Thomas Patterson Emerald
The intersection of 15th Avenue and University Street is awash with pedestrians, bicycles and cars every weekday as students shuffle to and from class.
The Eugene Police Department is keeping a more watchful eye on drivers and bicyclists speeding through campus streets.
EPD Officer Pete Aguilar said the 15 mph speed limit on streets running through campus is being grossly neglected by motorists. He said campus officers are now beginning to use radar and will also be putting more officers on bikes to catch law-breaking bicyclists.
But before increasing patrols, EPD had to deal with poorly marked speed signs and a question of jurisdiction.
“The speed limit was only written on the streets; there were no signs,” Aguilar said. “We didn’t know if we, as EPD officers, could enforce the speed limit. It’s also lower than the general rules, which are 25 mph for a residential area and 20 mph for a business district.”
So members of the campus team took the issue to the city attorney’s office in August, where it was confirmed that EPD not only had the right to enforce the speed limit, but was required to do so by the Oregon Board of Higher Education.
“The Oregon Board of Higher Education prescribed, by administrative rule, that anything over 15 mph on the campus streets is careless unless otherwise posted,” City Attorney Brad Litchfield said.
Aguilar said the reason for a lower speed limit on campus is due to the strenuous driving conditions, including a limited sight distance, the amount of parking taking place and the large number of pedestrians and bicyclists also traveling on the roads.
“There are also four child-care centers throughout the University,” he said. ” I know that each of them takes walks each day. That should be enough reason for slowing down.”
EPD spokeswoman Jan Power said the campus team had a list of concerns for campus traffic last summer, with the speed limit enforcement being one of the major concerns. Other problems ranged from cyclists not following traffic laws to pedestrians not giving appropriate right of way.
Cyclists are required, by law, to adhere to the same traffic laws that apply to cars, said Aguilar. All laws, he said, except for things like using an automatic turn signal or having break lights.
“Bikes have to stop at stop signs and yield the right of way just like cars do,” Aguilar said. “Bikes can, however, ride up next to a car as long as the car is not turning right.”
Sgt. Rob Olson, another EPD officer assigned to the campus team, said cyclists also need to yield the right away to pedestrians when they are riding on the sidewalk. Tickets for cyclists have the same base fine as tickets for cars.
“We have an ongoing problem with cyclists,” Olson said.
Public Safety Director Tom Fitzpatrick said pedestrians tend to act somewhat condescendingly toward cars when crossing streets, especially at the crosswalk in front of the Hamilton Complex on Agate Street.
“It can be really difficult to see pedestrians clearly,” Fitzpatrick said.
Aguilar said it’s important to remember that once a car has begun to make a turn from a stop sign, the car now has the right of way before the pedestrian.
Trouble areas that EPD is now watching more carefully are on University Street from 15th Avenue to 18th Avenue, on 15th Avenue from Agate Street to University Street and on Agate Street from 13th Avenue to 15th Avenue.
Lindsay Buchele is the community editor for the Oregon Daily Emerald. She can be reached at [email protected].