BPAC chair Keith Dickey urges regional wayfinding fixes, flags Centennial Overpass safety

Keith Dickey, chair of Springfield’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee, told the Springfield City Council at a work session that the committee has worked with counterparts in Eugene to improve wayfinding between the cities and that the Centennial Overpass needs safety-focused improvements requiring coordination with the Oregon Department of Transportation.

“I mean, if you've ever ridden a bike pass in Eugene, Springfield, especially in Eugene, there's I don't think there's to this day, there's hardly a sign that points to Springfield,” Dickey said, describing projects to improve signage to corridors such as the Alton Baker area and the Willamette Lane/West Centennial connection.

Emma Newman, the city’s transportation planning manager, introduced Dickey and committee member Alan Lynnhares and said the committee’s 2025 work focused on outreach, partnerships and events. Lynnhares told council BPAC completed active-transportation safety audits in the Glenwood and Centennial–Mohawk areas and found wayfinding to be a recurring issue.

Dickey emphasized regional collaboration: “We're gonna improve that, so that will help. And then Eugene has agreed to work on their end, so that's good,” he said, calling the effort part of creating more of a “bike superhighway” between Eugene and Springfield.

He also raised the Centennial Overpass as a priority for redesign: “If you've ever walked to a football game across that overpass... it's not really pedestrian and bicycle friendly,” Dickey said, noting heavy traffic and that the structure is within ODOT’s jurisdiction, which complicates local retrofit options.

Council members praised BPAC’s visibility and practical work. The mayor encouraged staff to ask ODOT about the overpass’s seismic retrofit schedule, saying a long-term seismic timetable would affect when larger access improvements are feasible. Councilor Buck and Councilor Stout both urged treating bike and pedestrian networks as parts of the transportation system—not merely recreational amenities—and highlighted the safety implications of increased e-bike usage.

Dickey and Lynnhares said BPAC will remain engaged in the city’s Walk and Roll transportation plan and the upcoming bike master-plan updates, and invited council to BPAC meetings and outreach events. Lynnhares noted BPAC’s designation as the community advisory body for Walk and Roll, intended to bridge planning staff and the public.

The committee encouraged the council to continue integrating low-cost design improvements into routine projects such as Mill Street and to support wayfinding and safety work that reduces conflicts between bicycles, pedestrians and vehicles.