrich

Protesters hold signs and chant in front of Eugene City Hall during a Hands Off! protest on April 5, 2025, in Eugene, Ore. (Max Unkrich / Emerald)

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Dave’s Hot Chicken has announced it will be shifting to an entirely vegan menu amid allegations of its chicken being too “unhealthy.”

The new chicken being served at Dave’s will be made entirely of plant-based meat alternatives such as soy and tofu. The move comes amid controversy as to whether or not Dave’s chicken was providing enough nutritional value for customers.

“Our decision to completely shift to a vegan approach was well thought out by myself,” Dave’s CEO Bill Phelps said. “I used data and metrics to analyze what approach could garner the most money and popularity within the next five years. I believe going vegan will do just that.”

When Phelps was contemplating the decision to change the business landscape, he said the decision was made completely on his own and with support from a few managing staff. Phelps emphasized that he didn’t see the need to complicate the process by seeking input from employees or team members and that his decision was backed by deep research.

“I didn’t tell them. I didn’t need to,” Phelps said. “The rest of the team and I are on the same wavelength with this decision in terms of what we believe is best for Dave’s Hot Chicken. I have the utmost confidence that this is exactly what my team would’ve wanted me to do.”

Senior Vice President Shannon Glaser agreed with Phelps’ statements. She believes the rest of the team is on the same page with the direction they want the company to go.

“I trust in the decisions we and the board members make for our organization,” Glaser said. “I believe this will change our business’ outlook while moving us in a positive direction that will benefit our sales for years to come.”

The soy-tofu blend, however, is not Dave’s first experiment with vegan options. The company released a cauliflower meatless alternative called “Dave’s NOT chicken,” deep-fried cauliflower with spices that were made into sliders, tenders and bites.

Cauliflower was introduced for a limited time in January 2024 and after popular demand by fans, Dave’s brought the cauliflower options back to the menu in January 2025.

Despite the cauliflower being available as an option for vegan eaters, Phelps said he wanted to expand vegan options and enforce them upon all customers as the only option “for their own good.”

“The ‘Dave’s NOT Chicken’ growth encouraged me to pursue this drastic change,” Phelps said. “I felt that with the traction and excitement it got, along with its growing popularity among non-vegan eaters, a similar enthusiasm for a fully vegan menu would arise.”

Dave’s Hot Chicken will officially change its menu on April 31 to allow fans to enjoy one final month of the original chicken.

*Disclaimer: All quotes and facts in this article are completely satirical and fake, in light of April Fools Day.*

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Roughly 100 individuals attended the Immigration Reform protest at Kesey Square Plaza on Feb. 8. Individuals were protesting against immigration reform and the separation of families by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). 

Demonstrators began arriving at Kesey Square at around 10:30 a.m. with more individuals joining in leading up to the scheduled start time of 11 a.m. The demonstration was held in the square next to Voodoo Doughnut. 

Destiny Martinez, a University of Oregon student who helped organize the event, said she hopes people can understand there are many ways to help support the movement, by being there for the families and protesting. 

“I really do hope that with all these protests that are going around (at) all the states right now that Donald Trump really changes something,” Martinez said. “A lot of people are scared to actually go out and grocery shop because of ICE.”

During President Trump’s Inauguration Day, he promised “millions” of deportations this year, and over 8,000 arrests were made during the first two weeks of the Trump administration, according to NBC News.

Martinez said the vibe and energy of the hour-long protest was amazing and appreciated how the community showed up in support of the cause. 

Some of the chants during the protest included, “The people united will never be divided” and “Unite, fight for immigrant rights” along with other chants spoken in both English and Spanish. 

Many Mexican and American  flags were visible in the crowd and signs were held up by protesters, such as “being undocumented is not a crime” and “nadie es ilegal en una tierra robada,” which translates to “nobody is illegal on stolen land.”

A demonstrator and immigrant to the United States at the event, who requested to go by Martin, said that “it’s not an easy feeling to be an immigrant and come out here.” 

He added, “I hope (the community) comes to us, makes this movement bigger so that we can have more power in the legislature, and change some of the laws and the rules that we have in place.”

Protestors at Saturday’s demonstration said they wanted to connect with the community and make sure immigrants and individuals being targeted felt safe and supported.

“I really do hope they understand that they get to go home to their families without worrying about their families being taken away from them,” Martinez said. “A lot of (today’s protesters) are allies and we appreciate them for coming out.” 

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Eugene locals and visitors alike are driving into new territory in the new year after the completion of River Road’s “protected” intersection.

Construction on the River Road intersection at Irving Road and Hunsaker Lane was completed in late November 2024, nearly two years after it was originally set to be completed. The renovation made it the first protected intersection in Eugene and was implemented to address concerns regarding the safety of drivers, bicyclists and pedestrians due to a lack of bike lanes and multiple dangerous junctions.

The new intersection includes the addition of dedicated turn lanes for all left turns to prevent drivers from turning into oncoming traffic. The project also added protected bike lanes, widened roadways and upgraded sidewalks.

The renovation added red, raised truck aprons, which are raised areas in the road that provide larger vehicles more room to navigate turns without hitting the curb. In this case, they also encourage drivers to take considerably slower, sharper right turns when navigating around the aprons on curb corners. 

Marion Barnes, public affairs manager for City of Eugene Public Works, said that the expectation is to slow down right turns, provide better lines of sight and eliminate the “right hook” crash that occurs when drivers turn right and collide with a pedestrian or biker with the right of way. 

In the city’s Vision Zero Action Plan adopted in March 2019, the intersection at River Road and Hunsaker Lane was identified as a high-crash location. Many driving, biking and pedestrian-related deaths or injuries at Vision Zero high crash streets were shown in the reports according to Oregon Department of Transportation crash data from 2007 to 2015. 

However, some residents have had trouble with the raised truck apron corner, with complaints deriving from the additional barrier. 

“You can’t see that [the curb] is raised when you’re driving toward it until you go over it,” Emily Nelson, a Dari-Mart employee, said. “I think it was kind of pointless. I think it was just a waste of money on things that could have been fixed in different areas.” 

Barnes said the most complaints she has received are from drivers and people having trouble with the raised truck apron corner. However, she emphasized the importance of speed helping to reinforce the safety of pedestrians, bicyclists and drivers.

“Slowing down is the number one way to keep people safe. It is always speed that causes these accidents, so we just need people to slow down, turn a little more sharply and stay in their lane,” Barnes said. “Nobody likes to be told to slow down, but slower is safer.”

During construction, modified traffic control and pedestrian access routes were implemented and the city urged commuters to exercise patience when traveling through the area during the period of construction. 

The project caused some frustration among people in the area as large equipment occupied space during construction and impacted traffic patterns. 

Barnes said that the protected intersection will serve as an example and expects it to take some getting used to.  

“We’ll give it some time and then we’ll go out and probably do a community survey in that area and see how people think it’s working,” Barnes said.

Looking ahead, Barnes said the city will make more improvements to Hunsaker Lane such as adding sidewalks and refining the groundwork and safety of the protected bike lanes at this River Road intersection. Those bike lanes will eventually connect to the Ruth Bascom Riverbank Path System that runs through Eugene.

“We needed that [River and Irving Road] intersection to sort of join these two areas of bike paths in a safe way that previously hadn’t been joined together,” Barnes said. “So this is one step in this bigger picture project that’s bringing more active transportation to that northern River Road area.”