QuickTake:

Police conducted a traffic emphasis patrol Thursday, June 25, along Highway 99, a stretch of roadway in Eugene that’s become a frequent site for serious injury and fatal crashes.

Police conducted a targeted traffic patrol Thursday, June 25, along Highway 99, a stretch of roadway in Eugene that’s become a frequent site for serious injury and fatal crashes.

Officers watched the roadway between Roosevelt Boulevard and Bethel Drive, including a crosswalk with a fully functional traffic signal.

“On numerous occasions, pedestrians disobeyed the pedestrian control devices,” Eugene police said in a news release.

Officers issued 43 citations and 28 warnings, with violations including failure to obey a traffic control device, failure to obey a pedestrian control device and speeding, among several others.

In all, police conducted 64 stops, of which about 13 involved pedestrians, bicyclists or riders of motorized bikes unlawfully in the roadway.

Police also observed violations of the city’s municipal code “right angle” provision, which requires pedestrians to cross a street at a right angle.

“The violations observed were overwhelmingly when pedestrians were meandering across the road at angles nearing 45 degrees or more. This increases the likelihood of interacting with a motor vehicle due to the increased exposure to risk in the roadway,” police said.

Highway 99, a four-lane thoroughfare with a turn lane, was the site of at least five pedestrian fatalities in 2023 and 2024. This year, a vehicle fatally struck a bicyclist near Side Street.