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Eugene has a well-deserved reputation for accommodating individuals with disabilities. These accommodations include improvements such as textured sidewalk edges and ramps at curbs. These make downtown more welcoming and accessible for all individuals, regardless of ability. The City should continue to invest in improvements that maintain and improve accessibility downtown, and encourage developers of downtown projects to do the same. Bicycle System Bicycle riders throughout Eugene are a hallmark of our city's environmentally conscious character, and a product of local topography and climate. The number of bicycle riders increases as the practical elements required for safe and pleasurable riding are more routinely incorporated into new development and street improvements. Many of the suggested improvements for bicycles in the 1993 CATS have been accomplished. Bicycle lanes and routes have been added on several streets in the CATS area, providing improved access and increased safety for cyclists on these streets. Bicycle parking has been included with recent street improvements, and is now a required element for new buildings. Some long-term bicycle access projects remain, including improvements to Lincoln Street between 1 lth and 13th Avenues, and 10th Avenue between Oak and High, in conjunction with construction of the Bus Rapid Transit project on 10th Avenue. A new bikeway along 6th Avenue, planned in conjunction with the transportation improvements for the Courthouse area, will connect the university area to downtown, from east along Franklin and south along Hilyard. Transit System Our existing transit system facilitates travel to, through and around downtown. In addition to fixed-route service, the downtown shuttle will continue to operate at fifteen- minute intervals, with frequency increasing as ridership grows. The first Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) route is scheduled to begin operating in late 20046, and will provide a higher level of transit service from downtown Eugene to the University of Oregon and downtown Springfield. Fixed-route service will be adjusted to accommodate the addition of the BRT to the system, and coordinate with emergency vehicle access needs. Both the BRT and fixed-route service will use downtown as a transportation hub, connecting downtown to other areas of the city. A fixed-rail circulating/loop streetcar could be a potential transit and economic development strategy to link downtown, the U of O and the Courthouse district. Parking Parking is one ^c~,~ c ........;~;~ ...................... e, a significant tools available to the City in guiding and supporting development in the downtown area. A key strategy is to foresee, plan, and direct developments where parking is available, or provide parking where current demand and planned developments are likely to occur. In downtown, development around the new Federal Courthouse, train depot and the 5th Street Public Market area will likely create additional parking demand at the north end of downtown, where supply is barely meeting the present demand. 39