Did Medford's Vote Violate Oregon State Law?
When Mayor Michael Zarosinski cast the tie-breaking vote to remove all dedicated bike infrastructure from Main Street in January 2026, he said the council had gotten "a little too aggressive to start with." What he didn't mention: Medford may now be out of compliance with Oregon state law.
Background on Oregon Requires Bike Infrastructure in Climate-Friendly Areas
Under Oregon's Climate-Friendly and Equitable Communities (CFEC) rules, adopted in 2022 and upheld by the Oregon Court of Appeals in 2024, cities are required to prioritize bicycle and pedestrian facilities in designated Climate-Friendly Areas (CFAs). Specifically, OAR 660-012-0155 requires:
"safe, low stress, and comfortable travel for people of all ages and abilities within climate-friendly areas with minimal interference from motor vehicle traffic"
How this is interpreted of course is question that must be examined. Sharrows, the painted arrows now planned for Main Street, may not meet that standard. The national guidance that Oregon cities and ODOT rely on, NACTO Urban Bikeway Design Guide, states the following:
"The shared lane marking is not a facility type and should not be considered a substitute for bike lanes, cycle tracks, or other separation treatments where these types of facilities are otherwise warranted or space permits."
In other words: a sharrow is a paint marking. It is not a bicycle facility. It does not create separation from traffic. It does not provide low-stress travel. It does not satisfy what the rule requires.
Legal Issues Aside, Sharrows Make Things Worse
The practical consequence of replacing a protected bike lane with sharrows is straightforward: cyclists move back into the travel lane, mixing directly with cars on a busy downtown street.
The research on what that means for safety is troubling. A University of Colorado Denver study examined Chicago neighborhoods that received bike lanes, sharrows, or no treatment at all. The findings: cyclist injuries per commuter dropped 42% in areas that got dedicated bike lanes, but only 20% in areas that got sharrows. Areas that received no bike treatment at all saw a 36% drop. Sharrows performed worse than doing nothing.
Lead researcher Nick Ferenchak summarized it plainly: "Sharrows don't dedicate any space to bicyclists."
The theory is that sharrows create a false sense of safety, drawing more cyclists onto a road while providing no actual protection, without changing driver behavior at all.
That's the trade Medford's council made. A protected two-way bike lane that physically separated cyclists from traffic is being replaced with painted arrows that put cyclists back in the mix with cars. And the city's own Transportation Manager reportedly told them that wasn't supported by national guidance.
According to a guest column in the Rogue Valley Times, the Transportation Manager communicated to council that "national guidance does not support" replacing a dedicated bike lane with sharrows.
Downtown Medford Is Being Designated a Climate-Friendly Area
This isn't a hypothetical future concern. The Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development's December 2023 CFA Evaluation Report identified downtown Medford as a candidate for Climate-Friendly Area designation, and the Medford-Ashland area is required by state law to adopt CFA zoning. That process was underway as of December 2023, meaning the streets the council just stripped of bike infrastructure are likely in, or on the verge of being in, a zone where state law requires exactly that infrastructure.
Medford Already Tried to Kill These Rules, and Lost
Here's where it gets particularly ironic. In 2022, Medford joined a coalition of 13 Oregon cities in a lawsuit attempting to block the CFEC rules. The city argued the rules would burden local planning and staffing.
The Oregon Court of Appeals disagreed, upholding 87 of the 89 CFEC rules in March 2024. Medford is legally bound by the rules it tried to eliminate.
And then, less than two years later, the council voted to remove the exact type of infrastructure those rules require.
The City's Own Plans Say Otherwise
The CFEC rules aren't the only thing pointing in this direction. Medford's own Downtown 2040 Plan, a long-range 15-year vision shaped by hundreds of community members, identifies expanded bike infrastructure and improved walkability as core goals. The 2022 Multimodal Enhancements Study that led to the Main Street bike lane evaluated six design alternatives and proposed construction in 2023.
The council's January vote doesn't just conflict with state law. It conflicts with the city's own adopted plans.
What's at Stake: Funding
This isn't just a legal technicality. Oregon's state transportation funding programs, and many federal grant programs, prioritize cities that are in compliance with CFEC rules and actively building multimodal infrastructure. Medford is already on the hook for returning $475,779 in state grant money tied to the original bike lane project. Future funding for roads, trails, and transit could also be affected if the city is found to be out of alignment with state planning requirements.
Councilor Kevin Stine, who voted against full removal, put it plainly after the vote: "We had the opportunity to choose an option that would have been safer, was preferred by our local business community, fixed almost every issue that was raised from the public, and would have saved us from giving $475,779.30 to the State of Oregon."
The Council Can Still Fix This
The window to act is narrowing. According to city staff, work on the reconfiguration is scheduled to begin in spring 2026 and finish by fall 2026. (IJPR, OPB) The council has time to revisit the vote, and several members have indicated openness to doing exactly that.
If you think Medford should follow its own plans and comply with state law, make your voice heard before the restriping begins.