(This article was prepared with AI assistance)
The City appears committed to spend $30 to $40 million on a bike bridge at Hawthorne Avenue — despite the fact that Hawthorne does not connect to any established or planned bike routes.
By contrast, Franklin Avenue is designated as the city’s East-West Crosstown Bikeway and is part of the city’s Low Stress Network for biking. Over $15 million is committed to extensive safety and bike lane improvements on Franklin Avenue, between 8th Street and Harriman Avenue. Some construction is underway.
Yet, inexplicably, in the middle of these improvements — the Franklin underpass — the most dangerous section for a cyclist, is excluded from these improvements. This 90-foot stretch forces bikes and cars to share a narrow 30 ft of roadway, hemmed in by vertical walls, with no escape route for a bicyclist sensing a problem. It is the single, but monumental, failure in an otherwise safe crosstown bikeway.
Spending millions on a difficult-to-access bridge at Hawthorne — while leaving this obvious hazard untouched — makes no sense. Worse, the city has admitted as much: documents suggest diverting bikes off of Franklin to use the Hawthorne bridge, undermining years of planning the crosstown bikeway. Most riders, however, will simply continue using the dangerous underpass, because using Hawthorne requires extra crossings across busy streets and into congested downtown streets.
This city is also planning a bike route between Drake Park and Juniper Park. Franklin is the obvious route, because both abut this street. But the city plans to redirect bikers through downtown streets. Just to find users the proposed Hawthorne bridge? And what happens at the east end of the bridge? It is not only unsafe, it’s contrary to the city’s stated goal: Create crosstown routes where bikes are not forced to merge with traffic. Where is their concern for biker safety?
The solution is simple: move the proposed bridge to Franklin Avenue. Investing $30 to $40 million on an inaccessible bridge at Hawthorne creates redundancy, wastes Franklin Avenue improvements and leaves the city’s most dangerous bike choke point unresolved.
Relocating the bridge to Franklin is the only common sense solution: it ensures continuous safe east-west travel, maximizes the value of current and planned investments, and delivers on the city’s promise of a safe cross-town bikeway.
There is no reason NOT to move the bridge to Franklin Avenue.
Bike Bridge Location: Franklin vs. Hawthorne
| Criteria | Franklin Avenue (Recommended) | Hawthorne Avenue (Proposed) |
| Connectivity | Directly on Bend’s designated east–west bikeway route; connects Drake Park to Juniper Park | No existing or planned bike routes; requires detours through congested downtown streets |
| Safety | Fixes the most dangerous chokepoint: 70-ft underpass, <30 ft wide, no escape for cyclists | Leaves Franklin underpass hazard untouched; forces bikes and cars to merge |
| Integration with Planned Investments | Complements $15M+ Franklin safety upgrades (7-ft protected bike lanes, full corridor rebuild) | Undermines Franklin project; diverts riders off ~1/3 of newupgrades (2nd–Harriman) |
| User Behavior | Natural route; cyclists will continue using Franklin for crosstown travel and park connections | Requires riders to cross traffic twice to re-enter Franklin; most riders will ignore |
| City Policy Alignment | Supports city’s stated goal: bikeways where bikes never ride close to cars | Contradicts policy; introduces hazardous merges and detours |
| Cost Effectiveness | Leverages existing $15M Franklin investment; one bridge = full corridor solution | Adds $30–40M project on an unconnected route; doesn’t solve Franklin hazard |
| Community Impact | Creates seamless crosstown bikeway; safe, direct park-to-park travel | Adds downtown congestion; poor public return on investment |
Conclusion
Investing $30–40 million at Hawthorne creates redundancy, wastes existing Franklin improvements, and leaves the city’s most dangerous bike chokepoint unresolved.
Relocating the bridge to Franklin is the only common-sense solution: it ensures safe, continuous east–west travel, maximizes the value of current investments, and delivers on the city’s promise of a safe crosstown bikeway.
