Main Street Multimodal Improvements

Bicycle Counts

Bicycle activity increased by approximately 5 times from the July 2023 (before) count to the September 2024 count. See ‘Bicycle Counts Over Time’ graph. 

Vehicle Counts

Vehicle traffic has also increased in the corridor, but still remain below historic levels. The 2020 and 2022 vehicle counts were likely low due to lingering impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic. Pre-pandemic, 2018, volumes were similar or above 2024 volumes.

Vehicle Speeds

Vehicle speeds have been slightly reduced from the before condition. Measured speed was reduced between one (1) and four (4) mph at each location measured, as can be seen in the ‘85^th Percentile Speed’ graph below. 

Additionally, the top speeds measured have been reduced to 25 mph or less. Research shows that reducing speeds is an effective way of improving pedestrian safety. The below graphic from FHWA illustrates the impact of speed on a pedestrian’s risk of death. 

Source: https://www.transportation.gov/NRSS/SaferSpeeds

Public Works has reviewed the reported crashes in the Main Street corridor. Public Works looked at the averages for the 10-years before the project and compared the 10-months prior to the restriping to the 10-months since the restriping. 10-months is not considered a long enough period of time to have a statistically accurate picture of the crashes associated with a change in the roadway. Industry standard practice is to evaluate 5-years of data to help account for the rarity and randomness of crashes. There is a natural variability in crash rates and looking at short periods of time can lead to inaccurate conclusions about the safety performance of a location. That said, the below chart summarizes the crash history for the periods described above. 

Overall, there does not appear to be a major safety issue based on known data at this time. The types of crashes are similar to those experienced before the restriping and do not appear to be related to the bike lanes.

On October 27, 2023, the City of Medford completed its restriping project of Main Street through downtown. The goal of this reconfiguration is to slow and calm traffic, improve multimodal connectivity, and enhance the downtown experience for people traveling and visiting merchants along Main Street.

Since this project’s completion, City Council has received numerous comments on the project. Some support the change, but the majority have expressed concerns about the reconfiguration, including concerns regarding the reduction of lanes, changes to vehicle sightlines, the lack of bicycle use, and the potential for conflicts between cars, bikes, and pedestrians.  The City Council takes these concerns seriously and has discussed them with staff and other stakeholders.  

Additionally, Council has heard calls to reverse the recent changes, and return Main Street to its previous configuration. Council approved this reconfiguration in April 2023 with the hope that the goals outlined above would be met.

So far, at least one goal has been met. Since the reconfiguration, speeds on Main Street have decreased approximately 5mph, which makes it safer for everyone visiting downtown.

Ultimately, the changes to Main Street did not move the curbs and are fully reversible.  Following community feedback and concerns about narrow lanes, parking limitations, and overall aesthetics, the Medford City Council is evaluated alternatives for the Main Street restriping project in downtown Medford. This comes after a request in late 2024 to reconsider the current layout, which was implemented in October 2023 to improve bicycle access.

The Medford City Council voted Jan. 21 to return Main Street to its previous configuration, following months of evaluation and a public outreach campaign.

In late 2024, Council directed staff to explore other configurations following community feedback and concerns.  

Fifteen alternatives were presented to Council during a March study session earlier in 2025. In addition to reverting the striping back to its previous configuration, or leaving the existing layout as is, Council narrowed the potential alternatives to two additional options. Staff conducted further engineering analysis and presented findings to Council at the July 9 study session.

Alternative options presented:

Alternative 1: Previous Configuration

• Description: Return Main Street to its previous configuration—three lanes in one direction, with bikes sharing the right lane with vehicles.
• Cost: Estimated at $1 million
• Notes: Potential gain of 8 parking spaces with updated design standards; however, this option does not align with the current Transportation System Plan and does not meet widely accepted design guidance.

Alternative 2: Existing Configuration

• Description: Maintain the current configuration with no changes.
• Cost: $0
• Notes: No alarming crash patterns have been observed, and bike lane usage has been steadily increasing.

Alternative 3: Standard Bike Lane (One-way bike lane on the right)

• Description: Two travel lanes, parallel parking on both sides, and one bike lane on the right side of Main Street.
• Cost: Estimated between $580,000 to $1,055,000
• Note: The cost range reflects the potential repayment of state grant funds.
• Goal: Retain parking while providing a more traditional bike lane.

Alternative 4: Two-Way Travel with Bike Lanes

• Description: Reintroduce two-way traffic with one travel lane and one bike lane in each direction on both Main Street and 8th Street.
• Cost: Estimated at $10.7 million
• Impact: Would require major construction, would significantly change downtown’s layout, and analysis found that significant traffic delays and congestion would likely occur on Main Street and 8th Street near Central Avenue and Riverside Avenue.
• Goal: Restore two-way traffic while still accommodating cyclists and parking.

The original Main Street configuration cost about $515,000, with over 90% funded by the state, and the future of its design remains a high-interest topic for both the Council and the community.

The Main Street Public Open House was held on Thursday, November 20, 2025, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at the Oakdale Middle School Library. Several City Councilors and staff from the Public Works and Planning departments attended.

The Main Street online survey was available for anyone to fill out from November 10 through November 30, 2025.

Medford Communications staff promoted both the survey and open house through a variety of channels, including direct outreach to community and media partners, targeted emails, the City’s website, and social media. This memo presents the information gathered for each event.

SURVEY & OPEN HOUSE RESULTS

Below are charts from the online survey and the in-person open house. Reverting the street to the previous configuration was ranked highest in both surveys. Keeping the current configuration was the 2^nd highest ranked online surveys, while the buffered bike lane was the 2^nd highest ranked at the in-person event. The two-way traffic option had the least support.

A total of 4,041 surveys were submitted. Qualtrics, the survey program, identified 939 duplicate responses. The results presented below are based on 3,102 unique survey responses.

People also submitted comment cards at the in-person open house. Of the 30 comment cards submitted, 19 were votes for a specific option and 21 were general comments. Of the 19 that were votes for specific options, they break down as follows:

• Previous Configuration          6
• Current Configuration          10
• Buffered Bike Lane               3

General comments included the following themes:

• Diagonal parking
• Two lanes are adequate
• Move the bike lanes to a different street
• Against the current configuration, but no specific alternative
• Consider bike safety
• Get rid of the “chess pieces”
• Creekside Quarter
• Inadequate process
• Don’t repay the grant   

The Medford City Council voted Jan. 21 to return Main Street to its previous configuration, following months of evaluation and a public outreach campaign. 

Council had a lengthy discussion which centered on restriping the street with two travel lanes and a bike lane versus reverting the striping back to its previous three lane configuration. The Council ended in a split vote between these options with Mayor Michael Zarosinski casting the tiebreaking vote.

The reverted layout will include three travel lanes in one direction, with bikes sharing the right lane, and curb-tight parking on both sides. The project is estimated to cost $1 million, which includes repaying an Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) grant.

Council members reviewed several design options refined over the past year and presented to the public last November. Discussions considered public feedback, traffic flow and speed, project costs, parking availability, impacts on downtown businesses, and accommodations for the biking community. 

City staff said an accelerated timeline would have the final restriping plan completed by spring 2026, and the project finished by fall 2026.

(PDF, 2MB)(PDF, 2MB)

The following information is designed to help you navigate Main Street with the new parking protected, bi-directional bike lanes.

For people driving

• Do not drive in the bike lane.
• Do not load/unload within the bike lane.
• Park only in designated spaces outside of the bike lane.
• After parking, cross the bike lane to the sidewalk. 
• When turning, signal your intentions. Stop for pedestrians and bicyclists who may be coming in both directions.
  
  

For people walking

• Do not walk or stand in the bike lane.
• You may walk across the bike lane if you are accessing your parked car. 
• When crossing the street use legal crosswalks.
• • Look both ways for safety.
  • Make eye contact with other road users.
  • Signal your intentions.
    
    

For people biking and rolling in the bike lane

• Do not ride on the sidewalk. It is illegal in Downtown Medford.
• Stop for and avoid pedestrians in the bike lane or crosswalk.
• Cross side-streets only with the bike signal where provided.
• Cross side-streets with the pedestrian signal if there is no dedicated bike signal.
• At unsignalized intersections, follow ordinary right-of-way rules.
• When turning, signal your intentions.
• • When crossing Main Street to go north, use bike turn boxes where provided.
  • Stop and wait for an adequate gap in traffic to cross.
  • Stop for any bikes or cars in any lanes you are crossing.
• Proceed with caution when approaching driveways and intersections which are potential conflict zones. 
• Pass slower users on the left when safe to do so and after giving an audible signal. 
• Make sure your bike has proper safety equipment including lights if riding at night. 
• Do not enter or cross railroad tracks when lights are flashing.
  
  

For Everyone

• Follow all Oregon traffic laws.
• Follow all traffic control devices including signals, signs, and markings.