City Council Considers Proposals for Main Street Restriping

Published on March 27, 2025

20240318-Downtown-2.jpg

The Medford City Council is evaluating three updated 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.

Following community feedback and concerns about narrow lanes, parking limitations, and overall aesthetics, Council directed staff to explore other configurations. The original project was largely funded by a $475,779 Oregon Department of Transportation grant.

Details of the Options Under Consideration

After reviewing 15 potential alternatives, Council has asked Public Works to further analyze these three:

1. Bike Lane Couplet (One-way bike lanes on Main & 8th Streets)

  • Description: Westbound bike lane on Main Street and eastbound on 8th Street
  • Cost: Estimated at $750,000
  • Impacts: Requires removal of parking and curb extensions on the right side of 8th Street
  • Goal: Balance traffic flow with safer biking infrastructure

2. 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
  • Cost: Estimated between $350,000 and $825,000
  • Note: Higher cost reflects potential repayment of state grant funds
  • Goal: Retain parking while providing a more familiar lane setup

3. Two-Way Travel with Bike Lanes

  • Description: Reintroduce two-way traffic with one travel lane and one bike lane in each direction
  • Cost: Likely exceeds $10 million
  • Impacts: Would require major construction and significantly change downtown’s layout
  • Goal: Restore two-way traffic while still accommodating cyclists and parking

What’s Next?

City staff will conduct further engineering analysis and bring back findings at a future Council meeting.

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 community.

 

Tagged as:
Back to top